Foodie circles in Vietnam are ridden with complaints after the Michelin Guide announced its list of 103 recommended restaurants in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.

In the inaugural edition of the Michelin Guide for Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, four restaurants were recognized with one Michelin Star for their high-quality cooking, 29 establishments received a Bib Gourmand for offering good food at moderate prices, and 70 others were recommended as the Michelin Selected restaurants.

Local foodies are dismayed by the announcement, with many complaining that the list does not accurately reflect the local culinary culture. 

“The most important thing I see is that there is no restaurant in Vietnam that really meets Michelin's standards and expectations,” chef Tran Duy wrote on his Facebook page. 

Many complained that several local favorites were left off the list that includes eateries that do not accurately represent local flavors.

Others are also disappointed by the absence of famous street food eateries from the list and the fact that some of the restaurants on the list lack safety and hygiene standards.

Meanwhile, according to Vietnamese journalist Pham Trung Tuyen, there are benefits of Vietnam making its debut in the Michelin Guide.

“The Michelin Guide making its way to Vietnam will more or less evoke a sense of standard for Vietnamese restaurants,” Tuyen said.

“It will create essential tourism products for international visitors to Vietnam and stories about Vietnamese cuisine will appear in a more recognizable way.”

'Focused on quality'

Speaking at a meeting with local media on Wednesday, Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guide, expressed his surprise over the discussions.

However, he also noted that he is not too concerned about the controversy because the organization always tries to make the most independent and transparent assessment.

The Michelin Guide international director is also happy seeing Michelin Guide receiving big attention after its debut in Vietnam, saying the conversations will contribute to better awareness of Vietnamese cuisine and bring Vietnam's gastronomy to the world.

Regarding the fact that Michelin Guide’s list in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City does not satisfy some people, Poullennec affirmed that Michelin Guide always maintains a strict process when assessing restaurants.

The assessment was made by anonymous Michelin inspectors who are experts in their field in order to ensure there are no factors affecting the quality of the assessment.

The most important thing about the Michelin Guide is its stability and consistency around the world, and the process is mainly focused on quality, he emphasized.

In order to make assessments of Vietnamese restaurants, the inspectors had been trained in Vietnamese culinary knowledge, and experienced the cuisine long enough to understand it.

They had come to experience all different dishes at luxurious restaurants to street food stalls and small eateries. 

Assessment results were made by a group, not a single person, Poullennec informed.

He also added that Michelin Guide came to Vietnam because of the appreciation of Vietnamese cuisine and its great potential.

The Michelin Guide is believed to be a factor contributing to the change of the Vietnamese culinary industry and Poullennec believed that Vietnamese cuisine would soon become a bright spot on the world culinary map.

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