Friday, February 24, 2012

A Guide to the Top 5 Michelin Starred Cities Around the World ...

Food lovers like to travel and when they do, they look for restaurants that have been highly recommended. Combining these two passions, dining and travel, is the Michelin Guide to restaurants. The Michelin Guide helps travellers around the world with recommendations for local restaurants and provides reviews for many eateries around the world.

Below, TravelSupermarket.com looks at the cities around the world with the most Michelin starred restaurants:

1 ? Kyoto, Japan

The most Michelin starred city in the world is Kyoto, Japan. Kyoto's Michelin Guide takes in surrounding towns such as Osaka, Kobe and Nara. The region itself is known as the Kansai region and it is famous for its haute cuisine and quality. Kyoto and its surrounding towns have fifteen three-star restaurants in total, which is the most in any city around the world.

With 61 two-star and 224 one-star restaurants in the 2012 guide, Kyoto prides itself on the quality of its food. Those hoping to dine at one of these fantastic restaurants should be sure to book in advance as the two and three Michelin starred restaurants can get extremely busy.

In Kyoto itself, seven restaurants have the coveted three-star rating. All of these restaurants serve traditional Japanese food.

One of those restaurants is Chihana, a family-run business, set up in 1946 by Motoo Nagata. The traditional Japanese cuisine has now been fused with other flavours and textures to freshen up the menu. Head chef Katsuyoshi Nagata is the eldest son of the original Head Chef, who passed away in 2006. He intends to keep up his father's tradition to cook well-known and interesting dishes for his customers. Although reasonably expensive, the meals are worth the money paid.

2 ? Tokyo, Japan

Secondly, travel across Japan to its capital, Tokyo. Until recently, Tokyo had the most Michelin stars in any city. Unsurprisingly, there is a huge rivalry between the cultural centres of Kyoto and Tokyo in terms of culinary expertise and quality. The new Tokyo guide, yet to be published, is to include the Shonan region and it is thought that this may tip the title of top city back to Tokyo. With fourteen three-star restaurants, 54 two-star restaurants and 198 one-star restaurants in its 2011 guide, it is clear that Tokyo takes its food very seriously.

In Tokyo, the majority of the three-star restaurants serve Japanese food. However, there are a few who have surprising Western European influences within their restaurant concepts.

The Head Chef at Quintessence, Chef Kishida, trained in France and consequently, has brought an almost fusion-like technique to his restaurant, mixing Japanese presentation with French cuisine and flavours. His restaurant is famous for using a very slow roasting process to bring out more succulent flavours. This is a technique he used when working in three-starred restaurant "L'Astrance" in Paris, France. He offers a carte blanche menu at lunch time and prices throughout the day and evening are very reasonable and affordable to all budgets.

3 ? Paris, France

When considering the traditional home of the Michelin guide, France, we look to its capital, Paris, for culinary inspiration. Paris was the traditional home to the title of top city in terms of stars. Paris holds nine three-star, 17 two-star and 71 one-star restaurants, most of which serve traditional French haute cuisine.

The Guy Savoy, a stroll away from the Rue de l'Arc de Triomphe, is one of the nine three-star restaurants and describes itself as Haute Cuisine. Its menu is available on its website in both English and French and portrays a restaurant with a clear French vision. It shows food of incredible quality which is reflected in the cost of dining there.

A stone's throw from the River Seine is the restaurant Alain Ducasse au Plaza Ath?n?e. It offers quality service and food and its concept is to provide traditional French cooking to a Parisian culture, using art and history as its basis. With striking decor, the restaurant prides itself on its presentation of food and of the dining room. They also guarantee the French origin of all meat cooked.

4 ? London, England

Across the English Channel, the London 2012 guide has four three-star restaurants, some of which have been backed in some form by one of England's celebrity chefs. Heston Blumenthal heads up the Fat Duck, which is situated not far from Windsor Castle. He is an experimental chef famed for his use of unusual ingredients. For a culinary experience like no other, allow up to four hours for the tasting menu at the Fat Duck, costing in the region of ?180. Although expensive, it allows you to try many different recipes in a tapas-style manner, with dishes such as venison and foie gras on the menu.

In total, those staying in London will have the choice of four three-star, seven two-star and 43 one-star restaurants, each with an individual style and concept and many of which are affordable to many budgets.

Another restaurant worthy of mention is Gordon Ramsay's restaurant in Chelsea, another borough of London. Although it is rare to see Gordon there with his various projects in the States, he has appointed a capable Head Chef in Clare Smyth, the only female head chef to hold three stars in the whole of the UK. From set lunch menus to?? la carte dining, food is available at an extremely high quality for low prices. The lunch menu provides three courses for ?45, which is well worth the value. Being Gordon's first restaurant, the Gordon Ramsay is the jewel in his crown having provided the base for his empire to grow.

5 ? New York, USA

Finally, we go to New York which has seven three-star, nine two-star and 46 one-star restaurants. These range from pubs and gastros to fine dining establishments. There is a wide cross section of tastes catered for within the Michelin range in New York and most of them are worth a special trip to dine at.

Labelling itself as a multi-cuisine restaurant, with dishes to suit all tastes, Jean Georges in New York prides itself on its variety. It offers a three course meal for under $100 and uses ingredients such as liquorice, sweetbreads, rabbit, chicken, caviar and turbot. Jean Georges also runs the Spice Market, another successful restaurant in New York.

A further three-star restaurant in New York and equally as successful is Per Se. Thomas Keller heads up a superb team of chefs and is the only American-born chef to receive multiple three-star ratings as of the 2011 guide.

Image Credit: pictureTYO/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Jon Quinton works for Wish.co.uk who provide a selection of experience days, spa days and other unique gifts. If you?re looking for something to spice your life up, take a look to see what they have on offer.

Copyright ? 2012 Jon Quinton. Used with Permission.

Source: http://www.americandailyherald.com/201202231317/travel-leisure/a-guide-to-the-top-5-michelin-starred-cities-around-the-world

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