It’s been a bumper year for Hong Kong restaurant openings and some have even more reason to celebrate this December – thanks to their inclusion in the newly released Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macao.

At a grand ceremony at Macao’s City of Dreams, Michelin awarded stars to 90 restaurants. Among the first-time recipients were some recent debuts: Taiwanese chef André Chiang’s Sichuan Moon (closed), which opened at the Wynn Palace in March, was given two stars, while six-month-old Louise garnered one star, as did Petrus, which only introduced chef Uwe Opocensky’s menus in November.

With this year’s additions of Forum and Sushi Saikon, Hong Kong now counts seven three-Michelin-starred restaurants; Macao’s trio of three-starred restaurants held onto their status.

"This year’s selections are testament to Hong Kong and Macao’s unwavering position as benchmark cities in the gastronomic world," said Gwendal Poullennec, Michelin Guides’ international director.

Many of Cathay Pacific’s frequent flyers would agree. In the Cathay Members’ Choice Awards, they voted Hong Kong as Asia’s Best City for Food, with Macao shortlisted.

Black Sheep Restaurants group, which just inked a deal to provide in-flight meals for Cathay Pacific, kept its name in the headlines for retaining the one-Michelin-star status of New Punjab Club and French bistro Belon. Cathay members can take advantage of priority booking at these and any other Black Sheep establishments.

Read on for all 16 newly minted Michelin-star restaurants in Hong Kong and Macao.