Michelin's Jean-Luc Naret and friend hail Tokyo as top city for fine dining

That distinction now goes to Tokyo, according to the bible for foodies everywhere, the Michelin guide.

In its first ever edition devoted to an Asian city, it awarded restaurants in Tokyo a total of 191 stars.

That was nearly twice as many as Paris can boast, and more than three times New York's total.

Tokyo is becoming the global city with the finest cuisine, the city in the world with the most stars

Jean-Luc Naret

Michelin Guides

Eight of Tokyo's restaurants won the maximum three stars - only two fewer than Paris itself. Another 25 got two stars and 117 one star.

To add to Paris's embarrassment, three of the top eight restaurants in Tokyo serve French food. Three more offer traditional Japanese fine dining, and the other two are sushi houses.

"Tokyo is becoming the global city with the finest cuisine, the city in the world with the most stars," said Michelin guide director Jean-Luc Naret.

Michelin's plans to assess Tokyo restaurants had caused controversy in Japan, where some commentators had doubted whether it would be up to the job.