Tokyo supplants Paris as world's capital of three-star restaurants

Tokyo supplants Paris as world's capital of three-star restaurantsParis  - Paris is no longer the culinary capital of the world, if that distinction is measured by the number of restaurants honoured with three stars by the Michelin Guide.

The online edition of the weekly Le Point reported Tuesday that, with the publication of the 2010 Michelin Restaurant Guide for Tokyo, the Japanese capital now boasts the largest number of three-star restaurants in the world, 11, one more than the French capital.

In 2009, Tokyo had trailed Paris with nine three-star restaurants.

"We award stars where we find them, and in Tokyo the culinary wealth is extraordinary," said Michelin Guides director Jean-Luc Naret.

But Naret also pointed out that Tokyo has four times as many restaurants than does Paris, 160,000 compared to 40,000.

In addition, France remains the country with the largest number of three-star restaurants, with 25; Japan has only 18. And three of Tokyo's three-star restaurants specialize in - French cuisine.(dpa)