Michelin Guide Debuts In Singapore With Only One Three-Star Restaurant

Never had spicy chili crab swimming in flavorful sauce or smothered stingray? Clearly you've never been to Singapore. Now the Michelin Guide has. Michelin just released its first-ever guide to Singapore, complete with dozens of restaurants and street eats.Twenty-two restaurants were awarded one star, six restaurants received two, and only one restaurant was awarded the coveted three-star Michelin review: Joël Robuchon Restaurant, a celebrity chef-owned resort restaurant in Sentosa.

"Michelin is a food authority," Tetsuya Wakuda, the Japanese chef who owns the one-Michelin-starred Waku Ghin at Singapore's Marina Bay Sands, told CNN. "Its launch in Singapore gives the city – and its restaurants – due recognition as a food city. It's no longer just a transit city, there are reasons to stay and eat."

Although the new guide created a certain amount of buzz inside Singapore's culinary community, the recognition also has its detractors who worry that local chefs will be snubbed and overlooked for more grandiose options. One chef pointed out that four restaurants located inside Sentosa resorts walked away with stars; Sentosa is a sponsor of the Michelin Guide.