{"id":398307,"date":"2023-08-02T01:48:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T01:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=398307"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"100-attend-launch-of-Chico-de-Marianas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/100-attend-launch-of-Chico-de-Marianas\/","title":{"rendered":"100 attend launch of Chico de Marianas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Around 100 VIPs attended the launch of the Chico de Marianas at Kensington Hotel Saipan\u2019s OHAS Cafe last Friday and all went home mesmerized with the fascinating taste of the CNMI\u2019s first homegrown chocolate souvenir.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Guy Pudney, Marianas Pacific Distributors resident manager, said he will surely take advantage of the chocolate\u2019s buy-1, take-1 promotion that evening because it\u2019s just that good.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll are delicious and my favorite is the donni sali. Man, it\u2019s so delicious with just a very slight hint of heat and the tourists are going to love this. This is something to take home, even our visitors from the States and Guam when they come here I have a feeling they will be looking for this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rep. Vicente Camacho (D-Saipan) said there\u2019s something with the Chico de Marianas that will make anyone come back for more.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll chocolates are good but if you add a little oomph to it, it makes a lot of difference. I liked the lemon the most because it\u2019s sourness complements its sweetness. Sweet and sour, I love it!\u201d<\/p>\n

The daughter-and-mother pair of Teeon and Velma Palacios, meanwhile, have different favorites.<\/p>\n

\u201cLime is my favorite because of the dark chocolate. The pika is not for me. I think it is just too spicy for me. It was good but I\u2019m not really into spicy chocolates,\u201d said the former.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the spicy, then the lime, then the mango, and then the potato,\u201d added the latter.<\/p>\n

For Jolene Sablan, the heat of the doni sali was just right.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite is the pika because I love pika and it just has a nice balance of chocolate and spice. It just had the spicy finish that I like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pacific Islands Club Saipan general manager Gloria Cavanagh, meanwhile, couldn\u2019t really make up her mind as to what flavor of chocolate is her favorite.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a tie between lime and pika. I think with the lime it\u2019s because of the dark chocolate. It\u2019s also not overly sweet and it had a tang with it. With the pika it just has a very unique taste with the spicy kick at the end.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

As already mentioned, Chico de Marianas comes in four unique flavors\u2014ma\u2019aksom (citrus sour lime), duci (tropical sweet mango), pika (spicy hot pepper), and ppwil (creamy sweet potato).<\/p>\n

The Chico de Marianas\u2019 creators\u2014Kensington chefs Sung Won \u201cSam\u201d Hong and Haena Kim\u2014also revealed that there are actually steps to indulge on the desert as they suggest to try out ma\u2019aksom first, then duci second, pika third, before capping it off with ppwil to fully experience their rich flavors.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the start of the event, E-Land CEO Brian Shin said the main motivation for Chico De Marianas, which means \u201cKiss of Marianas in Chamorro,\u201d is for the CNMI to finally have its own chocolate souvenir conceptualized, made, and ingredients sourced from the islands.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe CNMI is a multi-island destination and I was always wondering, in fact, a lot of our team members always wondered, what is the special souvenir that our tours can take away when they’re visiting the CNMI that represents us? There are a lot of great products out there that you can find from a lot of retail stores like I Love Saipan, DFS Saipan, and ARC. However, there’s nothing really representative that\u2019s made in the CNMI so what we did is we came up with a product that uses ingredients from the Marianas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Shin added that it actually took Kensington Hotel nine months to come up with the name, three months to procure the molding from Turkey, and even specially ordered the premium chocolate ingredients from Belgium.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chico de Marianas is available 10am-5pm everyday at OHAS Caf\u00e9 in Kensington Hotel Saipan. It costs only $19.90 per box and $70 for four boxes. It\u2019s also available at DFS Galleria Saipan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For more information about Chico de Marianas or to reserve orders, call (670) 322-3311.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jolene Sablan, left, poses with husband Alex Sablan, right, and Carlene Sablan , second from right, as they are served hors d’oeuvre and samples of Chico de Marianas during the local souvenir chocolates launching last Friday at the OHAS Cafe of Kensington Hotel Saipan.<\/p>\n

-MARK RABAGO
<\/figcaption><\/figure>

<\/p>\n

E-Land CEO Brian Shin addresses the around 100 VIP guests that attended the launching. To his left is<\/span> Pacific Islands Club Saipan general manager Gloria Cavanagh.<\/span><\/p>\n

-MARK RABAGO
<\/figcaption><\/figure>

<\/p>\n

Kensington chef Sung Won \u201cSam\u201d Hong describes what Choco de Marianas is all about while chef Haena Kim and\u00a0<\/span> Gloria Cavanagh look on.<\/p>\n

-MARK RABAGO<\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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