Starting off our lunchtime journey we took a trip to the gold medal winner for Best Fried Chicken category: Zoom Cafe in Susupe.
An order of Soy Sauce Chicken at Zoom Cafe makes us say “yum.”
Zoom Cafe restaurant supervisor Joernilyn Madiao.
A little bit of sweet, a little bit of heat, and a whole lot of flavor makes the Sweet and Sour Chicken at Zoom Cafe a hit.
Dine in or order to-go at Zoom Cafe.
Thunder Chicken serves delectable Korean-style fried chicken.
A half-order of Sweet Soy Sauce Chicken at Thunder Chicken should hit the spot.
IT’S National Chicken Wing Day! All over America, today is the day to celebrate the lunch time, happy hour, and dinner dish that’s a favorite of people who love crunch and flavor.
Here in the CNMI we have absolutely no shortage of ways to savor the flavor of crispy, juicy, saucy chicken wings.
At Marianas Variety, whenever the question of what to eat crops up, we reach for our Best of the Marianas list the way a traveler reaches for GPS. Today is no different, and we made sure our wallets were full and stomachs empty as we went around the island to celebrate the food holiday.
Zoom Cafe
Starting off our lunchtime journey, we took a trip to the gold medal winner in the Best Fried Chicken category: Zoom Chicken in Susupe.
Marianas Variety readers don’t need to be sold on how good the place is, as they voted it to the top spot.
But just in case you need a refresher: over at Zoom, you can order a plethora of wings in a variety of sauces, including the herb fried chicken, sweet and sour chicken, soy sauce chicken, and hot and spicy. A large order is $24, with regular orders coming in at $14. By the way, you can do a “half-half” order with two sauces for $25.
We spoke with restaurant supervisor Joernilyn Madiao, who says that soy sauce chicken and sweet and sour are the sauce bosses for local customers.
“I think they really like the sauce from the soy sauce chicken, especially the kids,” she said. “For sweet and sour they really like sweetness and the little bit of spiciness.”
Of course, here on Saipan the hot and spicy wings get their fair share of attention, according to Madiao.
“Some of the local people like that too,” she said of the pika wings. “Sometimes they ask if they can buy just the sauce. We make it here.”
But delicious fried chicken isn’t the only thing available at Zoom Cafe.
Madiao says the kimchee fried rice, spicy bulgogi, barbecued short ribs, and more are all worth a consideration and are very popular with their regulars.
Thunder Chicken
In Chalan Laulau, Thunder Chicken, the bronze medal winner in this year’s contest, is the go-to choice if you’re in the mood for some Korean-style fried chicken.
The restaurant serves original Crispy Fried Chicken or full-flavored sauced orders like the Sweet and Sour Chicken, Sweet and Spicy Chicken, Sweet Soy Sauce, Sweet Garlic, Onion or Chili. Full-sized orders are $25, with half-orders coming in at $13. Like at Zoom, customers can also order a half and half chicken, combining two different styles together.
JC Cafe
Now, let’s say you’re REALLY in the mood for some of the best fried chicken in the Marianas. You’re going to have to travel just a little bit over to JC Cafe, smack dab in the heart of Tinian, to see how the winner of Tinian’s Best Restaurant category serves up fried chicken.
Island residents order the buttered fried chicken routinely, and that’s because it’s simply amazing. We think the Marianas Visitor’s Authority needs to market it the same way they do Unai Taga and the San Jose Fiesta.
Store manager Lot Bunao says the buttered fried chicken also comes with a Pika Pika version, which of course means customers can expect to have fresh Tinian hot peppers mixed with the butter sauce on top of the crispy fried chicken.
So there you have it! We hope you’re ready for lunch, dinner, happy hour or whatever hour. Enjoy National Chicken Wing Day from Marianas Variety!
