SEEING STARS OVER SHANGHAI’S BEST

Regardless of the controversies, the Michelin Guide remains an authoritative rating of Shanghai’s food and beverage industry that people just cannot overlook.

Last week, the Michelin Guide launched its third Chinese edition in Shanghai and while the majority winners of the coveted stars are on an even keel, there was the element of surprise.

T’ang Court, Shanghai’s first restaurant to win three stars in the inaugural Chinese edition in 2016, was downgraded to one of the eight restaurants with two stars.

It’s common to see the Michelin Guide removing and adding stars, and T’ang Court’s new Chinese executive chef, Alan Sun, joined less than a year ago.

With a keen focus on upscale yet conservative cuisine and pricey set menus highlighting expensive and traditional Cantonese ingredients, T’ang Court in The Langham, Shanghai, Xintiandi has received mixed reviews in the past three years.

Paul Pairet’s Ultraviolet is Shanghai’s only restaurant with three Michelin stars, which they first received last year. The price of Ultraviolet has reached 4,000 to 10,000 yuan (US$582-1,454) per seat, and because it’s so highly sought-after, reservation must be made months in advance.

Cantonese restaurant Jin Xuan in The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong lost the one star they’ve had for the past two years.

Also to note in the new guide is the absence of Japanese cuisine. The only Japanese restaurant in previous two guides, barbeque house Kanpai Classic, has lost its star this year. It’s now a Michelin Plate restaurant, a new designation that recognizes restaurants with quality food but not good enough to win a star or feature in Bib Gourmand.

The Michelin Guide is a reference for both locals and visitors. The high-profile list of starred restaurants encourages people to try something new with trust in the expertise of Michelin’s mysterious inspectors, who test restaurants in complete anonymity to ensure they do not receive special treatment.

Starred restaurants are guaranteed high reservation rates, and customers frequently note the restaurant’s Michelin-starred status in their reviews.

And for newly opened restaurants, getting a spot in the Michelin Guide is like hitting the marketing jackpot, which brings fame overnight and, of course, reservations.

Shanghai also has the world’s cheapest two Michelin-starred restaurant, Cantonese eatery Canton 8, which has an average price of less than 200 yuan per person.