Hyatt hosts Mabuhay Night buffet tomorrow

Hyatt Regency Saipan will join the Filipino community in celebrating the 120th Philippine Independence Day with its Mabuhay Night buffet dinner this Wednesday at the Kili Café and Terrace.

Assistant marketing communications manager Claudine Camacho said the Garapan landmark has been celebrating Philippine Independence Day the past decade and this year is no exception.

“This is for our Filipino friends here on Saipan. Thank you for helping us grow our economy,” she said, adding that a lot of their hardworking staff are also Filipinos and Mabuhay Night is also in honor of them.

Kili Café’s own outlet manager, Althea Baltazar-Capati, is a Filipino herself and, with the rest of the hotel’s Filipino staff, has been integral to Hyatt’s success throughout the years.

“I’m really excited [for Mabuhay Night] as I really love Filipino food,” she said, adding that members of the United Filipino Organization will get a 20-percent discount for Wednesday evening’s Filipino buffet.

Hyatt executive sous chef Zen Tomakane said he and his staff had a great time brainstorming about the dishes and are excited to prepare a gastronomic feast of Filipino food for Mabuhay Night.

“When you think about food around the world you think of the popular dishes and you always want to be comforted. What I love about Filipino food is that it’s all comfort food,” he said.

Tomokane echoed Camacho that Hyatt is holding Mabuhay Night as a toast to Filipinos on island.

“Why is the Hyatt doing this? Because we are part of the community…and we want to celebrate Philippine Independence Day. It’s a perfect time to celebrate this,” he added.

The one-day only Mabuhay Night buffet dinner will be held at Kili Café & Terrace beginning 6:30pm tomorrow night.

The cultural buffet will feature Filipino specialties like galanting manok, atcharang papaya, bulalo, pancit palabok, seafood kare-kare, laing, lechon liempo, and halo-halo, just to name a few of the popular, ethnic cuisines from the Philippines. It will include free-flowing beer, iced-tea, and red and white wines.

As an added treat, Saipan Music and Dance Company will perform cultural song and dances at the hotel lobby and at the Kili Café & Terrace outlet.

The price for the Mabuhay Night dinner buffet is $60 per person and $40 for Club at the Hyatt members. Dinner will be served from 6pm to 9pm. Reservations are highly recommended. Call 234-1234 ext. 26 for more information.