The restaurants
Two tables, both MICHELIN Bib Gourmand in 2026 and again in 2027. Palm Grill cooks only the food of ZamBaSulTa; Cabel cooks the whole country, north to south.
MICHELIN Bib Gourmand 2026 and 2027 · Tomas Morato
The food of Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi
Palm Grill opened on Tomas Morato in May 2017, the first restaurant in Luzon given over to the food of Southern Mindanao. Everything starts from coconut, spices and seafood brought straight from farming and fishing communities in ZamBaSulTa.
The table
Branches
179 Tomas Morato Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City
Since May 2017
Palenque food hall, Upper Ground Floor, Gateway Mall 2, Cubao, Quezon City
Since October 2023
Level 3, SM City Zamboanga
Opening 2026
For hours and bookings: Instagram @palmgrillph
MICHELIN Bib Gourmand 2026 and 2027
Filipino heritage cooking, north to south
Cabel opened in late 2022 in the 1930s Casa Roces house across from Malacañang, run with my brother King and my sister Isabel and named after our mother’s family. Its menu puts Tausug dishes on the same page as adobo, kare-kare and pakbet, because all of it is Filipino food.
The table
Where
J.P. Laurel Street, San Miguel, Manila, across from Malacañang Palace
Since 2022
For hours and bookings: Facebook bycabel.ph
Elsewhere
Four Palm Grill dishes in 7-Eleven’s Chef Creations series: Chicken Pianggang, Beef Kurma, Belachan Chicken and Sambal Istah, from ₱149. In select Luzon stores from October 30, 2026, with Mindanao to follow.
Read about the launchNext
I’m developing a fine-dining tasting menu given over entirely to Tausug cooking, to explore the depth of Sulu’s kitchens course by course.