Thailand reaches for the stars with new Michelin Guide

[webfact]

Thailand reaches for the stars with new Michelin Guide

REUTERS

 

Men work at a street food restaurant in central Bangkok March 2, 2013. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Dimensions800 x 533

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand will be the latest country to have a Michelin Guide, its state tourism agency said on Monday, taking its place on the culinary world map just days after authorities announced they would shut down Bangkok's vibrant street food scene.

 

The dining publication was introduced by the French Michelin tire company in 1900 to encourage people to take road trips. Its star system began in the 1920s.

 

The guide to hotels and restaurants, which will be released in Thai and English, will be the company's sixth in Asia. It has guides for China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore.

 

The news comes days after authorities in Bangkok said they would banish some of its world-famous street food vendors as part of a clean-up drive by the military government, outraging foodies and threatening the livelihoods of the city's road-side cooks.

 

The guide could end up featuring some of Bangkok's street food. In 2016, Singapore made history when two modest food stalls – one serving chicken rice and the other pork noodles – were among dining venues featured in the Singapore guide.

 

"Bangkok is one of the world's culinary capitals," Lionel Dantiacq, president and managing director of Michelin East-Asia Oceania at Michelin, said in a statement.

 

As well as its famous street food, the Thai capital is home to a burgeoning fine dining scene, attracting an increasing number of world-class chefs.

 

"The guide will also inspire local restaurants to improve their quality and raise the bar in terms of gastronomic excellence," said Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

 

This year Gaggan, an innovative Indian restaurant in Bangkok, nabbed the top spot for the third year running at the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards sponsored by S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna.

 

(Reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Robert Birsel)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-04-25

[lazygourmet]

And Michelin reaches for TAT dollars! 

[marko kok prong]

Tat will be in meltdown mode.

[clockman]

Yes a third world country, charging first world prices! Delusional.

[champers]

This is very much for the elite restaurants and their high end customers. Plenty of contenders in Bkk and beyond. Like in Singapore a couple of lower end places will probably rack up a star.

[dinsdale]

Braking news: Michelin Street Food Guide. 

[DrTuner]

Will be interesting to see if any of the restaurants will be Thai managed.

[champers]

7 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Braking news: Michelin Street Food Guide. 

That's a tyred old joke.

[dinsdale]

3 minutes ago, champers said:

That's a tyred old joke.

nice one.

[Sphere]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

...to encourage people to take road trips...

Adventure in 3D.....Drive...Dine...Die....

[johninbkk71]

1 hour ago, DrTuner said:

Will be interesting to see if any of the restaurants will be Thai managed.

True.

One of Thailand's top places is Gaggan an Indian restaurant run by an Indian head chef and not many Thais in the kitchen. The same with Nahm a Thai place run by an Australian. Food in this country will always be third world till a respect for ingredients and an understanding of flavors develops. 

Try traditional Thai food that was here before Europeans brought chili or the Japanese (?) with the evil MSG, then the foods pretty good.