Hyatt Regency Saipan stays ahead

Hyatt Regency Saipan is all about customer satisfaction experience and the food and beverage department of this international brand is always several steps ahead of the competition.

According executive chef Gabriele Colombo, the continuous development of Hyatt’s food and beverage is high on its priority list.

“[That] is the lifeblood of our company. We always work to be ahead of the competition. …We are always changing and moving to stay at the top by changing concepts and menus while maintaining quality,” he said.

The development and changes that Saipan is currently experiencing is something that excites Hyatt. “We are excited [for] the next five years and Hyatt will be going along with it as we aim to stay on top,” he added.

An important global trend is having sustainable operations—one that Hyatt Regency Saipan is aware of. He said Hyatt aims to achieve that in three years’ time. “That is the objective of Hyatt globally.”

“We are slowly doing this by getting our supplies and ingredients directly from the source,” Colombo said. “It’s a big challenge for all the chefs. We have a lot of discussions with the farmers and seafood suppliers. We are 45 percent into the goal and we will continue to work to achieve 100 percent sustainably in three years.”

“The guests are getting involved, too, because they notice our efforts when they eat our food. They ask, ‘Where did you get this fresh fish?’ So we have to also state in the menu our source and we only get sources or vendors that grow their products sustainably and organically,” he said.

Colombo is also aware of diners looking for healthier food options.

“We have dishes that are gluten-free and dishes suited for vegetarians,” he said.

To comply with Hyatt F&B standards, Hyatt labels dishes like “G” for gluten-free, “V” for vegetarian, and “S” for sustainable and organic.

“We want the public to know that the Hyatt is very focused on healthy food,” Colombo said. “Even in our buffet, we provide healthy options, which you will see during lunchtime where we serve different style of vegetarian food and gluten-free salad.”

Hyatt also has a healthy balance program, with menus that inform guests of the calorie content of dishes and their ingredients.

One of the unique things about Hyatt Regency Saipan’s service is the diversity of chefs that plan and prepare the food, according to sous chef Reiji Yoshizawa.

“Our pool of chefs is diverse and multi-cultural. The advantage is, we come from different backgrounds and that means we have different specialties,” said Yoshizawa. “Aside from watching trends worldwide, we always think out-of-the-box and try to create something different so we can present something new for our guests.”

Besides Italian and Japanese dishes, Hyatt also features an array of culinary favorites from all over the world.

“We showcase different dishes. For our Sunday brunch, we have live stations where we serve different cuisines like Korean food, Thai food, Indian food, to name a few,” said Yoshizawa.

Colombo, who assured that Hyatt focuses on authenticity, said that Italian food at Giovanni’s and Japanese food at Teppanyaki and Miyako will definitely stay.

“Authenticity is the what people want and what they look for,” he said.

Giovanni’s already has the last quarter of the year planned. The ongoing Agnolotti pasta dishes at Giovanni’s is ongoing until the last day of October. November is going to feature a classic Italian bone marrow dish called osso bucco and for Christmas eve, Hyatt plans to do a six-course meal to go with the season.

Colombo assured that the Christmas eve menu will be special and it will definitely make the season brighter for families.

According to Colombo, Hyatt’s Teppanyaki is focused on quality and always highlights the produce of the season. “For the last quarter, we are promoting seasonal mushroom and truffle. Chef Yoshizawa will recreate a special course menu that will incorporate mushroom and black truffle, foie gras, lobster, and prime beef.”

Giovanni’s is open everyday except on Monday. Dinner is served nightly, from 6pm to 9pm. Sunday brunch is from 10:30am to 2pm, while the lunch buffet happens every Friday from 11:30am to 2pm. For reservations contact 234-1234 Ext. 26 or 31.

Teppanyaki is open everyday except on Mondays and a la carte dinner is from 6pm to 9pm. For reservations contact 234-1234 Ext. 26 or 31.