Michelin star newbies: which Hong Kong and Macau restaurants just made it? Ando, The Araki, Danny Yip’s The Chairman, Yardbird and K11 Musea’s Ye Shanghai all added to prestigious dining guide’s list
Other eateries gaining a star are Man Ho at the JW Marriott, Zuicho and Macau’s Wing Lei Palace, while the Green Star award for sustainable gastronomy went to Roganic in Hong Kong and IFT Educational Restaurant in Macau
Although it has been a tough year for the restaurant industry everywhere, several outstanding restaurants in Hong Kong and Macau gained their first Michelin star on January 27. We look at this year’s locally based new entries to the world-renowned list, and air again our reviews of two of those restaurants when they first opened their doors in Hong Kong.
The Araki
One of the world’s greatest sushi masters, chef Mitsuhiro Araki moved to Hong Kong last year to open The Araki in Tsim Sha Tsui – the only Japanese restaurant in Hong Kong with the master chef present throughout the year. Araki achieved three Michelin stars in his restaurants in Tokyo and London. In Hong Kong, he offers an 18-course omakase menu; Araki and his team prepare dishes in front of diners seated around the 12-seat counter. We enjoyed steamed abalone with shirako, bird’s nest and fish maw; giant grouper liver; Hata and Hokkaido sea urchin, and the chef’s performance of akami, chutoro and otoro tuna. Advance reservations are necessary.
Ando
The restaurant offers two set dinner menus, the seven-course Presentacion and the eight-course Experiencia, both packing exquisite signatures made with the finest ingredients.
Chef Agustin Balbi combines his Argentinian heritage with his experience of living in Japan to produce his new-style cuisine at Ando. The former The Ocean and Haku chef says this time his cuisine is personal – it is about his journey.
There are two set dinner menus, the seven-course Presentacion, (HK$1,288, add HK$1,088 for wine pairing) and the eight-course Experiencia (HK$1,688, add HK$1,288 for wine pairing). We tried some signatures from both menus starting with Like Home – abalone, hanaho menegi, celery and hijiki seaweed. The dish was flavourful as the abalone is simmered for six hours in soy, sake, mirin and dashi, the stock is left to set into a gel, with the celery adding the crunch.
