Singapore 0 Hong Kong 6 in three-Michelin-star restaurants league
If it was a soccer game, you’d call it a thrashing: Singapore restaurant trade loses badly to Hong Kong’s, with 2018 Michelin Guides awarding its top, three-star rating to six Hong Kong establishments but none in Lion City
In the perennial battle between Hong Kong and Singapore as to which city is the best, the Lion City just got trounced 6-0 going by the Michelin Guide’s latest ratings.
On Wednesday evening, when the 2018 Michelin Guide Singapore was unveiled, Singapore’s restaurant industry was shocked to find no establishment had earned a three-star ranking this year. In contrast, six Hong Kong restaurants were awarded three Michelin stars in the 2018 Michelin Guide Hong Kong & Macau.
For Singapore’s restaurants, no three-star Michelin ratings
The standard of a city’s cuisine goes a long way to determining the esteem in which it is held internationally, and this year’s results put Hong Kong in the Champions League of food, while Singapore is struggling to even score.
Not that Singapore had a great record at the highest level to start with. French chef Joël Robuchon’s self-titled restaurant, which closed last month, had been the city state’s only three-Michelin-star restaurant.
Of course, it wasn’t all bad news for Singapore’s high-end restaurant trade. At the Michelin Guide Singapore’ unveiling at Resorts World Sentosa, five restaurants earned their first Michelin star, and five others retained their two-star ratings.
Not bad, then, but nothing in comparison to Hong Kong’s best. In this year’s Michelin Guide, Bo Innovation, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Lung King Heen, 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana, Sushi Shikon, and Tang Court retained their three stars, while Amber, Pierre, Caprice, Ryu Gin, Shang Palace, and Tin Lung Heen kept their two-star ratings.