Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau 2019 elevates Caprice, Jade Dragon; three new restaurants earn two stars
- Coveted third Michelin star awarded to Caprice at the Four Seasons Hong Kong and Jade Dragon at City of Dreams Macau
- Alain Ducasse at Morpheus, opened in June, gets two stars, as do newcomers Sushi Saito and Ecriture. Six restaurants earn their first star
French fine-dining restaurant Caprice in the Four Seasons Hong Kong hotel and Jade Dragon, a Chinese restaurant in Macau’s City of Dreams, have won a coveted third Michelin star in the 2019 Michelin Guide to Hong Kong and Macau.
Guillaume Galliot, chef de cuisine at Caprice, was thrilled to earn a third star, and said he was “shaking” as he received hugs from fellow chefs at the Grand Hyatt in Macau where the guide was launched on Tuesday.
For young chef Eric Räty of Arbor, earning his first star was “amazing”, he said. “I’m excited to go back into the kitchen and start thinking about how to do the next dish, how to get the second star.”
Belon, like New Punjab Club part of the Black Sheep Group, has been open for three years, and has finally received its first star. “I’m happy for the team. It’s a good list, a diverse list,” said Daniel Calvert, the talent behind the restaurant.
There were two new Hong Kong entries in the guide’s Bib Gourmand section for “exceptionally good food at moderate prices”: Le Souk, a Middle Eastern and Moroccan restaurant in SoHo, and What to Eat, a Taiwanese restaurant in Central.
Chinese executive chef Kwong Wai-keung of T’ang Court at The Langham Hong Kong looked relieved as the restaurant retained its three-star status, as did chef Paul Lau Ping-lui as Tin Lung Heen in the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong kept its two Michelin stars.
Richard Ekkebus, culinary director of Amber at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong, was relieved to see it keep its two-star rating. The contemporary French fine-dining restaurant recently closed for renovations, and he was worried this would affect its rating.
Gwendall Poullennec, the newly installed international director of Michelin Guides, remarked in his speech that since the Hong Kong and Macau guide was launched in 2008, the number of stars awarded to restaurants has more than tripled.
“The increase in the number of stars reflect the increased quality and diversity of the restaurants in Hong Kong and Macau,” he said. “It’s a good sign of how healthy the culinary business is here, thanks to demanding clients, and it’s not over yet – in the future we will see more stars in Hong Kong and Macau.”
Shang Palace at the Kowloon Shangri-La dropped from two stars to one, possibly due to a change in chefs – Samuel Lee Sum took over from chef Mok Kit-keung, who is now overseeing operations at the Shangri-La hotel in Singapore. However, Tosca at the Ritz- Carlton Hong Kong, where Nicola Russo took over as chef de cuisine from Pino Lavarra earlier this year, retained its Michelin star.
Some restaurants dropped off the list completely, including Akrame in Wan Chai, ON in Central, run by Philippe Orrico, and Peking Garden in Central.
The full list of Michelin-starred restaurants in Hong Kong and Macau
Hong Kong
Three stars:
Bo Innovation
Caprice
L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Lung King Heen
8 ½ Otto e Mezzo – Bombana
Sushi Shikon
T'ang Court
Two stars:
Amber
Écriture
Forum
Kashiwaya
Pierre
Sun Tung Lok
Sushi Saito
Ta Vie
Tenku RyuGin
Tin Lung Heen
Yan Toh Heen
Ying Jee Club
One star
Ah Yat Harbour View (Tsim Sha Tsui); Arbor; Arcane; Beefbar; Belon; Celebrity Cuisine; Duddell’s; Épure; Fu Ho (Tsim Sha Tsui); Guo Fu Lou; Ho Hung Kee; IM Teppanyaki & Wine; Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine; Jardin De Jade (Wan Chai); Kaiseki Den by Saotome; Kam’s Roast Goose; Lei Garden (Kwun Tong); Lei Garden (Mong Kok); Loaf On; Man Wah; Mandarin Grill + Bar; Ming Court; New Punjab Club; Octavium; Pang’s Kitchen; Qi (Wan Chai); Rech; Shang Palace; Spring Moon; Summer Palace; Sushi Tokami; Sushi Wadatsumi; Takumi by Daisuke Mori; Tate; The Ocean; Tim Ho Wan (Sham Shui Po); Tosca; VEA; Xin Rong Ji; Yat Lok; Yat Tung Heen (Jordan); Yè Shanghai (Tsim Sha Tsui); Yee Tung Heen; Zhejiang Heen
Macau
Three stars:
Jade Dragon
The Eight
Robuchon au Dôme
Two stars:
Alain Ducasse at Morpheus
Feng Wei Ju
Golden Flower
Mizumi (Macau)
The Tasting Room
One star:
King; Lai Heen; 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo – Bombana; Pearl Dragon; Shinji by Kanesaka; The Golden Peacock; The Kitchen; Tim’s Kitchen; Wing Lei; Ying; Zi Yat Heen