Where Is The Cheapest Michelin-Starred Restaurant Located?

Dining at the very best restaurants in the world is a dream many foodies share, and for almost 100 years, stars awarded by the Michelin Guide have helped to identify them. While France may be home to the largest number of restaurants with Michelin Stars, restaurants around the world have received the ranking for being extraordinary.

To determine which restaurants deserve one, two, or three Michelin Stars, the person tasked with reviewing the restaurant bases their decision on quality of ingredients, consistency between visits, expertise of cooking techniques and flavors used, value for the money, and how the personality of the chef is exhibited in the dishes. The quality of service and the restaurant's decorations are included in the inspector's notes but are not deciding factors in whether a restaurant deserves a star. Because a Michelin Star is awarded based only on the quality of the food, restaurants operated by world-renowned chefs or by a chef who is self-taught can be considered. This also leads to a large range in prices at reviewed restaurants. While a diner can expect to spend hundreds of dollars on a meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant, there are some restaurants that are more attainable for people on a budget, including one that has entrees for around $6. 

You may not need to drain your checking account to eat at the world's least expensive restaurant with a Michelin Star, but you may need to travel a long way to sample its dishes. Described as offering high-quality cooking, Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery in Malaysia serves Peranakan cuisine, which is a blend of Chinese, Malay, and Indonesian ingredients and styles of cooking, with some additional influence from Indian and Eurasian cuisines. With dishes costing as little as $1.60 for a glutinous rice dessert and $1.80 for spring rolls, dining at Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery makes it far less expensive than most other restaurants with one or more Michelin Stars.

Having earned a Michelin Star for the first time in December 2022, the Michelin Guide describes Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery as having many ingredients that have been made from scratch and that Chef Gaik Lean has secret recipes she has been making for decades, going on to say "she makes no compromises in terms of food quality." Lean opened her restaurant about 10 years ago, and nowadays, reservations need to be made weeks in advance to be guaranteed a table to dine on dishes such as the sambal brinjal, which is made of eggplant in a spicy and savory sauce and curry dishes with homemade coconut milk.