23 Restaurants Receive Michelin Stars in First-Ever BJ Guide

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The first-ever Beijing Michelin Guide has just been released this morning, and altogether 23 Beijing restaurants and venues were awarded stars, with a further 62 getting a nod in the newly introduced L'Assiette Michelin, or Michelin Plate award. The list is not without some upsets (more on those below), but first, here's the full list of starred restaurants:

Three Michelin stars

• Xin Rong Ji (Xinyuan South Road) 新荣记 (新源南路）

The 'signature' fish casserole from Xin Rong Ji

Two Michelin stars

• King's Joy 京兆尹

• Wulixiang Shanghai Cuisine 屋里厢

Upscale vegetarian restaurant King's Joy (also pictured at top) was awarded two stars

One Michelin star

• Cai Yi Xuan 采逸轩

• Cui Hua Lou 萃华楼

• Da Dong (Gongti East Road) 大董 (工体东路)

• Da Dong (Dongsi Shitiao) 大董 (东四十条)

• Family Li Imperial Cuisine (Xisheng) 厉家菜 (西城）

• Fu Chun Ju 富春居 

• Huaiyang Fu 淮扬府

• Il Ristorante - Niko Romito

• In Love (Gongti East Road) 湘爱 (工体东路)

• Jing Yaa Tang 京雅堂

• Lao Ji Tang 老吉堂

• Lei Garden (Jinbao Tower) 丽苑 (金宝大厦）

• Mio 

• Poetry.Wine 拾久

• Seventh Son 家全七福

• Sheng Yong Xing 晟永兴 (朝阳）

• The Beijing Kitchen 北京厨房

• The Georg 

• Xin Rong Ji (Jianguomenwai Dajie) 新荣记 (建国门外大街）

• Xin Rong Ji (Jinrong Lu) 新荣记 (金融大街）

European restaurant The Georg earned one star thanks to their "superb ingredients"

Now, the surprises: TRB Hutong, which was recently voted first in the world in the TripAdvisor's 2019 Travelers' Choice Restaurant Awards failed to win a star, and was only awarded a Michelin Plate, alongside Li Jia Cai, which some insiders described as "a 25-year-old tourist ripoff." The new category indicates that the restaurant has quality food, but hasn't quite won the honor of a star. According to Michelin, the food at these restaurants is notable and the inspectors enjoyed the experience. 

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Our dining expert Robynne Tindall also notes another big surprise in the inclusion of quality, low-key restaurant Wu Li Xiang, which is renowned for its Shanghaiese cuisine. Michelin has also oddly recognized it officially as being called "Shanghai Cuisine."

As we predicted, Peking duck restaurants have been duly recognized, with Sheng Yong Xing (Chaoyang), Da Dong (Gongtixilu) and Da Dong (Dongsishitiao) all receiving one Michelin star and while the focus has certainly been on Chinese cuisine, European restaurants have also been recognized, with Il Ristorante - Niko Romito (Bulgari Hotel), Mio (Four Seasons), and The Georg all winning one star each.

It's not clear exactly how the Michelin Plate category compares to the Bib Gourmand list, which designates restaurants that offer "good quality, good value," (the restaurants that made the cut for that list were announced on Nov 19, read the full list of Beijing Bib Gourmand restaurants here) but it's said that Michelin Plate winners "might be on the brink of the next award" so it could serve as a useful indicator of which restaurants will earn a coveted star in future editions.

Images: The Michelin Guide, Xin Rong Jie, King's Joy, The Georg

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