‘King’s meal’ at reopened SURA buffet

SURA Saipan is located along Beach Road next to the Garapan fire station.
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS)

SURA Saipan’s $10 buffet is back and falls in line with guidelines set forth by the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force.

Assistant manager Michelle Park said unlike before when customers help themselves to the food, SURA Saipan waitstaff now serves it to them.

“Before the customers got their food, now they choose and we give it to them. Following all procedures for buffet under the new normal, they still fall in line. They just can’t get their own food. The food is blocked with a fiberglass shield,” she said.

Like all restaurants on island, Park said SURA Saipan had to shutter its doors momentarily when the island recorded its first COVID-19 back in March.

“We had to close our restaurant in mid-March due to the pandemic. We reopened end of March only for take-out.”

SURA Saipan reopened its dine-in service when the task force finally lowered the CNMI’s Community Vulnerability Level to Code Blue.

SURA Saipan’s buffet offers a variety of Korean and local dishes for the very low price of $10 per person.

“We started lunch buffets on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. We check [customers’] temperature. We also require our customers to have face masks on at all times except at their tables. While lining up, we strictly require 6 feet distance between our customers. We also keep a log on all our guests with contact number,” said Park.

Asked what makes SURA Saipan different from other Korean restaurants on Saipan, Park said no other Korean restaurant offers a variety of Korean and local dishes for the very low price of $10 per person.

Just some of the items available in SURA Saipan’s buffet include grilled pork, bibimbab, radish salad ( almost like kimchi), green salad, kimchi fried rice, tteok bokki ( spicy rice cake), soup, curry or Jjajang, SURA fried chicken, japchae, deep-fried buns with condensed milk, stir-fried vegetables of the day, plus six different side dishes including kimchi.

If you’re not in the mood for a smorgasbord and you’re always on the go, SURA Saipan also has $7 take-out lunch boxes available every day.

SURA, by the way, is a traditional Korean word for the king’s meal, according to Park. “So every one of our customers will be enjoying their meals like a king,” she said.

SURA Saipan is located along Beach Road next to the Garapan fire station. It is open every day 11:30am-1:30pm for lunch and 5pm for dinner. For now, buffet lunch is only available Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. For more information, call 483-6594 or reach them through their Facebook page.

For now, SURA Saipan’s lunch buffets are only available on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays