CRAVING FOR MORE
by Louie P. Oviedo

Cravings started out as a hobby for Susanna "Annie" Guerrero and daughter Bhadjie. Neighbors would call their house at La Vista to order for homemade cakes. Eventually, due to the demand, they opened their first Cravings outlet along Katipunan. What used to be a garage-looking restaurant with makeshift second-hand materials, it grew into a building which now houses a pub (Brier Rose Pub) that has a bar, a dining area (Cravings Restaurant and Bakeshop), a hostel (The Orange Place), and a culinary school (Center for Culinary Arts, Manila).

And from Katipunan, Cravings branched out from other places as well. Cravings Restaurant and Bakeshop can now be found at Shangri-La EDSA Plaza, Wilson Street in San Juan, and Robinson's Place Manila.

Aside from these restaurants and bakeshops, they also have the Cafe concept which they designed to suit the shoppers wandering in the malls. It has pastas, sandwiches and other baked products on the menu. Cravings Cafes are located inside the Greenbelt Mall, Robinson's Galleria, Asturias Street in Sampaloc, Manila and their newly-opened outlet at the Festival Supermall in Alabang.

Their growing popularity has been attributed to the many students who patronized Cravings while it was still starting in Katipunan. According to Bhadjie, "Our market consisted mostly of students. What's good about them was that they would give us honest feedbacks about what they like and what they do not like about the place, which of course helped us to improve. When eventually we branched out to the malls and all the other places we're in, they instantly recognized us. By then, they're already working or starting their own family. I guess that was how Cravings grew."

Cravings also became known for its cheesecakes that come in small squares. It was meant to be served in small portions so that you'll crave for more. While their main course or entrees comes in big sizes that'll definitely fill anyone with a bottomless pit for a stomach. Entrees ordered at their Katipunan branch entitles you with an unlimited supply of soup and salad from the bar.

Though I wish their vermicelli soup would not come with overcooked vegetables and labels should "always" be placed on each of the vegetable so that diners would not keep on guessing what they're eating from the salad bar (which was what happened to me), I was already full by the time the roast beef arrived. The roast beef does not need you to wrestle with it anymore since the meat is already tender, the sauce was very tasty and gives out flavor to the entire meal. Aside from the mashed potatoes on the side, you get to have vegetables such as pechay, shredded carrots and cabbage hidden underneath the beef. With reference to my palate, I don't think pechay, potatoes, roast beef and the mushroom sauce agree with one another.

I think I've already mentioned that their desserts, especially their cheesecakes, were meant to make you crave for more. I haven't tried any of their cheesecakes yet but they do have one mean, large, sweet, mocha-latey drink which they call the Frosted J. It's a Mocha Java Java served cold in a tall glass, topped with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and a chocolate bar. And I liked it. They're actually giving this out for free should you decide to visit their website.

I liked it so much that I'll definitely go back to Cravings anticipating for this drink at the end of my meal or probably try the rest of their desserts, if I may. Which goes to prove that memories worth remembering are the ones that are sweet, the ones you can't get enough of, the ones you crave for---and no, I'm not talking about sex---it's all about Cravings.

Visit their site at http://www.cravingsgroup.com for more Cravings.