Bangkok (Thailand) – December 8, 2017 (travelindex.com) – Michelin is pleased to announce the first selection for the Michelin Guide Bangkok, featuring a total of 98 restaurants. This selection highlights how the city integrates international gastronomy without neglecting its own heritage and authentic cuisine, which attracts millions of visitors from around the world.

Michael Ellis, International Director of the Michelin Guides, comments: “We are proud to publish this first Michelin Guide selection dedicated to Bangkok and to highlight the city’s rich gastronomy. Our inspectors were delighted by the vibrant local culinary scene, the countless new restaurants, the amazing variety of wonderful street food, and also Thai cuisine in all its diverse variations.”

Three restaurants in Bangkok were awarded two stars in the 2018 Michelin Guide: Gaggan, where chef and owner Gaggan Anand elevates Indian cuisine to a rarely seen level, giving it a unique touch. His artful dishes are original and creative, with a wonderful blend of textures, flavors, and delicate spices. Le Normandie at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel also received two stars. Opened in 1958, this restaurant offers refined French cuisine based on excellent ingredients, sophisticated techniques, and perfectly balanced combinations of flavors and textures. Mezzaluna, located on the 65th floor of the Lebua Hotel, also received two stars. Here, the chef and his team serve European delicacies with Japanese precision in five- and seven-course menus.

The inaugural Michelin Guide Bangkok awards 14 stars to restaurants, highlighting the quality of the local cuisine. Seven of these restaurants offer Thai cuisine prepared by local chefs. Examples include Chim by Siam Wisdom, where the chef reinterprets traditional Thai recipes, creating dishes that strike a harmonious balance between tradition and modernity, as well as between Thai and international influences; Bo.lan; and Saneh Jaan, a restaurant serving Thai dishes with a mix of classics and rare recipes, such as Kaengranjuan, a spicy soup. Innovative, modern Thai cuisine is also strongly represented in Bangkok, for example at Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin. Here, the chef respects traditional Thai flavors and ingredients, reinterpreting them to create something truly creative and original. Particularly noteworthy is the awarding of a star to a street food stall: Jay Fai. The owner and cook insists on working in her small open kitchen with her self-built charcoal ovens, thus continuing the tradition of her father, who started it 70 years ago: preparing crab omelets, crab curries and dry congee.

International cuisine is also recognized in the Michelin Guide Bangkok 2018. For example, Ginza Sushi ichi, a sushi restaurant whose ingredients are delivered directly from Tokyo's markets every 24 hours, and Sühring, where brothers Mathias and Thomas Sühring present their own unique, modern German cuisine – sometimes playful, sometimes classic, and always prepared with meticulous attention to detail – were both awarded a star. L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, J'AIME by Jean-Michel Lorrain, Elements, and Savelberg also received a star in this initial selection, serving contemporary French cuisine.

This year's selection includes a total of 35 restaurants awarded the Bib Gourmand – a prestigious accolade favored by both chefs and food lovers. It recognizes the favorite restaurants chosen by Michelin inspectors, offering excellent value for money by serving a high-quality menu for a maximum of 1000 THB. On site, the inspectors discovered a wide range of culinary delights: from street food like Baan Yai Phad Thai, one of the best spots for Pad Thai, or Guay Tiew Kua Gai Suanmali, a long-established noodle restaurant with fried chicken, to traditional restaurants serving delicious local Thai cuisine. For example, Jay Oh serves seafood and local dishes in a rustic, casual setting, where long queues form every evening. Also awarded the Bib Gourmand were Baannai, which is located in a beautiful Thai-style wooden house with a lovingly designed garden and serves traditional, delicate Thai dishes, and Soul Food Mahanakorn, which offers modern Thai cuisine.

The impressive variety of street food in Bangkok, one of the most attractive places for visitors from all over the world, is reflected in the selection of 28 street food stalls by the Michelin Guides.

The selection in the Michelin Guide Bangkok 2018 includes: – 3 two-star restaurants – 14 one-star restaurants – 35 Bib Gourmand restaurants

About the Michelin Guide: The Michelin Guide selects the best restaurants and hotels in the 28 countries where it is published. It showcases the world's culinary diversity and highlights the dynamism of a country's gastronomy, as well as new trends and up-and-coming young chefs. Through its annual awards, the Michelin Guide creates added value for restaurants and thus contributes to the prestige of local gastronomy. This makes cities and countries more attractive to tourists. Thanks to its rigorous selection criteria and its long-standing experience in the culinary world, the Michelin Guide offers its customers unparalleled expertise and therefore a first-class service. The various recommendations are available in both print and digital formats. They are accessible via the internet and on a wide range of mobile devices with customized navigation and online booking options. With the Michelin Guide, the group continues to support millions of travelers and enable them to have a unique travel experience.

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