When Michelin Guide Enters China
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January 14th, 2010 . by admin
This was a short piece I wrote for Angliss’ in-house newsletter a couple weeks back. I thought maybe I’d reproduce it here. Enjoy! And thanks eting for the opportunity.
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When Michelin Guide Enters China
The Michelin Guide Hong Kong Macau 2010 hit the shelves with a lot less fanfare compared to its inaugural launch last year, but the new guide seemed to have made amends for much of the controversies we saw a year ago. This is because:
A) Even more restaurants got awarded stars (heck, more restaurants got mentioned, period.)
B) The Michelin folks are starting to understand how the game is played here
C) Nobody really cares
D) All of the above
Whatever it is, I feel it is only a matter of time before the Guide makes inroads into China and the “success” of the Hong Kong guide helps address the elephant in the room. The question is, how far are the folks at Michelin willing to go in order to capture the China market, while not jeopardizing its core mission and values? Afterall, its pretty easy satisfying 7 million people, but 1.3 billion? (Figuratively speaking of course. The author is fully aware that the target demographic is not nearly as big). But come to think of it, its really nothing to worry about because the answer to this dilemma is called the “simple shop pictogram”.
What we certainly enjoy when we’re exploring China is hunting for great hole-in-wall restaurants and more likely than not, they aren’t exactly star-worthy (or even Bib Gourmand-worthy for that matter). A vast majority of affordable restaurants in China would probably fail the rigorous ambiance and hygiene tests. One exercise we saw the Michelin agents do with the 2010 guide was to beef-up the the number of simple shops; affordable restaurants that deserve notable mentions. Otherwise, fiery will descend on them and all credibility will be lost. The simple shop pictogram in the 2010 Hong Kong and Macau guide saw a 264% (from 11 to 29) increase compared to the first edition.
Expect to see a 1,000-page Michelin Guide China 2015 with 100 pages dedicated to star restaurants and Bib Gourmand suggestions and about 900 pages for “simple shops”. But don’t get me wrong, I respect what Michelin’s doing for Hong Kong and they’re definitely taking positive steps in localizing themselves to cater to our food culture. It’d be interesting to see what other tricks they have up their sleeves for China. Don’t even get me started on a Michelin Guide for India!
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the author do not reflect the opinion of Angliss, Foodtalk, its owner or affiliates.
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March 12, 2010 at 5:25 PM
Thanks Siuyeh for your insightful POV. It’s a great piece, the pleasure was all mine