MAYA’S Kitchen, which opened during the pandemic, is now one of the popular Filipino food vendors on island.
Maya’s Kitchen will have a stall at the CNMI Women’s Association office on Capital Hill today from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“I love cooking, which I think I inherited from my mother,” said Maya’s Kitchen owner Mylene “Maya” Canoza. “I started my business slowly by cooking simple recipes then eventually trying more options.”
Canoza said the pandemic restrictions forced her to stay home. With nothing else to do after completing her house chores, she started conceptualizing her food business idea.
“It has always been my dream to become a successful businesswoman so I decided to make that dream a reality by acting on it,” she said.
She started making achara (pickled papaya), puto (steamed rice cake) with cheese and palabok (rice noodle dish) and selling them to friends who clamored for more.
“So I continued cooking what my friends loved — I put my heart in cooking,” she said.
Her specialties include well-known Filipino desserts, such as “biko,” “kutsinta,” “pitchi pitchi,” “maja blanca” and “kalamay ube.”
Her savory bestsellers are stews including “menudo,” “kaldereta,” “kare-kare” and fresh spring rolls or “lumpiang sariwa,” to name a few.
“I use my mother’s recipes to make the dishes extra special,” Canoza said.
Catering for birthdays and other celebrations
Canoza also offers catering services for small events.
She is inviting community members to visit the CWA office on March 15 and 18 to sample her mouthwatering dishes and desserts.
To order or for more information, call (670) 287-7757.
“To all the women of CNMI, you, too, can show your talents in cooking or crafts and turn them into income-generating activities. It doesn’t matter if your dream is small or big as long as you enjoy doing it and you have a passion for it,” Canoza said.
Mylene Canoza with her husband Burth Dacumos and two kids Vincent and Gabriel.
Maya’s Kitchen offers catering services for parties.
Maya’s Kitchen is known for its delectable Filipino desserts: “puto,” “kutsinta” and “pitchi pitchi.”
Mylene Canoza started her business by selling “puto” or steamed rice cake with cheese and salted eggs.
