For the first time, Saigon and Hanoi eateries will be featured in a MICHELIN Guide in June 2023. 

Last week, Michelin announced Vietnam's inclusion in their upcoming guide with a ceremony held in Hanoi. “With a fascinating food heritage and history, distinctive and unique flavors, iconic recipes and well-known delicacies, Vietnamese cuisine has carved its way to popularity around the world. Supported by locals where eating out has always been a true way a life, as well as by talented restaurateurs, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are two gourmet gems that deserve to be fully celebrated. We can’t wait to present our first Vietnamese restaurant selection, which our famously anonymous inspectors have already started to realize in the field," explained Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the Michelin Guide, in a press release. 

Michelin Guides include basic information for thousands of restaurants around the world and different distinctions such as Bib Awards for restaurants with good value and notes regarding ambiance, interesting wine lists and sustainability practices. Most people, however, associate Michelin with the one to three-star ratings given to outstanding restaurants. Each restaurant is appraised based on: the personality of the chef represented in the cuisine; the harmony of flavors; the mastery of cooking techniques; the quality of the products and the consistency both over time and across the entire menu. In 2021, 143 restaurants were awarded three stars worldwide.

Founded by the Michelin tire company in 1900 as a simple restaurant recommendation tool to bolster the automobile industry and travel culture, the Michelin Guide has evolved into the world's premier source of dining reviews. The loss or gain of a single star can have an enormous impact on an establishment and the guide influences food and restaurant trends around the globe. 

Michelin has been working consistently over the years to expand its coverage. In 2005 it published its first American guide, followed by Japan in 2008. Singapore was the first Southeast Asian country to be recognized in 2016, followed by Thailand in 2017. 

Vietnamese conglomerate Sun Group is supporting the Michelin group in Vietnam as part of its efforts to help develop the nation's tourism. Michelin inspectors, however, work anonymously and all expenses are covered by the Michelin group as opposed to the restaurant.