Minami makes ‘beautiful waves’ on Saipan

To find the best kept secret in town, head north to the Palms Resort Saipan, where a restaurant is creating a sensation among the lunchtime crowd for its wide selection of authentic Japanese cuisine, imposing architecture, stunning view, exceptional service, and the kind of prices that will keep you coming back for more.

Minami is Japanese for “beautiful waves” and that is exactly the kind of impression the Minami Restaurant is creating since it opened on Nov. 24, 2008. Barely two months in operation, the restaurant is generating a lot of buzz, mainly via word-of-mouth, due to the exceptional quality of the food, the wide selections available, and prices that don’t put a dent in one’s pocket.

It doesn’t hurt that the package comes with such a fantastic ambiance. Sheathed in floor-to-ceiling glass walls that face the Saipan lagoon on two sides, guests have an uninterrupted view of the Palms Resort’s manicured gardens and artificial river, while natural light literally floods the place, complementing the stark, clean lines of the Japanese architecture within. Small touches also enliven the experience, such as the stiff, snowy white table napkins, the lotus-shaped wasabi, and a large, almost architectural table that could comfortably seat 20.

It all comes down to the food, however, and that is where the formidable duo of Palms Resort General Manager Mustafa Issa and Executive Chef David Jones made the biggest impact.

Jones, who joined Palms Resort just this month, has transformed the Minami Restaurant into the go-to place for lunch. Served buffet-style, guests are offered a wide variety of food, with the chef station featuring several types of sushi, tempura, and other Japanese staples. They also have a live station for sukiyaki and other Japanese noodles and soups, appetizers that are meals in themselves and a dessert station that is infinitely superior to anything else on the island.

“We have made many changes to our menu like increasing the number of selections, improving the quality of the food, and coming up with a creative selection everyday,” said Jones. “We also made changes to the food’s presentation and made improvements in our service.”

Cristina Lustre, Palms Resort’s Food and Beverage Manager, said these changes have resulted in an uptick in the number of guests, who check out Minami mainly due to positive word-of-mouth. “Our busiest days are usually Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.”

Minami Restaurant also makes it a point to change its menu on a regular basis to provide variety, said Issa. “We are conscious of it because we have many repeat customers and we don’t want them to get bored with the same food over and over again,” he said.

Although the Minami Restaurant is at the moment open only for lunch, Jones said they are now working toward offering breakfast, lunch and dinner “possibly in about a month’s time.”

Issa said they have even grander plans for the restaurant, including theme nights, an a la carte menu, and banquet services for weddings and other local parties.

All these, he said, are intended to create a loyal clientele base within the Saipan community. “I have been fortunate enough to have worked on Saipan for so many years and one thing I’ve learned is that any business here cannot succeed without the local community,” said Issa, who used to be the GM for the Hyatt Regency Saipan.

“The locals here cannot be fooled. They will always go for quality and value for money and that is what we are trying to do here,” he added.

Affable, charming, and gracious, Issa was in his element during this interview, on first-name basis with almost everybody in the lunch crowd and greeting each one with a kiss on the cheek or a handshake, peppered with light banter.

“We want everybody to feel at home here, we want to make them feel at home,” he explained. “We know your family, we know the names of your kids, we want to look after everybody in your family.”

“At the same time, the locals cannot be fooled. Sincerity is very important,” he stressed.

That rapport with guests and the attentive service provided by the wait staff add up to a meal that is as outstanding as it is filling, a feast not just for the palate but for all the senses. With the way things are going, the Minami Restaurant will definitely not be kept a secret for long.

The Minami Restaurant can seat up to a hundred guests, while its mezzanine floor, which feature tatami rooms, can seat an additional 30 people.