Just steps away from the buzzing shopping mecca of Hong Kong's Times Square is a humble noodle shop that is now one of the cheapest places in the world to enjoy a meal deemed worthy of a Michelin star.

The release of the 2011 Michelin guide for Hong Kong and Macau -- the third by the French tire company -- yielded a few surprises though the awarding of a coveted star to Ho Hung Kee, a small, brightly lit, family-run restaurant best known for its wontons, was the most startling. There, a bowl of its pork-and-shrimp dumplings...