Miele Guide's first Asia top 20 list

[HKDave]

I'm putting this in the China forum because HK got 7 of the 20, more than anywhere else... but the top 20 list as a whole is just strange.

1 Iggy's, Singapore

2 L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Hong Kong

3 Les Amis, Singapore

4 Gunther's, Singapore

5 Mozaic, Bali

6 Robuchon a Galera, Macau

7 Garibaldi, Singapore

8 Yung Kee, Hong Kong

9 Hutong, Hong Kong

10 Antonio's Fine Dining, Tagaytay, Philippines

11 Caprice, Hong Kong

12 Zuma, Hong Kong

13 L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Tokyo

14 Bukhara, New Delhi

15 Grissini, Hong Kong

16 Nobu, Hong Kong

17 M on the Bund, Shanghai

18 Fook Lam Moon, Hong Kong

19 Zanotti II Ristorante Italiano, Bangkok

20 Kyubey, Tokyo

Huh?

The best restaurant in Japan (and the only one that makes the top 20!) is a Robuchon?

The best restaurant in Thailand is... Italian?

The best restaurant in China is... vaguely Australian?

The best Chinese restaurant in Asia is... Yung Kee? I like Yung Kee a lot, but to call it the best Chinese restaurant in Asia (or even Hong Kong) is absurd.

[prasantrin]

is right!

I can't find any info about how they chose the restaurants they did. Do they explain their choices at all?

OK, I did a more thorough search. It's not the Gault Millau Guide, but the Miele Guide, which from what I can tell is somewhat less prestigious. Their system for voting is not too far off from those lists that regularly rank The Olive Garden as one of the top Italian restaurants in the US (only people with Visa cards can vote???). It's really a shame, because considering the people involved, it could have been so much more respectable rather than just a popularity contest.

Edited November 2, 2008 by prasantrin (log)

[HKDave]

How the heck did I make that mistake? Now lemmie see if I can get the thread title changed...

Anyway, here's how they selected the list, according to the South China Morning Post:

"The guide's system for ranking restaurants is complicated. First, 84 food critics from 16 countries and regions were asked to name their 20 best restaurants. After that, 1,500 industry professionals and well-known diners cast their votes, then the opinions of 15,000 registered voters were canvassed. A team of undercover reviewers were sent to the top restaurants to reach the final verdict. "

Link (maybe): http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menui...ong+Kong&s=News

[Julian Teoh]

Another Guide to be thrown back onto the bookshelf (of the roaring fireplace) with the rest of them.

I like Gunther's food very much, but there is no way I would rank it as 4th on any list of "Asia's best restaurants." Even then, I would hesitate to say that his food was the "4th best in Asia", whatever that means. Service that is an unthinkingly robotic as it is unhelpful and overstretched (not to mention trained to upsell you to magnums of classified growth Bordeaux), a wine list that is insanely overpriced and decor that is as inspiring as my grandmother's old tea towels. If Gunther's is truly the 4th best restaurant in Asia, we might as well just pack up and go home. And how there is no room for Le Normandie in the top 20 is quite simply beyond me.

As for M on the Bund, say no more. I think it is seriously questionable whether it is even arguably the best restaurant on the Bund, let alone Shanghai, China or Asia's Top 20.

I am also worried about the very strong Singaporean bias to the Guide. Well may they have tried to avoid it, but when the guide was conceptualised and published by a Singaporean personality (with all the corresponding hoo-ha in the background about how Singapore deserves a Michelin Guide of its own), some things are inevitable. If 4 of Asia's Top 10 restaurants are in Singapore, I think I would have packed on a few more kilos during my stay here!

Let's be frank - the Miele Guide is nothing more than an "Asian" knee-jerk response to the disgraceful list produced by Restaurant Magazine and should be regarded accordingly. Interestingly, one of my friends in the industry remarked to me that the Restaurant Magazine list was so weak because it did not have any Japanese restaurants on the list, unless one counts Nobu London (!) How apt it is that there is only a single Japanese restaurant in the Miele Guide's Top 20 (Kyubey slipping in at No. 20). I'm not inclined to treat Nobu HK as qualifying in that category.

[Fengyi]

HK Dave, weird is a polite way of putting it!!!

I would add ?!?!?!

It's frankly bizarre....

[hzrt8w]

The best Chinese restaurant in Asia is... Yung Kee? I like Yung Kee a lot, but to call it the best Chinese restaurant in Asia (or even Hong Kong) is absurd.

←

Agreed. Maybe Yung Kee is the best known (and perhaps accessible) to foreign visitors, who rarely step foot (dining) outside of Tsimshatsui or Central/Wanchai.

[HKDave]

It seems the Miele Guide is a production of Singapore's Ate Media, better known as blogger ChubbyHubby and wife. Not sure what it has to do with Meile other than the name.

Next up in the pointless Asia restaurant guide series: HK/Macau gets a blessed with a Michelin guide Dec. 5th. Michelin claim to have short-listed 1200 restaurants here, actually visited 800, and will list 250-300. And of the 12 (or 14, depending on which interview you believe) inspectors they sent to do the job, only 2 were Asian.

[Julian Teoh]

Next up in the pointless Asia restaurant guide series: HK/Macau gets a blessed with a Michelin guide Dec. 5th. Michelin claim to have short-listed 1200 restaurants here, actually visited 800, and will list 250-300. And of the 12 (or 14, depending on which interview you believe) inspectors they sent to do the job, only 2 were Asian.

←

Dave, sorry, what did you really expect? Asia's Top 7 restaurants are European restaurants. What special knowledge could "Asian" inspectors possibly bring to this process?

(Dripping with sarcasm)

[ejw50]

We were just in Hong Kong and can comment on some of these.

- Nobu is very good, but probably doesn't belong on a top20 list.

I will say it is probably better than the one in Vegas though.

The raw dishes are not done as well in Vegas as they are here.

One thing I found out is that all the hotel restaurants at

the Intercontinental (of which Nobu is one), require

hand washing by the staff every hour. Nobu also shares

a live tank with Yan Toh Heen downstairs, so certain things are fresh killed.

The famous cod isn't one of them (according to a hotel chef we spoke with).

Service here is typical upscale Hong Kong excellent.

- Hutong does not belong on this list at all. Wayyyy overrated.

The food isn't really even Chinese if you ask me,

more like Chinese inspired. Their signature dish (crispy

deboned lamb) is really good, but one of their other big dishes

(drunken raw crab) just tastes like crab in really bad wine.

We tried a few other things , maybe the wrong things, but

were not impressed in any way. The view is very nice though.

Service was very good, but not excellent by HK standards.

Maybe they (and Michelin) were impressed by the decor with

all the birdcages.

- Fook Lam Moon, we only went their for dim sum. Their har gow

are terrific, with huge pieces of shrimp. Service was *outstanding*

maybe the best I've ever seen at lunch.

You lifted your head a little and people were their

to pour your tea; you get up and somebody is there to put

your napkin down on your return. Waiters spoke Mandarin

and Cantonese and get by with English. Only the most popular

dim sums are on the English/Japanese menu though, so we asked

the waiter to pick. They also have their own tank. Great food,

ridiculously awesome service, I would go back.

I'm putting this in the China forum because HK got 7 of the 20, more than anywhere else... but the top 20 list as a whole is just strange.

1 Iggy's, Singapore

2 L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Hong Kong

3 Les Amis, Singapore

4 Gunther's, Singapore

5 Mozaic, Bali

6 Robuchon a Galera, Macau

7 Garibaldi, Singapore

8 Yung Kee, Hong Kong

9 Hutong, Hong Kong

10 Antonio's Fine Dining, Tagaytay, Philippines

11 Caprice, Hong Kong

12 Zuma, Hong Kong

13 L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Tokyo

14 Bukhara, New Delhi

15 Grissini, Hong Kong

16 Nobu, Hong Kong

17 M on the Bund, Shanghai

18 Fook Lam Moon, Hong Kong

19 Zanotti II Ristorante Italiano, Bangkok

20 Kyubey, Tokyo

Huh?

The best restaurant in Japan (and the only one that makes the top 20!) is a Robuchon?

The best restaurant in Thailand is... Italian?

The best restaurant in China is... vaguely Australian?

The best Chinese restaurant in Asia is... Yung Kee? I like Yung Kee a lot, but to call it the best Chinese restaurant in Asia (or even Hong Kong) is absurd.

←

Edited April 7, 2009 by ejw50 (log)