The heavy presence of Cantonese restaurants on the list has been put down to the judges being predominantly from Hong Kong and also that this style of Chinese food is popular overseas.

Cuisine from around Shanghai also has an image problem within China.

British food writer Fuchsia Dunlop says food from the Yangtze River delta, known as Jiangnan or south of the river, is more subtle than other mainland cuisine and under-appreciated in China.

Overshadowed

Her new book, Recipes from Land of Fish and Rice, is an effort to elevate this regional cuisine, which has long been overshadowed by food from Sichuan, Yunnan and Hunan Provinces.

The guide's favouring of Cantonese food over local fare and five star hotels over independent establishments has been heavily criticised.

At a recent talk in Shanghai, Dunlop said patterns of immigration were part of the reason Jiangnan food was little known overseas.

"Most of the immigrants who have shaped Chinese food in the West have been Cantonese," she said.


"Jiangnan food is perhaps China's most subtle cuisine, it's not easily categorised," she said.

In an attempt to hose down the controversy around the dominance of Cantonese restaurants, the Michelin judges noted Shanghainese food ranked second when counting the additional 25 restaurants which received the lower commendation of "Bib Gourmand".

The Potsticker is common in Shanghainese cuisine.

But the major surprise from the Michelin guide was that none of the big names on the Bund, Shanghai's historic riverfront precinct, received any recognition.

Mr & Mrs Bund, Jean Georges and M on the Bund, run by Australian restaurateur Michelle Garnaut, all missed out.

The right notes

"How do all these guys miss out," said Turley.

"They have great service, interesting wine lists and the food hits all the right notes."


While ignoring these pioneers of the Shanghai food scene, the guide recognised the Peninsular Hotel, also on the Bund, for two of its restaurants.

It also doubled up on roast duck favourite Da Dong, giving two of its Shanghai outlets a star, and also gave stars to two Shanghai restaurants from Cantonese chain Lei Garden.

"There is so much great Chinese food that the rest of the world does not know about and I thought showcasing some of this was the idea behind Michelin," said Turley.

"I don't think the people who live here [in Shanghai] have much respect for that list."