PIC introduces new lunch buffet special

Pacific Islands Club executive chef Rino Cancaida presents a Magellan Restaurant Italian lunch buffet menu specialty, Verdire Al’Aglio Imburrate. You can savor this dish and more at PIC’s special lunch buffet menu happening from Monday to Saturday, from 11am to 2pm. (BEA CABRERA)

The iconic Magellan Restaurant at Pacific Islands Club Saipan launched a new lunch buffet special menu last July 16, highlighting different flavors from around the world.

Executive chef Rino Cancaida said the idea is to attract the international palate of hotel guests and local patrons.

“We think about our customers—locals and foreigners alike. They are our priority and making them happy and satisfied with our different lunch menus is the inspiration for the new lineup,” he added.

PIC’s new lunch buffet menu features Italian food on Mondays, Japanese food on Tuesdays, Thai on Wednesdays, Korean on Thursdays, international dishes on Fridays, Chinese fare on Saturdays, and a varying menu that highlights brunch on Sundays.

And it’s not your typical gastronomic fare either. According to Cancaida, the buffet menu features specialty dishes.

“For Italian, we are proud of our Verdurre Al’ Aglio Imburrate, composed of spicy tomato sauce on top of homemade pasta. It is very simple but it bursts with lots of flavor. For Japanese, we have nikujaga, which is beef and potato simmered in sweet soy sauce and negi-negi, which is fried chicken with leeks and scallion. For Thai, we have our delectable version of pad thai and stir-fry green mussel in Thai red coconut curry sauce. For Korean, we have the popular Korean marinated beef barbecue and for Chinese, our guests should look forward to the spicy Szechuan stir-fry pork. Our international dishes vary as they are composed of American, European and Asian specials,” he said.

“Our guests should also expect ‘icons’ on some dishes. This will tell them the level of spice in the dish and ingredients used so that guests who have food allergies will be aware. We also cater to our health-conscious and dessert-loving guests as our salad bar and dessert menu are a staple,” he added.

As a PIC chef for the last 15 years, Cancaido attributes PIC’s achievement to comments and suggestions of guests. “We are always looking for improvement. We base our food on the comments we receive, not only from our customers but even from our own employees as feedback is very important to us,” he said. “We are very flexible and are always after customer satisfaction,” he added.

The lunch buffet special at Magellan Restaurant is available Monday to Saturday for the local rate of $21.60 per adult and $10.80 for children 4 to 11 years old.

For direct restaurant reservations, call 670-237-5126.