Sunshine Café, new hangout in Garapan

Sunshine Café, a project that started almost a year ago in Hong Kong, opened Thursday night giving locals and tourists alike a new place to hang out. And it lived up to its name, with the interior offering a bright, cozy, and warm feeling as you enjoy their house specials and other regular items on their menu.

Raymond Chan, Maria Lingeswaren, and Amanda Zhang make up the team behind Sunshine Café—the other half of the investment of six Chinese celebrities on Saipan the other being Hot No. 1 Restaurant located on the second floor.

Lingeswaren said she was in charge of hiring people, while Zhang took care of the design and layout of Sunshine Café. “One of our first hires were the head chef and the manager in February. Pastry chef Su Shuang then trained the kitchen staff.”

Su, whose name means sugar in Chinese according to Lingerswaren, is a two-star Michelin Chef from Hong Kong that has more than 10 years of experience. Richard Santos was hired as the head chef and he trained under the strict guidance of Su, and at the same time also learned the Szechwan style of cooking and presentation of food.

But Lingerswaren said she wants to first talk about Sunshine Café. The idea began sometime in November 2015 when she came to Saipan for a visit. She said that she had not eaten a good dessert on the island during her stay.

“We want to offer something new, something fresh. Signature desserts and pastries made by chef Su. We also wanted to offer quick and healthy snacks and meals for people who just want to grab them and go,” said Lingerswaren.

“We want to provide the best service that’s why we see to it that every little detail is almost perfect. We wanted to have satisfied customers from the moment they ordered their food. We want them to step out pleased with their experience here,” added Lingerswaren.

She said all of their prices are reasonable with the ingredients all bought locally. Well, except for some of the pastries as they imported chocolates from Switzerland.

For Sunshine Café, Su created four signature desserts—Door of Forbidden City, Raspberry Pistachio Macaroons, Dark Chocolate Lolli, and Lemon Citrus Tart—made from dark and white Swiss chocolates.

Su thought of the Door of Forbidden City from a restaurant in Beijing that is located in front of the East Gate of the historic former palace of the Chinese Emperor. The tart is made from white chocolate that has lemon citrus inside.

Aside from pastries, Sunshine Café also offers salads, sandwiches, and lots of specialty drinks including tropical smoothies. They would also introduce the Pumpkin Latte, which Lingerswaren said locals would surely love.

The Te Kanahanunui or the Petlas Marianas provides entertainment with traditional and other Pacific island dances. The event also served as a warm up with the group part of the CNMI delegation that would attend next month’s Festival of the Pacific Arts in Guam.

Sunshine Café is located beside Winchell’s in Garapan in front of Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan.

For reservation and other inquiries, call 233-8300.