Jiang Nan Restaurant Receives the First Michelle Lyn in the Philippines in a Campaign by GIGIL

May. 19, 2025

Just a few weeks prior to this, the famous Michelin reviewing body, known for their elusive stars given to only top restaurants, announced their arrival in the country. This created excitement among Filipinos as they speculated on which establishments would receive the first seal of approval.

Jiang Nan, like any other restaurant, also aspired to achieve the elusive and prestigious Michelin stars, but they won the race through wit and humor. The Chinese hotpot restaurant found Michelle Lyn Espiritu, a Filipina with a name that rings just like that of the expert food critic organization’s. She ate at the restaurant, and gave her judgment on Google reviews: 5 stars.

They then announced this on Meta which created buzz online in different parts of the world. From avid fans of the restaurant to people scrolling and having a good laugh, and even to heavily followed pages, the stars used as a joke skyrocketed Jiang Nan’s traction. Over the weekend alone when it was posted, the post organically garnered millions of views with zero media budget, and creating a new star that is making waves in food and pop culture. 

The post was created by Jiang Nan in collaboration with Katok, the social media agency of GIGIL.