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The Broke Girl’s Guide To Michelin Starred Restaurants

Where to eat when you have *champagne* taste and a beer budget.

Food
The Broke Girl’s Guide To Michelin Starred Restaurants

If you’re somewhat close to being a well-functioning adult and you scan your credit card bill each month, you’ve probably notice that 60% of your paycheck is spent on food. Just us?

Sometimes it’s on delicious, life-changing meals with friends, that cost you a *very* big chunk of said paycheck. Or it's the accumulation of hurried, just-edible takeaways from the place around the corner. Don’t succumb to the latter, okay? What we’re trying to say is dining out can be really expensive, especially so if you want to frequent Michelin starred restaurants—because #lifegoals. But, GUYS, in our intrepid search for star-spangled restaurants on our, uh, more conservative budget, we found a few tricks of the broke girl trade to get us eating like we’ve never eaten before.

 


Step 1:

Eat lunch, not dinner

 
Or breakfast! Good food shouldn't be relegated to when the sun goes down. There are tons of Michelin-crowned spots that serve up equally tasty meals during the day. Take for example, The Spotted Pig in Manhattan where you’ll eat the best burger of your life (and it comes with a side of Kanye-sightings). Or, Del Posto for a sit-down, 3-course meal that checks in at a reasonable $49.

 

Step 2:

Don’t make a reservation

 
...walk in and eat at the bar. Like at Eleven Madison Park, where a traditional 8-10 course meal will run you a cool $295 per person. Not. in. the. budget. friends. Instead, pull up a seat overlooking the liquor bottles (#views) and try out the bar menu, which is incredibly delicious and will cost a fraction of the price. Best done with one friend.

 

Step 3:

Travel

 
So maybe this isn’t for the most broke of the broke per se, but if you find yourself in, oh, let’s say Singapore, you must go to HK Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle. Remember it by its viral fame a month or so ago (Google’ing will jog your memory). Chef Chan Hon Meng’s house special, chicken noodles, goes for a whopping $1.50 USD—prices we can most definitely get behind.

 

Step 4:

Do your research

 
As in, you actually don’t have to, because we did it for you! Our list below of the best (and most affordable) restaurants in the cities we frequent around the world.

Toyko, Japan
Kyourakutei
162-0825 Tokyo, Shinjuku, Kagurazaka, 36, 神楽坂館1F
Must try: Soba noodles, which are made from grain-like seeds milled from Kyourakutei’s very own millstone, and the tempura, another of the restaurant’s specialities.
Approx price per dish: $16 USD

Barcelona, Spain
Nectari
Carrer València, 28 08015 Barcelona
Must try: The 3-course seasonal menu, which often comes with a side of truffles. The wine is good, too!
3-course menu: $28 USD

Hong Kong
Tim Ho Wan
Shop 72, G/F
Olympian City 2
18 Hoi Ting Road
Tai Kok Tsui
Olympian City Mall
Must try: Dim Sum! It’s mind-blowing. Luckily more restaurant locations have popped up—even in Singapore, the Philippines and Taiwan.
Approx price per dish: $6 USD

Paris, France
Auguste
54, Rue de Bourgogne 75007 Paris
Must try: The three course midday meal—it’s contemporary fair and insanely delicious.
Price: $41

Los Angeles, California
Asanebo
11941 Ventura Blvd Studio City, CA 91604
Must try: Anything and everything.
Price: $8-18

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