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Ever wish you had a reliable food guide for your travels that was based on tasty dishes, rather than some elite system of recognizing star chefs? Well, The Miele Guide, sponsored by the German home-cooking appliances manufacturer of the same name, is releasing its inaugural issue this October, calling itself Asia’s first truly independent restaurant guide—they do not accept any advertising, sponsorship, or free meals for their reviews. The 2008/2009 edition will rank and feature in-depth profiles of Asia’s top 20 restaurants, plus a select list of other top restaurants, categorized by country, city, and cuisine. To reflect the tastes of the 16 Asian countries included, information has been compiled through several rounds of rigorous judging. The first opinions were gleaned from 84 of Asia’s most influential and respected restaurant critics, food, and wine professionals, while the second round is decided by public voting on Miele’s website, which includes Chinese and Japanese versions to encourage greater participation. Next year the site plans to include Korean and Thai. Once published, The Miele Guide will be slim, minimally designed, and affordable.