Very affordable ‘Izakaya’ at Fiesta

Discover the taste of authentic Japanese food and drinks in a newly launched “Izakaya” dining at the Mai Restaurant of Fiesta Resort & Spa in Garapan.

Izakaya is a type of Japanese bar or restaurant that is popular for after-work drinking.

It serves alcoholic drinks, including sake, jinro, or soju, and truly delightful Japanese dishes that come in a variety of small sizes.

At Mai Restaurant, Izakaya opens from 6pm to 930pm daily.

HIGHLY AFFORDABLE

Mai Restaurant manager Noriko Nampo said Izakaya offers quality food at low prices, mostly at $3 to $5 per order.

“Many people think that if it’s a hotel, it’s expensive. But it’s not true with our Izakaya dining. It’s a totally different concept. We want people to enjoy their after-work time,” said Noriko.

For the whole month of June, diners can take advantage of the restaurant’s “party of four” promo, which gives a free one 375ml bottle of Jinro and a 50-percent discount on all items ordered from the Izakaya selection.

It means that from June 1 to 30, diners would actually be paying $1.50 or $2 for most food items.

“This is truly exciting. We are excited ourselves to offer this to our costumers,” said Noriko.

TRADITIONAL CUISINE

Izakaya gives local diners a chance to discover traditional Japanese cuisine.

The restarant features finely selected appetizers such as Sunomo, Ae Mono, Ohitashi, hijiki, aburaage aburi, and kimpira gobo.

These are mostly vegetable dishes.

For instance, Kimpira Gobo is a stir-fried slices of carrots and Burdock root, a fiber-rich food, in soy sauce.

The restaurant also offers grilled, deep-fried, simmered food items as well as rice and noodles, that all come in an elaborate and appealing servings.

Izakaya rice, for instance, called yaki onigiri is a baked triangular piece of rice in soy sauce or sweet miso.

NEW CHEF

Mai Restaurant has a newly arrived chef from Japan, Wataru Henmi, who prepares the Izayaki dishes.

Wataru, who arrived on island only last week from Sendai, is a sushi master.

Wataru, 34, said he began his Japanese kitchen career more than 10 years ago.

He first worked in Sendai, then later in a sushi restaurant in Shioyama, a place near Sendai that is famous for sushi. In 2001, he went to Canada to work at a Japanese restaurant. After nearly two years, he returned to Sendai.

He found out about Saipan from a friend who works here.

“He’s very talented. A person who knows his skills in sushi making and authentic Japanese cuisine invited him to come here,” said Noriko.

Wataru said he is excited about the restaurant’s focus on Izakaya.

“I’m happy that it’s being done here. I am able to do what I enjoy doing,” he said.

He said he has learned the art of sushi-making since he was a teenager.

“It’s something that I love doing,” he said.