The rate of improvement in Macau’s restaurant scene does not match the rate of growth in its economy according to the Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau 2011, published last month.
As in the previous edition, Robuchon a Galera at the Hotel Lisboa is the only Macau restaurant in the top, three-star category. Macau still has nine starred restaurants and The Eight and Tim’s Kitchen, both at the Lisboa hotels complex, added a second star in this year’s edition.
There was just one new name among the starred establishments: Il Teatro at Wynn Macau, which won its first star. Tung Yeen Heen, however, lost its lone star. The 2011 guide, like the previous year’s, mentions 38 of the city’s restaurants. Seven are new to the guide and seven others have been dropped.
The variety of cuisines mentioned has contracted, with 14 global flavours represented instead of 16. Macau’s Thai and Mediterranean cooking no longer make the grade.
As in previous editions, no Portuguese or Macanese restaurants have stars, although the guide recommends five Portuguese restaurants and one Macanese. The new guide also includes 14 local hotels, the same hotels listed in 2010’s guide.

Local flavour
To ensure consistency, Michelin’s undercover inspectors use five criteria in awarding stars: product quality, preparation and flavours, the cuisine’s personality, value for money, and consistency over time and across the menu.
“These criteria are appropriate for all types of cooking, including Chinese (for example, noodles, dim sum, Cantonese dishes),” Michelin says. However, the guide’s choices among Chinese restaurants have faced strong criticism since its first edition, published in 2008.
Macau and Hong Kong together have four, three-star restaurants. Sun Tung Lok becomes Hong Kong’s third, top-ranked eatery, its reputation for serving shark’s fin soup notwithstanding. A dozen establishments have two stars, three are in Macau, and 53 have one star, five of which are in Macau.
In an attempt to include more local flavour, the guide takes into account more Chinese dishes than before, such as Cantonese roast meat, dumplings and congee. Almost 70 percent of the restaurants reviewed offer Chinese cuisine such as Shanghainese, Pekingese, Sichuan, Cantonese and Chiu Chow food.
The new edition retains 50 Bib Gourmand restaurants that the Michelin inspectors think are good value for money, with a full three-course meal costing MOP300 or less. There are five in Macau.
While Michelin guides are known for giving out stars, restaurants with one or more stars make up just 10 percent of those reviewed. More than one million copies of the guides are sold every year around the world.