Miele has just published its list of top Asian restaurants for 2009/2010. Porco disagrees with some of the rankings but more of that later – hot off the press, Bloomberg’s food critic made an interesting comment on the paucity of Asian restuarants in that list.
For the most part, I agree with what Richard Vines has to say but you’d also have to admit Asian restaurants are great for food and flavour but not so hot on presentation and ambience. The best Chinese meal I’ve had in the last few months was at Made in China in Beijing but by the end of the meal, the table looked like a war zone complete with body parts strewn on the lazy susan. The other problem with Asian restaurants is the quality of the serving staff – too often you get moonlighting students or illegal immigrants who have no idea what you are eating or even if you are getting the correct order. Which is why, for Porco, the most impressive thing about Iggy’s is the service - unobtrusive, understated and unbelieveably professional.
Turning to the list, a couple of things don’t make sense. The two Robuchon L’Ateliers which top and tail the best 20 are, for me, very much the same if not identical. The differences could only be down to one of them having a bad day when the judges visited. For my money, I would put Robuchon a Galera in Macau in first place – classic plates, full-sized and incredible value. Plus a wine list that would put most telephone directories to shame. I would also argue if you walked into Yung Kee, you would be hard pressed to justify its lofty status on the list. You’d get a better meal at T’ang Court at the Langham.
I am a huge fan of Zanotti in Bangkok and think it deserves a place at least six rungs higher. Then there are the omissions. I think Nicolas Joanny and his eponymous establishment deserves a mention as does the black pepper crab at Eng Seng. Time to make more than tweaks at Miele where the worthies have fallen in that age old trap of thinking tradition, astronomical prices as well as white table cloths equals quality, innovation and good eating. In case you’re wondering … miele means honey in Italian.
