Hyatt pulls out all stops for Lunar New Year

Hyatt Regency Saipan is leaving no stone unturned in ushering the Lunar New Year and will be greeting the Year of the Dog with a four-day celebration.

Director of food and beverage Sam Cheng said the Garapan landmark’s celebrations would kick off with a Lunar New Year’s Eve Chinese Dinner tonight, Jan. 28.

He said traditional Chinese fare prepared by Chef Xu would be served at the Kili Café. The cost of the dinner, which would include such entrees as steamed fish, chicken, and pork dishes, would be $35.

“This would be a traditional Chinese buffet. Normally during Lunar New Year’s Eve, the Chinese hold family gatherings and reunions and partake of traditional Chinese dishes,” he said.

Cheng also said the names of the dishes during this special occasion would denote wishes of good fortune and luck for the Lunar New Year.

The next day, Sunday, Jan. 29, the first day of the Lunar New Year, Hyatt pulls out all the stops with the traditional lion dance and fireworks starting at 11am.

“We welcome all our in-house guests and the island community to come out and join us. They always know that we have the traditional lion dance on Lunar New Year and they always look forward to it,” he said.

The 15-20 minute event to bring good luck and fortune to the hotel in the Year of the Dog will be preceded by a Chinese Lunch Buffet, again at the Kili Café. The Chinese Lunch Buffet will be offered from Jan. 29 to 31 and costs only $21.

Chef Xu will once again be whipping out Chinese entrees and other delicacies from his kitchen, but as an added treat, Hyatt has also imported a chef from Tianjin, and together the two would be serving up, as Cheng puts it, “all the flavors of the Middle Kingdom.”

He said China is a big country made up of many provinces, each with its own distinct cuisine, and Hyatt would be offering traditional Tianjin, Szechuan, Guangdong, and other’s region’s delicacies during the three-day Chinese Lunch Buffet.

Cheng said part of the buffet is the Lunar New Year’s Cake, which Hyatt has especially ordered from one of the Chinese restaurants on island. He said the cake is based on a traditional recipe and is once again meant to bring luck and good fortune to those who eat it.

The Hyatt F&B director said he is inviting the local community to again join them in their celebration of Lunar New Year beginning tonight.

Aside from the special Lunar New Year’s Eve Dinner and the three-day Chinese Lunch Buffet at Kili Cafe, Hyatt will also continue to have its regular $31 Sunday Lunch Buffet at Giovanni’s on Jan. 29.

For more information about Hyatt’s offerings this Lunar New Year, call 234-1234 and ask the reception desk to be connected to the food and beverage office. (Mark Rabago)