Chinese takes away star

Glamorous, stylish and sexy are words that are rarely associated with London's Chinese restaurants.

But the subterranean haven Hakkasan - which looks as beautifully slick as its clientele - is clearly no ordinary restaurant.

As well as boasting an award-winning design, Hakkasan was today celebrating after it became the only Chinese restaurant in the country to win a coveted Michelin star.

While French, Italian and British restaurants are regularly awarded stars, it is only the fifth time in the 103-year history of the Michelin Red Guide that a Chinese establishment has won the honour.

A Michelin spokesman said: "It is the only Chinese restaurant that has a star. This confirms London's position as one of the great gastronomical capitals, as it attracts the best cuisine from around the world."

With its Chinese screens, smoky lighting and designer-clad staff, Hakkasan - opened two years ago by entrepreneur Alan Yau, the man behind the Wagamama empire - swiftly became a celebrity favourite.

As well as an exotic array of cocktails, its menu features everything from steamed scallop shu mai with tobiko caviar to plum wine jelly and lychee sorbet with yellow plum compote.

Evening Standard restaurant critic Fay Maschler said: "I'm not at all surprised at their decision. It has a very good Hong Kong chef and its dim sum are truly brilliant. It's just sad there is little competition in terms of good Chinese restaurants in London."

The Michelin guide describes the Hakkasan experience as: "A distinctive, modern interpretation of Cantonese cooking in an appropriately contemporary and cavernous basement. The lively, bustling bar is an equally popular nightspot."

It is one of four new London restaurants featured for the first time in the Michelin guide, which now contains one three-star, four two-star and 33 one-star establishments in the capital. The other newcomers, with one star, are Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's, Locanda Locatelli in Regents Park and the Greenhouse in Mayfair.

Meanwhile, Pied a Terre in Bloomsbury has been elevated to two-star status.

London restaurants that disappeared from the list include Chez Nico, Marco Pierre White's Oak Room, La Tante Claire and John Burton-Race, all of which have closed down. The Connaught, revamped by Ramsay, also dropped its one-star rating as it has changed hands and has not yet been reassessed.

While the awards are generally considered among the most influential in the culinary world, they have provoked mixed reactions from London's celebrity chefs. Three years ago both Nico Ladenis, of Chez Nico, and the Oak Room's Marco Pierre White controversially decided to renounce their three Michelin stars when they retired from the kitchen. The move was condemned as "totally immature" by rival chef Ramsay, who is now the sole restaurateur in London in possession of three stars with his eponymous Chelsea restaurant.