Sustainability was the buzzword at this year's Michelin awards in Shanghai as Taian Table walked away with the city's only Michelin green star. This award was first introduced by the Michelin Guide last year to promote sustainable practices in the catering industry.

King's Joy, a vegetarian restaurant in Beijing, won the first green star on the Chinese mainland in November 2020.

According to the guide, Taian Table was conferred this new award because "they source from sustainable producers and minimize plastic use, food waste and energy consumption".

Gwendal Poullennec, Michelin Guide's international director, said in a video screened at the Shanghai award ceremony: "By developing many inspiring initiatives, these restaurants are playing an important role in helping reduce the environmental impact of their menus while promoting the best of local products and encouraging other professionals or food lovers to move forward."

Helmed by German chef Stefan Stiller, Taian Table was also awarded three Michelin stars this year, an improvement from its two-star rating last year.

Ultraviolet, which was the first restaurant in Shanghai to be awarded three stars in the Shanghai guide in 2018, retained its rating for the fourth year.

The latest edition of the Michelin Guide Shanghai was published on Nov 12, with a total of 47 restaurants receiving stars.

Violet Shen, a Shanghai-based lifestyle writer and restaurant critic, says she is glad to see Shanghai gain a second Michelin three-star restaurant as this could infuse new vigor and vitality into the competition. She says the new green star has also set a good direction for restaurants to pursue.

Eight restaurants, including Da Vittorio Shanghai, Otto e Mezzo Bombana, Bao Li Xuan and Canton 8, were awarded two stars this year.

Da Vittorio Shanghai is widely considered a rising star in the industry. Despite the fact that it opened only in 2019, the Italian restaurant was awarded two stars the next year.

"Despite being recognized by the guide, there is still room for improvement in every detail," says Stefano Bacchelli, executive chef of Da Vittorio Shanghai. "We value our guests' feedback and constantly provide new experiences for them."

Bacchelli says the restaurant will continue to look for ways to reduce food waste.

Five new restaurants were awarded one star this year－Fu 1015 and Fu 1088, both of which offer local Shanghai cuisine, Chaoshan cuisine restaurant Oriental Sense & Palate, innovative modern Chinese establishment Obscura, and Sheng Yong Xing, a Beijing roast duck restaurant.

Jocelyn Chen, founder of online gourmet platform TastyTrip, praises the new one-star restaurant Obscura, whose founder and head chef DeAille Tam won the title of "Asia's best female chef" earlier this year.

"Now that it has received a star from Michelin, Obscura will become another restaurant in Shanghai's gastronomic scene that is hard to get a seat at," she says.

Kamran Vossoughi, president and CEO of Michelin China, said at the awards ceremony that Shanghai is dubbed a magical city.

"Magic indeed happens here. It happens with outstanding restaurants and chefs, innovative cuisine and leading catering trends.

"Michelin witnesses and participates in the development of catering industry in Shanghai. Over the years, we have played the roles as discoverer and sharer. Our continuous exploration of Shanghai shows in the increasingly thick guide," he adds.