Michelin Guide HK and Macao: new entrants, gainers and losers
Many high-end restaurants in HK struggle amid economic downturn
The 2024 edition of the Michelin Guide to Hong Kong and Macao — akin to a yearly report card for the city’s best restaurants — has landed.
New one-Michelin-star restaurants include Cristal Room by Ann-Sophie Pic, Feuille, Vicky Lau’s Mora, Racines and The Legacy House in Hong Kong, and Sushi Kinetsu in Macao.
Noi, Spanish chef Paulo Airaudo’s restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, has earned a second Michelin star just a year after earning its first. The Huaiyang Garden in The Venetian Macao hotel has also gained its second star.
The Huaiyang Garden’s chef Jack Xiao went on stage March 14 at Macao’s Grand Lisboa hotel to accept the award — and said he had been anxious when the restaurant wasn’t among those announced as having one Michelin star.
“My boss told me we have lost our star and I was very nervous for me and my team,” he said. “Thank you, Michelin, I can sleep tonight.”
In Macao, The Eight has been stripped of one of its three stars, and Sun Tong Lok in Tsim Sha Tsui has gone from two stars to one. Meanwhile, Jardin de Jade in the Sun Hung Kai Centre in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, lost the Michelin star it has held since 2013.
Two Macao restaurants have lost their one-Michelin-star status — the Grand Lisboa’s The Kitchen and Wing Lei Palace at Wynn Palace, which recently changed its name to Lakeview Palace after the departure of chef Tam Kwok-fung.
Tam has since opened Chef Tam’s Seasons — which features a revolving menu that changes every two weeks according to the 24 solar terms — at the resort, and it earns its first Michelin star in the 2024 guide.
Hong Kong restaurant industry stalwarts Caprice and Forum Restaurant kept their coveted Michelin three stars.
The latest Green Star awardee, Feuille, joins Amber, IFTM Educational Restaurant, Roganic and Mora in being recognized for sustainable dining and reducing food waste.
Feuille executive chef Joris Rousseau said the Green Star meant even more than a Michelin star to him, as he feels his efforts to help save the planet are recognized. He thanked his team and the suppliers and farmers he works with to obtain locally sourced produce for the restaurant.
Shinya Goshima at one-Michelin-star Godenya received the Sommelier Award to his own surprise. “I thought this was an award for wine and Godenya only serves sake,” he said on stage.
Godenya is a counter restaurant that serves temperature-controlled sake where what’s on the plate is centered around the sake.
Lydia Yung of The Legacy House received Michelin’s 2024 Service Award
and Choi Ming-fai of Mora the Young Chef Award.
Tumultuous year
The publication of the latest edition of the guide comes after a year in which economic tumult in Hong Kong has left many high-end restaurants scrambling for diners while dealing with a shrinking pool of staff as many residents of the city have moved overseas. Some have closed, including holders of Michelin stars The Araki and Ecriture.
Ecriture’s closure in September 2023 came as a shock given its track record of turning out exquisitely executed French cuisine. Among those most shocked was its head chef, Maxime Gilbert. The restaurant’s assets were auctioned off in a fire sale which included a coveted painting by Korean artist Park Seo-bo.