SAIPANPRENEURS OF THE WEEK: VICTOR AND LINDA BALIAN
By Walt F.J. Goodridge

Saipan Tribune, Micronesia (Federated States of Micronesia in S. Pacific)
Oct 24 2006

The Saipanpreneur Project: Creating economic success for the CNMI

The only way to take control of your life, raise your standard of
living and move beyond merely surviving is to create your own unique
product or service that you offer to increasing numbers of people in
exchange for the things of value that you desire. This simple formula
applies to countries as well as people. A self-sufficient economy
has its own products or services of value to export to the world.

Similarly, a self-sufficient individual has something of value to
exchange in the global marketplace. That thing of value is based on
your natural talent, skill, or interest-in other words, your passion!

In last week’s column, I made the suggestion that Saipan (and of
course, the entire CNMI) could achieve a brand identity as a place
of health, healthy lifestyle and/or eating. As a result, I received
quite a few suggestions to meet and get to know a special couple who
already seem to be leading the movement to achieve just that.

Meet Victor and Linda Balian, owners of the Golden Lobster Restaurant,
located on the Chalan Lau Lau end of Middle road opposite the NMPASI
building, a few yards down from TicToc. Syrian-born Victor, and his
wife Linda, originally from Iraq, are now proud U.S. citizens who
took over the Golden Lobster in May of this year.

(They’ll be changing the name of the restaurant very soon to the
Magic Lamp to reflect its new Mediterranean menu.)

So, how and when did the two of you meet?

Victor: "My sister is good friends with Linda. She introduced us
back in 1986. I think we met in a hospital for about 10 seconds. But
she was married to the "other guy," [Linda smiles] so we were just
acquaintances. We didn’t get to know each other better until after
Linda divorced. So I’d say we really met and started getting serious
in 1995.

How did you end up on Saipan?

Victor: It was business initially. In 1996, I was made a great job
offer by a major construction company. So we’ve been here for 10
years now.

You mentioned you’re Armenian, born in Syria. Would you explain
that please?

Victor: "Armenian is an ethnicity I’m very proud of. It’s just like
here someone might be of Chamorro or Carolinian blood, but born on
Saipan, I’m of Armenian blood, born in Syria.

Why a restaurant? Is that a mutual passion?

Victor: My wife is a very good cook. It’s her passion to cook.

Linda: A few months ago, we were sitting home. We had both lost our
jobs, and were deciding what we were going to do next. Should we leave
the island? Should we stay? We love Saipan, so we decided to stay."

Now even though you serve a wide range of meals including chicken and
beef, yours is the first I’ve seen with such an extensive vegetarian
menu. Why is that?

Victor: My wife has been vegetarian for six years now. Since we’ve
been here on Saipan, it’s been a little difficult to find restaurants
that really understand what that means. I remember once we were in a
restaurant and ordered vegetable soup. When the soup came, we saw it
had shrimp in it. Linda is also allergic to seafood. So we told the
waitress that we ordered a vegetable soup and showed her the shrimp.

She took it back to the kitchen. A few seconds later, she came back,
put the soup on the table, and we noticed that the shrimp was still in
the soup. She said, "Chef says, ‘don’t worry, no charge for shrimp!’"

So what makes YOUR restaurant special?

Linda: What we serve in here is very unique. You cannot find it
anywhere on the island, and nowhere in the Pacific for that matter.

Nobody has what we have here. We’re representing Mediterranean food,
from our countries, so we go to special lengths to make our food
taste just right.

Victor: See those 50lb bags of there? That’s bulgur wheat. I import
it myself. It’s a regular part of people’s diet where I come from.

Linda: Bulgur wheat is very low in carbohydrates. No starch, so it’s
great for people who are diabetic. It comes in different sizes, so you
can use it for many types of dishes, including as a rice substitute.

Victor: We get exotic Mediterranean spices for our dishes, many that
you can’t find anywhere even in the states. And my wife mixes her
own spices.

Linda: There’s no MSG in our food either.

Victor: My wife makes a homemade chocolate yogurt that kids really
like; kids really like the chocolate, and there’s no sugar in it,
and it’s healthy. We also make homemade pickles.

Linda: And if there’s any cheese or butter in any of the dishes,
I make sure the saturated fat is less than 3 percent.

Speaking of saturated fat, you mentioned something very impressive
about that when we spoke earlier. Could you share that with our
readers?

Linda: Well, I brought my cholesterol level down myself without any
medication. It was 260; now it’s 190.just by eating pretty much what
we serve here.

Victor: My wife also has a diploma in Fitness and Nutrition, AND
she’s a Herbalife distributor, so if anyone needs it, she can put
them on a diet and help them make money at the same time! [Laughs]

Anything else?

Linda: Let’s see..Our pita bread is home-made. I mix my own baking
powder.

Victor: And we make our own ketchup! With low sugar!

Now Victor, you’re not vegetarian. How do manage at home?

Victor: Well it’s just like on our menu, there’s food for the
vegetarian and food for the meat eaters. We’re not out to change
anyone, but just want to give people different choices every now and
then that they might find tasty.

Linda: Being vegetarian is just my personal choice. We started
raising animals here on Saipan. And as I got closer to the animals,
I just couldn’t chew on them anymore! Everytime I think about it,
I hear our goat crying in my mind.

Victor: My wife asks me ‘how can you eat that? Don’t you remember
Bambi? Don’t you hear the goat crying?’ I say, ‘yes, I’m crying too,
but I’m hungry!’

And just in case people think a healthy diet isn’t just as delicious
as what they eat now, tell us some of the feedback you’ve gotten.

Victor: We had a group come in the other day, and when they had our
Shawarma [Mediterranean dish popular throughout Asia.], they said
they never tasted Shawarma like ours!

Most of our clients who are doctors from CHC and other places are
regular customers.

Linda: People taste our hummus, and say, ‘We never ate humus like
this.’ That makes me happy, because I give the dish as much as it
takes to be perfect. If I cut back on the lemon, or on the tahini,
it won’t taste the same.

[On their way out, two diners from NMC complimented Victor on the
food. Just then, another customer, Jack Stokes of the TSA, came in
and greeted us. I decided to find out for myself what people liked
about the Golden Lobster. I asked Mr. Stokes:] Why do you come here?

Jack: "I love the Shawarma! It’s different, tastier.. the lunch
specials are reasonable, I like the atmosphere, and the customer
service is fantastic."

And I understand you do all the cooking yourself, Linda? Wow, talk
about passion!

Linda: I’ll give the food as much as it takes. There is a big
difference in the food whether you spend 10 minutes or two hours
preparing like I do. There’s a difference whether you use canned
vegetables or fresh like we do, soy sauce or real spices like we do.

I only use virgin olive oil, and balsamic vinegar in our salads. If
it is expensive, it doesn’t matter. The quality of the food is what
comes first in my list. This is how I am. If it takes expensive,
exotic spices, that’s what I use. What I’m sharing is a traditional
and cultural way to cook. I cannot just make shortcuts.

[During the interview, Linda got up a few times to go the kitchen.] I
notice how involved you are in the cooking. Are you training anyone
to take over for you?

Linda: In my country, we say, "It’s the hand." The unique way the
food tastes is in the cook’s "hands"; it’s the spirit of the cook
that you taste. It’s a talent, passed from one person to another. I
got it from my mother, and she got it from her mother. When I cook,
I don’t even have measurements, my measuring cup is my hand. And I
don’t even taste the food. I know how it tastes just from the smell.

So I cannot train someone. I’m not trying to be selfish, but it’s
just that the quality of the food will suffer, because they have
different hands.

[While I was there, a couple walked in, sat down, looked at the menu,
but left shortly afterwards. I asked Victor about it.] Why did that
couple leave?

Victor: She [Angel, the waitress on duty] told me they wanted a certain
pork dish. We don’t serve pork. Not because of religious reasons,
but because it’s not healthy. That’s been proven.

Linda: I come from a different corner. I cannot change my quality
or serve certain dishes just to get more customers. I can prepare
a dish of humus much cheaper but I would rather close. These are my
principles in the kitchen, and I cannot change it.

Follow your passion and stick to your principles. That seems like
great advice for everyone. Victor, any advice for other entrepreneurs?

Victor: Pay attention to every detail in your business. You may need
to alter your expenditures in hard times, but be patient for better
times to come!

Experience Linda’s Mediterranean cooking passion every day from 8am
to 2pm, and from 6pm to 10pm. (Lunch specials start at 11am). Contact
Victor and Linda at the Golden Lobster (soon to be Magic Lamp) at
670 234-765. Visit for more information.

* * *

Until next week, remember, success is a journey, not a
destination!–Walt

(Walt F.J. Goodridge is author of 12 books including Turn Your Passion
Into Profit. Walt offers coaching and workshops to help people pursue
and profit from their passions. Originally from the island of Jamaica,
Walt has grown several successful businesses in the US, and now
makes his home here in Saipan. To learn more about the Saipanpreneur
Project and Walt’s philosophy and formula visit
and Send article suggestions, entrepreneur
nominations and feedback about this article to walt@passionprofit.com.)

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