“Obviously it’s going to be cramped quarters, you’re going to be waiting in line, you’ll rinse your eating utensils with hot tea before you eat.”
Ellis was speaking after Michelin awarded 10 new restaurants with a one-star rating in the fifth edition of its guide for Hong Kong and Macau for 2013, where the cachet of the star continues to carry allure for diners.
Ho Hung Kee, along with dim sum restaurant Tim Ho Wan and Pang’s Kitchen, a new addition to the list, make up “the least expensive, most affordable starred experience” in the world, Ellis said, with dishes for as little as HK$30 to HK$60.
Tim Ho Wan is famous for its steamed dumplings and its barbecue pork bun, all staple dim sum selections, while Pang’s Kitchen serves home-style renditions of Cantonese cuisine with specialties including baked fish intestines in a clay pot and seasonal snake soup.
However, the guide is not without its critics, who question whether the most deserving eateries have been recognised or if the food quality of Hong Kong’s cheaper restaurants can compare to ones in Europe despite the price difference.
“I’ve eaten at the one-star Benoit in Paris, and it’s on another level, in terms of quality of food, service and ambience, to Tim Ho Wan,” wrote the South China Morning Post’s food and wine editor, Susan Jung, soon after the 2013 guide was launched in December.
The Michelin guide has for more than a century recommended restaurants throughout Europe and now covers 23 countries across three continents.
It gives one star for “a very good restaurant in its category”, two for “excellent cooking, worth a detour”, and the top three stars for “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey”. Hong Kong has four three-star restaurants.
“After our restaurant got one Michelin star, we have seen a lot more people come in, not just people from Southeast Asia, but people from Europe and the US have also increased,” Patty Ho said.
Ho Hung Kee has braved the city’s notoriously high rents to open a second branch in a gleaming shopping mall to handle the influx of customers who discovered the restaurant through the guidebook. The new branch offers a wider selection but at the same price range.
“We hope that by increasing the selection, customers will spend more,” she said.