MANILA, Philippines - The novelty of being on one’s own can wear off quickly. Going off to college, being away from home and living a life of semi-independence has its perks. But after subsisting on fast food and quick, boring meals for extended periods of time, home-style cooking that one can savor unhurriedly becomes a special treat. For generations of students and young adults from the universities near Katipunan, Quezon City, the slow-cooked comfort food lovingly prepared at Cravings would be hard to beat.
The classic choices are mouthwatering. Chicken Cordon Bleu, American baked spareribs and tenderloin tips skillet. Healthy eaters would love the Parmesan-crusted fish or fish fillet in olive oil. However, my own top comfort food choices would have to be the tender, creamy lengua con
champignon, delicious roast beef with mushroom, or stuffed chicken galantine, cooked just like we do it at home. There are other tasty items, but it is a struggle to deviate from these favorites. Perhaps the heightened appreciation for these dishes comes in knowing that the “flavor effect” could not have been achieved using fast cooking methods. These traditional meals were surely cooked skillfully, slowly and carefully.
For Alma Gruenberg, VP for retail marketing of Citibank, however, the true test of classic slow cooking is determined by dessert, particularly leche flan. As a truly devoted connoisseur, she is exacting about flavor and feel. Happily, she deemed the smooth, even texture and sweetness of the restaurant’s egg-yolk custard perfect. “Just like that made by my brother-in-law, who makes the best leche flan.” And really, at Cravings it is quite easy to find a favorite item that one can associate with family, comfort and home.
“We are proud that Cravings has been part of important family celebrations such as birthdays, graduations, promotions, holidays, weddings and anniversaries,” says Cravings Group CEO Marinela “Badjie” Guerrero- Trinidad. “Some couples who used to date in Cravings even ask the restaurant to be their wedding caterer.”
Mellany Montemayor, Citibank program manager for retail marketing, could only smile and agree. Mellany recalls college dates with her boyfriend at Cravings. “One time the theme was ‘Venice’ and there was a gondola where you and your date could have your photo taken,” she reminisces.
But the Cravings experience does not end with nostalgia alone. The restaurant has grown and matured gracefully, in fact, and all of its six branches around the metro continue to be a favorite dining tradition for families. The look of the original restaurant in Katipunan has been modernized, but the gustatory comfort derived from various specialties of the restaurant still strikes a special chord somewhere in the minds and hearts of many people. Small wonder, then, that the restaurant is celebrating its 22nd anniversary this year.
What is the secret of Cravings’ longevity and continuous success? Aside from the great food, perhaps it is the constant effort to do better and strive for more. “Our passion and love for cooking will never diminish,” say the owners. “We will constantly improve our meals and services to satisfy new generations of food lovers.”
Not content with having a successful restaurant, Cravings founder Susana “Annie” Guerrero and daughter Badjie Trinidad set out to put up the first culinary education institution, the Center for Culinary Arts Manila, in 1996. They are also behind C2 Classic Cuisine, which serves traditional Filipino food with an innovative twist, The Coffee Beanery, C3 Events Place and Oceana, a restaurant/ satellite school/events center with a picturesque view of Manila Bay. Their company also has a catering arm called Classic Cravings Catering and Events that provides excellent value-for-money catering packages.
In all these ventures, however, the passion to serve good food remains basic and constant. “One of the values in life that I learned from my mom is to cook with love,” says Badjie. She shares with us other important lessons: “Be humble, never stop learning; value relationships, always bring out the best in people; and share your recipes, learn to share your blessings.” As their way of sharing, the Cravings group holds livelihood training in depressed communities through the Culinary Education Foundation (CEF), where they teach housewives how to cook low-cost nutritious meals for livelihood and home consumption.
“Use the best ingredients, never skimp on quality; eliminate wastage, cook with whatever is on hand; be creative, innovative and resourceful,” advises Annie Guerrero. Recognizing the benefits of organically grown vegetables, her current pet project is the Kaingin Ecology center in barangay Pansol in Quezon City, where pesticide-free vegetables are grown in soil fertilized solely by kitchen byproducts like fruit and vegetable parings. The healthy, eat-all-you-can greens in Cravings’ salad buffet come from there.
Nowadays, however, another good thing about dining at Cravings is that Citibank cardholders will be given a 20-percent discount if their food bill adds up to at least P500. The promotion will run until July31, 2011 and is part of Citibank Dining Privileges, a program that offers the
Hearty favorite: Filipinos prefer their American baked spareribs with rice.
best restaurant deals at more than 1,000 restaurants in the Philippines and more than 4,000 restaurants in Singapore, Indonesia and
Thailand.
Now is a good time to use your Citibank card to transport you back to the much-loved tastes of tradition, family and home. Feast on nostalgia and slow, lovingly cooked meals.
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The Citibank promotion is “borderless” so that cardholders are entitled to the discounts wherever their card is issued. Citi
Dining Privileges also comes with a guarantee: If another credit card offers something better than your Citi Card in any restaurant that carries the Citi Dining Privileges sign, you will get a reimbursement on the difference. Likewise, you get your money back if your Citibank card reward is not the best deal there.
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Cravings branches are located at Cravings Center, Katipunan, Quezon City; Shangri-La Plaza Mall in Mandaluyong City; Fraser place in Makati City; Tomas Morato in Quezon City and Festival Mall in Muntinlupa City.