A Must-Try: 7 Affordable Michelin Star restaurants in Asia you must visit

Sarah Khan 28 Sep 2016 updated the 29 September 2016 à 18:17

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Lei Garden, Hong Kong
Lei Garden is the place to go to for an exquisite Yum Cha experience - a Chinese-style brunch and tea affair that involves sipping Chinese Tea and eating dim sum. Its dishes average between HK$28-60 (approximately SGD6-10), which calls for a gastronomic feast without having to foot a hefty bill.
Should you want to pay Lei Garden a visit, there are various outlets across Hong Kong and each of the outlets has been awarded a single Michelin Star, a testimony to its consistency and quality.
Lei Garden (Mong Kok): 111-127 Sai Yee St, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
Photo: Lei Garden Facebook
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Kam’s Roast Goose, Hong Kong
Kam’s is definitely the go-to spot in Hong Kong for delicously tender duck that is cooked to perfection with a crispy, caramel-brown skin and at very reasonable prices too.
What to try? Consider their Roast Duck Lai Fun (Lai Fun is type of Chinese noodle), that is a glorious blend of scrumptious crispy duck meat and warm noodle soup. The best bit? This Michelin Star-approved meal is only HK$55 (SGD9.50). Prices range from HK$50 to HK$150 (SGD8.60 to SGD26).
Po Wah Commercial Centre, 226 Hennessy Rd, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Photo: Kam’s Roast Goose
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Golden Peacock, Macau
The one-starred Golden Peacock in Venetian Macao serves delectable, gourmet interpretations of authentic Indian cuisine, such as its Tandoori Salmon Tikka (pictured on the left). Headed by a chef from Kerala, the restaurant’s ambience and decor is as striking as its food is delectable.
Known to be slightly spicy, most of the dishes on its menu range between 85 MOP (SGD14.50) to 120 MOP (SGD20), with some items that cost more. Since India has yet to have its own Michelin guide, we're glad this restaurant has made the list. We had to include this one because Asian food not just solely dim sums and ramen!
Estrada da Baía de N. Senhora da Esperança, s/n, Taipa, Ilhas, Macau

Photo: The Venetian Macao Facebook
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Tim Ho Wan, Hong Kong
Fun fact: Did you know that dim sum translates to ’touch your heart’?
Tim Ho Wan is the tried and trusted favourite spot for great, affordably-priced dim sums in Hong Kong. Conferred with one Michelin Star, Tim Ho Wan was formerly known as the world’s cheapest Michelin star restaurant (before Singapore’s hawker stalls took that spot.)
Tim Ho Wan’s signature Baked Bun with BBQ Pork dish costs only HK$16 (SGD2.80 SGD) for three exquisitely soft, sweet puffs, with other dishes ranging at similar prices. Tim Ho Wan’s irreplicable flavours and prices are truly a testimony that great food does not always have to mean astronomical prices.
Tim Ho Wan (Sham Shui Po): 9 Fuk Wing St, Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong
Photo: Tim Ho Wan Facebook
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Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle, Singapore
Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle’s most popular claim to fame is probably the fact that it is the first hawker to have been awarded a Michelin Star, and that its award-winning Michelin dish costs only SGD2. Yes, just SGD2.
Long lines are not uncommon at this humble establishment (even prior to getting the Michelin Star) and a taste of its scrumptiously-prepaed chicken rice and noodles dish speaks volumes as to why. The rice is not overly greasy and is cooked with a delicious, authentic Cantonese flavour, while its soya sauce chicken is juicy and nicely caramelised and (though it doesn’t need it) comes with an equally tasty chilli sauce.
335 Smith St, #02-125, Chinatown Food Complex, Singapore 050335
Photo: Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle Facebook
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Tai Hwa Pork Noodle, Singapore
Locally raved in Singapore as one of the best places for Teo Chew-style Bak Chor Mee, Tai Hwa Pork Noodle is the other hawker stall to be awarded a Michelin Star in the Michelin Singapore guide this year.
Its award-winning dish: slightly firm, al dente Chinese noodles tossed in a savoury vinegar sauce, paired with tender pork and liver slices, minced pork, dumplings, and fried sole fish at just SGD5 for a regular bowl. Each bite is flavoursome, and thankfully, its owners have stated they will not be hiking up the prices anytime soon.
466 Crawford Ln #01-12, 190465
Photo: Tai Hwa Pork Noodle
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Japanese Soba Noodles Tsuta, Japan
Japanese Soba Noodles Tsuta is the place to go to for a top-notch ramen experience (its prices are just an added bonus). A 9-seater eatery in Tokyo’s Sugamo district, it was the first ever and only ramen shop to be awarded a Michelin Star in 2015.
The shop’s 37-year-old owner and chef Yuki Onishi is so dedicated to his brand of ramen that he is constantly sourcing new flavours and ingredients first-hand. His passion for his craft is evident in every delectable bite of his ramen. Tsuta’s trademark dish is the ‘Shoyu Soba’, soy sauce ramen - thin stone noodles in a chicken, soy sauce and seafood broth, topped with a slice of pork and their signature black truffle oil, all culminating in an intense umami experience.
All of Tsuta’s orders are processed in a vending machine ticketing style. Good news for Singaporeans keen on trying this Michelin-approved ramen: Tsuta will be opening its first overseas branch in Singapore this October.
Address: 1-14-1 Sugamo, Toshima ward, Tokyo
Photo: Japanese Soba Noodles Tsuta Facebook

Michelin-starred food at hawker prices? Sign us up!

Affordable restaurants serving great food are plentiful these days. But affordable Michelin Star restaurants (we’re talking SGD10, tops)? That’s where it gets interesting.

In July this year, the first ever Michelin Singapore Guide was released, marking Singapore as the 4th country in Asia with a Michelin Guide and the only Southeast Asian Michelin Guide. Only four countries within Asia so far have been awarded the Michelin Guide – Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, and most recently, Singapore. The inaugural Singaporean guide celebrated a few world-firsts, with Peranakan and Australian restaurants being recognised for the first time.

While commonly associated with expensive, fine-dining fare, the recent awarding of Stars to affordably priced eateries has now truly re-branded the Michelin Guide as a more inclusive restaurant guide. And about time too. Exquisite, fragrant flavours and generations-passed culinary techniques can be found nestled in the most humble of eateries – like the locally-adored chicken rice from the Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle hawker stall in Singapore. At just SGD2 a plate, it is officially the world’s most affordable Michelin Star meal. Great food minus the hefty price tag? Always a win in our books.

We have compiled a list of the 7 most affordable Michelin Star restaurants in Asia to try for your next travels within Singapore and the region. If you’re planning a trip to any of these places soon, be sure to check out these restaurants. We’re confident your tastebuds will thank you.

Sarah Khan

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