Miele Guide
Encyclopedia
The Miele Guide is a regional guide book
to restaurants in Asia. The 2008/2009 edition which was published at the end of October 2008, launched the first in an annual series, which ranked and showcased the top 20 restaurants in Asia, as well as categorised restaurants according to the city and country they are in. It is published by Singapore
-based Ate Media, and officially sponsored by the German
home appliance
maker Miele
. Other official partners include TIME Magazine, Visa Inc. and Hyatt
Hotels. The guide does not accept advertising and none of the official partners have any influence on the multi-round judging process.
ger behind popular Singapore
food blog
Chubbyhubby.net http://www.chubbyhubby.net. As early as 2006, the blog
featured entries discussing the lack of recognition for restaurants in Asia http://www.chubbyhubby.net/2006_06_01_hungryhungryhungry_archive.html in international listings and rankings such as Restaurant Magazine's annual Top 50 list Restaurant (magazine) Top 50
. A predecessor of the Miele Guide was probably Koh's early efforts to compile an alternative list of Asia's best restaurants through online polling on his website .
n countries evaluated by the Miele Guide in the first edition are: Brunei
,
Cambodia
, China
(including Hong Kong
and Macau
), India
, Indonesia
, Japan
, Korea
, Laos
, Malaysia, Myanmar
, Philippines
, Singapore
, Sri Lanka
, Taiwan
, Thailand
and Vietnam
.
Judges are not paid for their efforts.
2009/10: L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Hong Kong.
2010/11: Iggy's, Singapore.
Guide book
A guide book is a book for tourists or travelers that provides details about a geographic location, tourist destination, or itinerary. It is the written equivalent of a tour guide...
to restaurants in Asia. The 2008/2009 edition which was published at the end of October 2008, launched the first in an annual series, which ranked and showcased the top 20 restaurants in Asia, as well as categorised restaurants according to the city and country they are in. It is published by Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
-based Ate Media, and officially sponsored by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
home appliance
Home appliance
Home appliances are electrical/mechanical machines which accomplish some household functions, such as cooking or cleaning. Home appliances can be classified into:*Major appliances, or White goods*Small appliances, or Brown goods...
maker Miele
Miele
Miele is a manufacturer of high-end domestic appliances, commercial equipment and fitted kitchens, based in Gütersloh, Germany. Miele has always been a family-owned and -run company, founded in 1899 by Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann.-History:...
. Other official partners include TIME Magazine, Visa Inc. and Hyatt
Hyatt
Hyatt Hotels Corporation , is an international operator of hotels.Hyatt Center is the headquarters for Hyatt corporation...
Hotels. The guide does not accept advertising and none of the official partners have any influence on the multi-round judging process.
History
The Miele Guide is the brainchild of Singaporeans Aun Koh and Tan Su-Lyn, created out of what they perceive to be the lack of an authoritative reference to restaurants in Asia . Aun Koh is the director of Ate Media and also the noted blogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger behind popular Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
food blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
Chubbyhubby.net http://www.chubbyhubby.net. As early as 2006, the blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
featured entries discussing the lack of recognition for restaurants in Asia http://www.chubbyhubby.net/2006_06_01_hungryhungryhungry_archive.html in international listings and rankings such as Restaurant Magazine's annual Top 50 list Restaurant (magazine) Top 50
Restaurant (magazine) Top 50
The S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants is produced by British magazine Restaurant based on a poll of international chefs, restaurateurs, gourmands and restaurant critics. In addition to the main ranking, the Chef's Choice list is based on votes from the fifty head chefs from the restaurants...
. A predecessor of the Miele Guide was probably Koh's early efforts to compile an alternative list of Asia's best restaurants through online polling on his website .
Geographical Coverage
The first printed edition of the Miele Guide was published at the end of October 2008 . The 16 AsiaAsia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n countries evaluated by the Miele Guide in the first edition are: Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
(including Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
), India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Malaysia, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
Judging Process
Each year's list of restaurants to be featured in the printed edition of the Miele Guide was compiled through four rigorous rounds of judging. In the initial round, the publishers worked with respected food critics at top magazines and newspapers across Asia, called the "shortlisting jury" to create a shortlist of restaurants for all the countries to be surveyed. In the second round, voting opens to the public on the website http://www.mieleguide.com. In the third round, a special jury of more than 2000 food lovers and food and wine professionals cast their votes in a closed round of voting. In the final round, the Miele Guide's team, together with contributing editors across Asia, verify the results by dining anonymously and independently, before the final list of restaurants is compiled.Judges are not paid for their efforts.
Top 20 List
A key feature of the printed edition of the Miele Guide is the Top 20 restaurants in Asia list. The restaurants that emerge in the top 20 from the combined rounds of judging are featured and profiled in-depth. The top 20 restaurants are listed with a detailed description on the Guide's website.Top Restaurant List
2008/09: Iggy's, Singapore.2009/10: L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Hong Kong.
2010/11: Iggy's, Singapore.