Michelin stars Shanghai

Shanghai's restaurants have been full to bursting throughout the National Day holiday after the Michelin Guide awarded 26 restaurants its coveted stars.

Shanghai is the first city on the Chinese mainland to have Michelin starred restaurants.

T'ang Court, a Cantonese restaurant at the Langham Hotel, the only restaurant to be awarded three stars, has been fully booked for lunch and dinner over the past five days, and reservations have been made until November, according to the head of the restaurant.

YiLong Court at the Peninsula Shanghai, one of the seven two-star restaurants, is also busier than ever.

"Quite a number of customers have come to eat here after hearing about our Michelin stars," said a waiter at YiLong Court.

At Canton 8, one of the world's cheapest two-starred restaurants with lunch from as little as 48 yuan (about seven U.S dollars), customers have to queue for tables.

A young woman surnamed Xu came for lunch with her parents after reading about Canton 8 in the Michelin Guide.

"When I was small, we did not have many choices. It was mostly Shanghai dishes such as 'Hongshaorou' (stewed pork with brown sauce) or pig's trotter. Now there are so many options there is something for everyone, " said she.

Lou Jiajun, a professor of tourism at East China Normal University, said many Chinese take dining options into consideration when booking trips.

"They want novelty", said Lou.

Jiang Yi, chief at Shanghai Tascovery Gourmet School, said the Michelin Guide was great exposure for the city's dining scene.

"But the Michelin Guide is not the sole authority", Jiang added.

Some people, however, have been irked by what they say is a lack of diversity, as the majority of the starred restaurants specialize in Cantonese or western food.

Dai Yun, a Shanghai local, said that Sichuan and Hunan food were both popular in China but neither was represented.

Xu Yuzhong who manages the gourmet destination guide for the online travel agent Ctrip said the evaluation standards of the Michelin Guide were roughly based on western standards and the inspectors were mainly French- or English-speaking foreigners, who may not know all of China's many cuisines. Endi