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Hong Kong and Macau see flurry of Michelin stars

Michelin inspectors have handed out a constellation of stars to restaurants and chefs in Hong Kong and Macau this year, inducting 19 new restaurants into the exclusive starred club and cementing the region as a growing world-class dining destination.

In the fifth edition of the Michelin Guide Hong Kong Macau, six new restaurants earned two stars (five in Hong Kong, one in Macau), while 13 restaurants scored their first star (12 in Hong Kong and one in Macau).

All five restaurants in Hong Kong and Macau, meanwhile, retained their three-star standing.

Most notable, meanwhile, is the demotion of French chef Pierre Gagnaire's Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong outpost Pierre, which was knocked down a rung to fall from two stars to one star.

The dominant cuisine among the starred restaurants? About 70 percent of the dining destinations selected offer Chinese cuisine, including Shanghainese, Pekingese, Sichuan, Hakka, Hang Zhou, Cantonese and Chiu Chow.

Other cuisines and foods which earned star recognition from inspectors include sushi, steakhouse, European contemporary, noodles, congee and Italian fare.

In this year’s Bib Gourmand section -- a category reserved for eateries where diners can tuck into a three-course meal for 300 HKD or €30 -- inspectors added 18 new addresses that provide good value for money for a total of 76 Bib Gourmand restaurants.

The guide likewise provides 63 addresses for “simple shop restaurants” such as local food stalls and noodle shops which serve rustic, hearty street foods like roast meats, dim sum, Cantonese, Thai, ramen noodles, congee and Vietnamese foods.

Modest food stalls and eateries make up 20 percent of the guide, some of which have been awarded stars to make them the most affordable Michelin-grade restaurants in the world, the guide says.

The Michelin Guide Hong Kong Macau 2013 is available December 5 in Hong Kong and Macau for HK $198 (€20) and in mid-December in Southeast Asia.