Chinen Ice Candy: Taste of childhood

Chinen Ice Candy can be bought at the company’s doorstep along Puti Tainobue Avenue in Garapan in the street right after D’Elegance Restaurant and a stone’s throw away from Holiday Saipan hotel and Healing Stone Spa. (Photos by MARK RABAGO)

Chinen Ice Candy is still the cold dessert of choice for most locals, especially for those who grew up in ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s who just couldn’t resist the numbing sweet syrupy goodness of “ice keki.”

It has become so ingrained in the CNMI’s culture that service members assigned abroad usually have Chinen Ice Candy at the top of their care package list and order all its five different flavors—soda (blue), melon (green), pineapple (yellow), orange (orange), and strawberry (pink).

Even neighboring Guam hasn’t escaped the lure of the little treat, as former Saipan residents who have relocated to the U.S. territory have shared Chinen Ice Candy with their neighbors. As a result, those coming to Saipan from Guam are usually inundated with requests to bring Chinen Ice Candy as “pasalubong” on their return.

Chinen Ice Candy was established in 1972 by Toshinori Chinen, who originally was from Okinawa, Japan. Since his untimely death in 2013, his widow, Emerenciana, has been managing Chinen Ice Candy.

“At first my husband used to walk around the neighborhood to sell ice candy and when people learned about how good the ice candy is, they always seem to come to the street and wait for him,” she said.

Through Toshinori Chinen’s hard work and perseverance, Chinen Ice Candy soon flourished and he was able to buy a small van and began to sell to stores around the island.

Chinen Ice Candy owner Emerencian Chinen holds up their five flavors—soda (blue), melon (green), pineapple (yellow), orange (orange), and strawberry (pink).

“After school he used to park his small van in front of Mount Carmel School and wait for the children to come and buy ice candy. Sometimes he played ‘Jack En Poy’ (rock, paper, scissors) with the kids and challenged them and if they win he gave them free ice candy. Sometimes if the kids don’t have enough money, he still gives them ice candy,” said Emerenciana Chinen.

Toshinori Chinen simply loved children and that was why he joked and played with them while doing his rounds selling ice candy.

“Eventually, not only children but even adults would come to love his ice candy and they began calling him ‘Mr. Ice Keki Man.’ You know, he talks and jokes a lot, maybe that is the reason it became popular until now,” she said.

Chinen Ice Candy, however, has been on a slide since Typhoon Soudelor ravaged the islands in 2015 and its sales continued to decline more due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

“We don’t make ice candy everyday anymore like we used to. When we do make ice candy we produce about 25,000 pieces in one batch. We also used to deliver to different stores on island from Kagman to Koblerville, but after Typhoon Soudelor we no longer do any deliveries to stores. We were badly affected by the typhoon.”

To make matters worse, the pandemic essentially shut down Chinen Ice Candy’s imports to Guam. “Most of our customers are from Guam and some locals buy ice candy and send it to the U.S. Also locals who join the military would ask their family here to send them ice candy in Iraq and Afghanistan. When the pandemic started, the business was still okay but when they stopped flights to and from Guam it really affected our business. This time it’s hard to make a plan. …We don’t really know what will happen next,” added Emerciana Chinen.

She has not lost hope and is planning to soon revive the company’s delivery service to groceries and other markets on Saipan. “This is my husband’s legacy and I will continue to take care of this business. And to our customer, I want to thank you for your continued support even years after my husband passed,” she said.

For now, Chinen Ice Candy can be bought at the company’s doorstep along Puti Tainobue Avenue in Garapan in the street right after D’Elegance Restaurant and a stone’s throw away from Holiday Saipan hotel and Healing Stone Spa. For more information or for bulk orders in advance, call 234-6233.

Chinen Ice Candy doesn’t make ice candy everyday anymore like it used to and only produces about 25,000 pieces in one batch.