Stars Aplenty

Top chefs from around the world came together yesterday to celebrate the release of the new Michelin Tokyo guide, which awarded more stars to this city than any other. This is the first Michelin guide of an Asian city, after only having stepped outside of Europe in 2005.

An undercover team of five inspectors compiled the guide after a year of research, visiting and critiquing hundreds of restaurants across Tokyo: from hole-in-the-wall eateries to fine dining establishments.

Critics were skeptical that Europeans would be able to appreciate all elements of Japanese cuisine, however the results suggest otherwise. Sixty percent of star-awarded restaurants served Japanese cuisine, with the remainder based on Italian, French, Spanish and Chinese cuisines.

Eight restaurants were honored with the sought-after three-star rating which Michelin guides reserve for restaurants of “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey”. Further twenty-five restaurants were awarded two stars and 117 venues achieved a one star rating.

Source: Reuters