I can't believe I missed this place in our recent trip to Hong Kong.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/6670426/Hong-Kong-restaurant-offers-Michelin-starred-food-for-78p.html

Hong Kong restaurant offers Michelin-starred food for 78p

A hole-in-the-wall canteen in Hong Kong which offers dishes for less than a pound has become the world's cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant.

By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai
Published: 5:54PM GMT 27 Nov 2009

Tim Ho Wan has become the world's cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant Photo: AFP/GETTY

Tim Ho Wan, which means "Add Good Luck", can seat only 20 people in its steamy dining room and its battered bamboo baskets of dim sum sell for as little as 78p.

Jean-Luc Naret, the director of the Michelin guide said it was the "most affordable starred restaurant in the world" and was included as proof of Michelin's commitment to local cuisines.

The Hong Kong restaurant is headed by Mak Pui Gor, the former dim sum chef at the Four Seasons Hotel, where he worked at the three Michelin-starred restaurant Lung King Heen. Mr Mak decided during the economic crisis to branch out on his own and offer his dishes at bargain prices.

The most expensive dish on the menu, a plate of noodles, costs the equivalent of around £3, and he sells around 750 dishes of his signature crispy pork buns each day. Other dishes include a cheung fun, or steamed rice noodle roll, with pork livers and delicate jellies containing flower petals.

"Since the news broke, we've been really very busy," said a waitress at the restaurant. "We really are very cheap, but I don't think we are planning to raise our prices," she added. At lunchtime, diners can expect queues of up to an hour on the street outside.

A number of other humble Hong Kong canteens were also included in the guide, but Mr Naret insisted inspectors had not lowered their standards in order to please local diners. "Let me tell you, I've been to quite a few of those simple restaurants in the selection and I was very surprised." he said.

Michelin verdict: "It would not be an exaggeration to say that this little dim sum shop has breathed life into this quiet street in Mong Kok. In 2009, two chefs joined forces and opened here. It has been a success ever since, hence the wait outside. There is no doubt about their ingredients.

"Special mention has gone to the steamed dumpling Chiu Chew style, the steamed egg cake and most definitely to the baked bun with barbecue pork. The wait is worth it".