KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — Food lovers, the long wait is almost over.
The highly esteemed Michelin Guide has arrived in Malaysia, with the first edition to cover Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
This means that restaurants in these two cities are eligible to earn coveted Michelin stars for the first time as part of a list that will be revealed in December.
“This upcoming selection will unveil a new page in Asia’s gastronomic prowess, spotlighting the wonders of Malaysian cuisine and the abundance of home-grown culinary talents.
“Our famously anonymous inspectors are already in the field to experience this colourful culinary scene to find the best local gems,” said international director of the Michelin Guide Gwednal Poullennec during a press conference today.
The list will be determined by the company’s international selection criteria, which are the quality of ingredients, the mastery of cooking, the harmony of flavours and the personality of the chef through the cuisine.
Lastly and most importantly, there must be consistency both over time and across the entire menu.
This is to ensure “a star in Kuala Lumpur is worth a star in Paris,” explained Michelin Experiences director of communications Elisabeth Boucher-Anselin.
Poullennec said that the cities of Kuala Lumpur and Penang were selected to represent the uniqueness of Malaysia’s multi-ethnic culture.
“Kuala Lumpur and Penang have their own unique characteristics which benefit a variety of diners locally and abroad,” he added.
With Kuala Lumpur, he emphasised that it is “a city with sizeable venues, independent restaurants and new inspirations for gastronomy”.
As for Penang, he said, “With its strong Peranakan influence, it is a gastronomic hotbed of small-scale restaurants and street food that embodies Malaysia’s distinctive street side dining culture.”
The Michelin Guide, with its trademark red cover, dates to 1900, when its namesake Paris-based tyre company came up with the idea of encouraging budding drivers to take road trips to local attractions in their new-fangled automobiles.
A hallmark of the guide was the inclusion of anonymous European restaurant reviews that focused on its now-famous international selection criteria — a tradition that continues today with Michelin’s roaming band of inspectors who work in secret and must eat at a restaurant multiple times before deciding if it has earned a much-coveted mention.
According to the Michelin rating system, restaurants deemed the best in any given city are awarded between one and three stars, with three being the highest calibre and “worth a special journey” to visit.
Suffice to say, the acquisition or loss of a star or stars has had a dramatic effect on a restaurant’s fortunes, although there has been a trend in recent years of chefs “giving back” their stars on the grounds that they felt burdened or pressured by the accolade.
When it is released in December, the Kuala Lumpur and Penang edition will be the 29th guide that Michelin publishes around the world.
