The French take great pride in preparing their food for true diners, real connoiseurs whho truly know how to appreciate good food. This is why chefs around the world oovet the well-known Michelin star awards.
When you talk about 'star's ratings' most would immediately think of a scale from 1 to 5 stars. No, doesn't apply to the Michelin stars rating. The 5-star rating in hotels have long been messed up by Asian hoteliers, whereby some go to the extent of branding their very onw 6- or 7-star. Upon breaching the 5-star limit, anyone in the hotel business could slap just about any number of stars they so desire, in order to outdo competitors' rankings. Well, whether or not the stars are justified, it is not the concern of money-minded hoteliers.
Fortunately for the Michelin status, restaurants can go only as high as 3-star. Yes only 3, and it has always been so in the history of Michelin listed restaurants.
The same cannot be said for restaurants in the Asian region. Not so recent ago, a consortium of Japanese restaurateurs went on a mission to rate Japanese restaurants operating in countries other than in Japan.
The motive was to ensure that those restaurants served food that matched the quality stipulated by strict standards. It was also a long shot to identify those who abused the Japanese cusine for a fast buck, and to deny them the status of an authentic Japanese restaurant.
I have to agree that, without proper monitoring, independent restaurants who pretend to be Japanese by just adopting a Japanese signboard, could one day tarnish the reputation of other authentic Japanese restaurants. Given the rampant 'low-quality' food preparation practices in the Malaysian food/beverage industry, it does not come as a surprise that many such restaurants are, in fact, serving cheap food and charging premium prices in the guise of a foreign {Japanese/ Korean} signboard.
To me, this should not even be an issue. When a Malaysian travels to Japan or Korea, he would not want to taste the Malaysian nasi lemak or roti canai in Seoul/ Tokyo any more than he would do in Kuala Lumpur. I would never believe that the nasi lemak there can match even 50% the quality of same back home,
By the same tone, Japanese or Korean (or Western or French) food in Malaysia can be considered 'crap' if compared to the authentic ones in their nativeland.
So, does eating a sushi in Malaysia ever get one so close to the notion of 'tasting Japanese food' ?
This brings me to an experience I had with a group of colleagues in London some 15 years ago. One of them supposedly to be our team leader, took us on an eating spree of 'HongKong dimsum'. Why would one want to taste 'HongKong food' in London, I never get to know.
I just kept wondering, how does Japanese tourists react to Japanese food in Malaysia? Or how does a Malaysian react to Malaysian food in Japan, for that matter?
When you talk about 'star's ratings' most would immediately think of a scale from 1 to 5 stars. No, doesn't apply to the Michelin stars rating. The 5-star rating in hotels have long been messed up by Asian hoteliers, whereby some go to the extent of branding their very onw 6- or 7-star. Upon breaching the 5-star limit, anyone in the hotel business could slap just about any number of stars they so desire, in order to outdo competitors' rankings. Well, whether or not the stars are justified, it is not the concern of money-minded hoteliers.
Fortunately for the Michelin status, restaurants can go only as high as 3-star. Yes only 3, and it has always been so in the history of Michelin listed restaurants.
The same cannot be said for restaurants in the Asian region. Not so recent ago, a consortium of Japanese restaurateurs went on a mission to rate Japanese restaurants operating in countries other than in Japan.
The motive was to ensure that those restaurants served food that matched the quality stipulated by strict standards. It was also a long shot to identify those who abused the Japanese cusine for a fast buck, and to deny them the status of an authentic Japanese restaurant.
I have to agree that, without proper monitoring, independent restaurants who pretend to be Japanese by just adopting a Japanese signboard, could one day tarnish the reputation of other authentic Japanese restaurants. Given the rampant 'low-quality' food preparation practices in the Malaysian food/beverage industry, it does not come as a surprise that many such restaurants are, in fact, serving cheap food and charging premium prices in the guise of a foreign {Japanese/ Korean} signboard.
To me, this should not even be an issue. When a Malaysian travels to Japan or Korea, he would not want to taste the Malaysian nasi lemak or roti canai in Seoul/ Tokyo any more than he would do in Kuala Lumpur. I would never believe that the nasi lemak there can match even 50% the quality of same back home,
By the same tone, Japanese or Korean (or Western or French) food in Malaysia can be considered 'crap' if compared to the authentic ones in their nativeland.
So, does eating a sushi in Malaysia ever get one so close to the notion of 'tasting Japanese food' ?
This brings me to an experience I had with a group of colleagues in London some 15 years ago. One of them supposedly to be our team leader, took us on an eating spree of 'HongKong dimsum'. Why would one want to taste 'HongKong food' in London, I never get to know.
I just kept wondering, how does Japanese tourists react to Japanese food in Malaysia? Or how does a Malaysian react to Malaysian food in Japan, for that matter?
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