Chef Miggy Moreno builds on Michelin recognition with Palm Grill expansion

MANILA — Chef Jose Miguel Cabel Moreno is expanding his Palm Grill restaurant business, with a new branch at Gateway Mall in Araneta City targeted to open by mid-November, as he continues his effort to bring Mindanaoan and Tausug cuisine to a wider audience.

The expansion follows years of building a following for regional Filipino dishes, particularly specialties from Zamboanga and Sulu that remain less familiar to many Metro Manila diners. Moreno’s two restaurants, Palm Grill and Cabel, also retained their Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand distinctions in the 2027 selection announced October 29.

For Moreno, fondly known as Chef Miggy, the recognition is significant, but his larger goal has always been to give regional Filipino cuisine greater representation in the country’s dining scene.

“Palm Grill was put up because I wanted representation. I wanted to change perspectives and narratives. That was how Palm Grill came about,” he said.

The original Palm Grill is located along Tomas Morato Avenue in Quezon City, with another branch at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. This month will see the opening of Palm Grill in Gateway Mall after it transferred from a corner in the now-closed Palenque. Moreno is also preparing to bring the restaurant to SM City Zamboanga, where he hopes to introduce a broader presentation of local cuisine to diners in his hometown.

The planned Palm Grill branch in Zamboanga holds special significance for Moreno, as it will bring his restaurant concept back to the city where he spent much of his formative years.

“It’s really bringing a global standard of restaurant service and quality of food,” he said, explaining that he wants to introduce local diners to a different presentation of familiar regional dishes.

“What I want to present or bring is how these food are presented globally. You will find piyanggang in the menu, but because we were awarded with the Michelin, I’m bringing home the global standard of our local cuisine for the locals to be able to try and experience in Zamboanga City. This is like presenting the food in a different way.

“If a local Zamboangueño is used to eating piyanggang the usual way, Palm Grill is bringing it in a different light. That’s why I’m excited to … present it in a different way. The locals of Zamboanga deserve that.”

Moreno is also bringing Mindanaoan cuisine to convenience stores through ready-to-eat meals at 7-Eleven Philippines. In a social media post, he announced that piyanggang manok and beef kurma would be available in Luzon starting October 30, with the products set to reach stores in Mindanao on December 2. He described the initiative as another way to make regional Filipino cuisine more accessible, saying it deserves “a seat at every table.”

Moreover, he collaborated with executive chefs at several hotel properties, including Manila Marriott, Admiral Hotel, NUSTAR Cebu and Crimson Boracay, introducing Mindanaoan specialties to their dining programs.

“I felt that Mindanaoan cuisine should exist in different platforms apart from the tables of a restaurant,” he said.

“I was the first who have done that, to put Tausug cuisine in five-star hotels,” he added. “That’s special to me. I’m grateful for that. I hope other regional chefs can also come out and promote their cuisine. If it worked for me, it will also work for you.”

Moreno said he hopes his experience will encourage other chefs to bring their regional specialties to a wider audience.

“It was not easy but I guess if you’re passionate and you love what you do, you’ll succeed in life with whatever you put your heart and mind to. I’ve never lost track of that goal and that vision. It still holds near and dear to me.”

His advocacy is rooted in his belief that Filipino cuisine should represent the country’s different regions, rather than focus on the dishes more commonly found in Metro Manila.

Moreno acknowledges that Palm Grill was not the first establishment in Manila to serve Mindanaoan cuisine. Before the restaurant opened, eateries in Quiapo were already offering regional specialties.

“Prior to Palm Grill, there were eateries in Quiapo that offer Mindanaoan cuisine,” he said. “I would say that Palm Grill pioneered the first restaurant that became accessible to every Filipino.”

For years, however, introducing unfamiliar regional dishes to diners was a challenge.

“For eight years, before the Michelin came, we were just really keeping afloat. There was really not much earnings, because for us, it was more than more than getting money. It was really promoting, staying afloat and making sure the brand survives. Plus nearly three years of the pandemic,” Moreno said.

The Michelin recognition eventually helped change diners’ perceptions, he said.

“When Michelin was given, we didn’t have to explain ourselves anymore, which we had been doing the past nine years to customers who would walk in the restaurant and step out after, ‘Next time na lang.’ The award told people that the food at Palm Grill is good and it’s worth a try.”

For Moreno, Mindanaoan cuisine deserves greater recognition for its distinct flavors and influences from Southeast Asia.

“What’s good about Mindanaoan cuisine, the flavor profile changes completely compared to Luzon and Visayas, because of the influences of Southeast Asia,” he said, citing ingredients such as galangal, lemongrass, sakurab and turmeric.

“You don’t need to fly to Southeast Asia to be able to experience similarities in the cuisine, because the flavor profile is complete in Mindanao. For that, we should be proud of. We don’t tell people that Mindanaoan cuisine is better. What I’m doing is to tell people that Mindanaoan cuisine deserves a seat on the table.”

Moreno’s attachment to regional food comes from his childhood in Jolo, Sulu, where he first learned to cook alongside his grandmother and mother.

“Me getting into the restaurant industry, my work is promoting Filipino cuisine and culture,” he said. “But I have been cooking since I was eight. I first learned from my grandma [Oswalda Alcantara Cabel] in her kitchen in Sulu and eventually my mom [Melissa Cabel] in her kitchen in Zamboanga. Those were fond memories for me as a kid growing up. I spent time in the kitchen.”

By the age of 10, he was already preparing piyanggang manok, a Tausug dish of chicken cooked with turmeric, ground burnt coconut, lemongrass, ginger and spices. It remains one of his specialties and is served at both Palm Grill and Cabel.

Moreno also began selling the dish during the annual fiesta at Ateneo de Zamboanga, where he would rent a booth for a week.

“It’s a one week celebration of sports, music and food,” he recalled. “I would rent a booth and the dish was always a hit. We sold out everyday. I think that really started my entrepreneurial skills. As young as grade school, I would sell stuff in school. That has always been in my system.”

Although he eventually pursued a career in the food industry, nursing was initially his chosen profession. He graduated from Ateneo de Zamboanga with a nursing degree, passed the board examination and worked at a hospital in Zamboanga before moving abroad.

He later worked in Abu Dhabi as an overseas Filipino worker. Although he initially planned to pursue nursing there, he ended up in retail, gaining experience in operations, marketing and sales through an international fashion brand.

He eventually pursued culinary studies at the International School of Culinary Arts and Hotel Management in Quezon City.

His family history also influenced the concept behind Cabel, which draws from the culinary traditions of both sides of his maternal grandparents.

“My lolo is Ilocano and my lola is Tausug,” Moreno said. “So when we were thinking about the concept, how we celebrate our grandfather’s roots from Ilocos, the northern part, and my grandmother’s roots from Sulu. So that’s why this [Cabel] restaurant came about. That’s why you find pinakbet and specialties that represents where it comes from.”

The Cabel family developed the restaurant’s menu with the help of a cousin, Benedict, who works in research and development.

“We just asked for his help to make sure that we do it in the right process. We don’t want to step into other people’s cuisine without really backing it with research,” Moreno said.

His approach to food remains grounded in familiar Filipino cooking.

“I always say that simple food is good food. It’s what your mom cooks, what your grandmother cooks. Here in Cabel, we want people to have comfort food.”

Moreno’s grandparents also left a legacy of public service. His grandmother was an educator who later became a politician and historian. Among her contributions was the Sulu Museum and Library. She died in 2023 at the age of 96. His grandfather, Heracleo Cabel, was a doctor who established the Sulu Public Hospital in 1950.

“Both of their lives were dedicated to public service and upholding culture, people and lives,” Moreno said.

Moreno, who was born and raised in Jolo, said growing up in the province and eventually moving to Manila came with its own challenges.

“You get that feeling of being lesser compared to them,” he recalled. “That was then. It’s different now. I went through all those great life lessons.”

Today, he has become a resource person for chefs, writers and others interested in Mindanaoan food.

“When they want to dine and include Mindanaoan cuisine, they call me,” Moreno said. “I’m happy that I’ve been the go-to person. I devoted my work and my life in mastering what I represent. I will not dive into a specialty that I don’t represent.”

He said he has learned to embrace his specialization rather than feel limited by it.

“I want to focus on something that I’m good at and that’s something from the heart. I’m proud of who I am. When they say I’m boxed at just doing Mindanaoan, I don’t mind. At least I’m an expert in one thing. After a decade of doing what I’m doing, I’ve practically cemented a legacy of being a proud regional cuisine chef, a proud Mindanaoan, a proud Filipino. Being the first Tausug, I could say that I’ve made it finally.”

Despite the recognition, Moreno said he still has much to learn and explore, particularly the diverse cuisines of Mindanao.

“If you ask me what’s next for me, I realized there’s so many things I still have plans of doing. I think there’s so much more cuisines to discover in Mindanao, not just from where I come from. There are so more cuisines that I need to dive in to and promote, apart from where I come from.”