Cravings

My husband and I love this place. It’s very homey, the owners are super friendly. Our favorite dish is the hot and spicy chicken, which we haven’t found made the same way at any other Chinese restaurant. Whenever we visit CU, we stop by for the chicken before hitting the road again.

Having been an Engineering student of UIUC, it is almost inevitable coming into contact with Cravings. At first, I was skeptical about this place, mainly because of its outer appearance and about some hearsay. However, I finally decided to go there a few month ago, and let me make it short — I have been coming back there almost every day from back then.
To start off, I have to say that the atmosphere there is not really the best you can find around campus — and that is already said quite nicely. Saying that, I mean that you should get used to people lining up right behind your table, a lot of walking around and loud talking. But since you most likely do not go there for the atmosphere, let’s talk about their food.
First off, they have an American and a Chinese menu. While most of the customers tend to the first one and decide to go for dishes such as Fried Rice or Noodles, the real good things lie beyond.
Admittedly, I was disappointed about this place when first going there a couple of times. I had several versions of the fried rice including the «famous» Jakarta fried rice. Characteristic for those dishes is the huge amount of cooking oil being used and not much more.
Shortly after being introduced to some more alternative choices, I really came to appreciate this place. Especially the Chinese menu holds a great amount of diverse dishes that really come with a great taste — let it be seafood, beef or tofu. I have to admit that I do not really like the chicken there and the pork is even a level below that. I mainly stuck with beef and seafood and I could never complain about the taste and quality of those. The Beef or Tofu with Mixed Vegetable was one of my favorite dishes there, mainly because they actually serve a huge portion of vegetables and beef that will never make you leave unsatisfied.
The Braised Beef with Noodles and Bean Casserole is also really good in terms of that it offers a unique taste. The Sizzling Chicken Pot is also really good if you are more in the mood for a hearty and more greasy dish — and in contrast to the usual Fried Rice it actually comes with a different facet of taste.
As for the main noodle dishes, I can recommend Seafood or Beef Angle Hair and, one of my favorite dishes there, Seafood or Beef Chow Fen. This dish consists of stir-​fried wide rice noodles which, admittedly, are quite greasy. However, you can tell them to make it a little less greasy when ordering.
Also, with every main dish you get a bowl of Miso Soup. The soup itself is nothing special, but actually quite O.K. for coming at no extra cost. Also you get as much hot urn tea as you want.
Generally speaking, I would always order the small alternative when giving the option between Large and Small since the small portion is already more than big enough for one single person. In general, every dish being served is more than enough in terms of size.
And the best about it is that it actually is crazily cheap to eat there. The Tofu with Mixed Vegetable, for example, comes for a little less than 6 $. Generally, it is a good idea to go there with a friend and share a large portion of something and you come out at around 6 $ each also. You will hardly find any restaurant around campus that beats their pricing. I admit that the dishes there are certainly not top-​notch — for their prices, however, you cannot ask for more.
If you are an Engineering student (and even if you are not), you should have checked this place out at least once in your UIUC student career, and please do not leave it at ordering only some variation of Fried Rice — go ahead and try some of their other stuff, too. At some point of time, you will eventually find «your» dish that makes you always come back for more, even if it might be their Fried Rice ;-).

tasty food. you have to know what you are ordering but generally the food is good

By far the best Chinese within campus limits. The hot and spicy diced chicken is my personal go-​to. It’s the perfect combination of greasy and spicy and the rice tastes great once it’s absorbed the oil. I’ve also had the fried rice, which is a solid and cheaper choice.

After my fifth time ordering off the «American» menu, the man taking orders gave me the Chinese menu. I got the hint. So now I’ve ordered from both menus and I’ve never been disappointed. It’s not the best food, but it’s good, and it’s very convenient, and it’s fast, and it’s not expensive. I haven’t ordered something I didn’t like.

Cravings, the Worshipped God of the North Quad.
Similar to Maize, I think it’s been overhyped. The menu has a wide selection of similar dishes that are cooked in an Americanized style with few varied sauces & spices. The amount of times this place has been shut down due to health violations is insane. Large portions, but at what cost?

This is my favorite place to have lunch when I come to visit my son. Don’t expect fine dining it is very divey but you can’t beat the value or flavor.
Every time I have come the same man is at the counter taking orders. He write in beautiful Chinese lettering. He knows his business and works hard at it.
Some favorite dishes are the dumplings which come with a very nice sweet and spicy sauce, the egg drop soup and the Jakarta fried rice which has a whole fried egg perched on top. Recently a friend got the chicken curry which is serve with noodles. It was way too spicy so I would skip that one. The portions are huge. The complimentary chrysanthemum or jasmine teas are terrific so make sure to take advantage of them.

Good memories have attached to this place. I enjoy their beef and broccoli, as well as their chicken dishes. A classic grungy Chinese restaurant.

Cravings? More like CRAMPINGS! Seriously, my stomach has never felt so cramped and twisted as it was after I ate here for dinner.
I ordered the fried fish with masala; it was very oily rather than crispy and the spice rub was overwhelmingly dense, and made up of SO much MSG that my head was throbbing after only eating about half of the plate. It must have been a seriously high concentration because I’ve never had this bad of a reaction to MSG in food before. I was feeling so sick that I threw the rest of the food away and went home. I woke up later in the middle of the night with intense head pain and stomach pain, got about 3 hours of sleep.
If you value your stomach, and mental health please don’t go here!

Literally my favorite restaurant on campus. The service is amazing, and the man who runs the place is the most interesting guy I’ve met on campus. Hot and Spicy Chicken, Jakarta Fried Rice, Crispy Chicken Slice, Tofu Dry Curry, Tofu Masala and Todu Gado Gado are my go to items. Come for the food, stay for the service.

Last Sunday evening at around 5:30pm, my wife and I went to this restaurant. There were still a lot of customers there, then we had to wait in line. Most of the customers are UIUC students, but not necessary Chinese students. There are quite a few other Asian students, like Indian. And also American students. This kind of remind me of my school time… The food taste very good, while a little expensive though.
There are also free hot water or tea provided.

I heard Cravings is the official ECE restaurant. I can dig it.
I’ve come many times and so far my favorite dishes are the singapore rice noodles and the fish masala. They are spiced pretty heavily, so only order if you know you can handle it. Additionally I find their food a tad salty. for around 7 bucks a meal. Actually like many said the portions are enough for two meals. Cravings definitely has great value. Make sure to ask for more rice after you finish your first bowl, and pack it go to!
I’ll be back here many times.

Not too pricey. Taste good but a little bit salty. Fired rice is the cheapest one. Shredded pork with bamboo and three cups chicken taste great. Beef & cilantro with chili sauce is really spicy.

Hot and spicy Chicken is a must try!
It is the best tasting, authentic Chinese.
However, not the cleanest inside, take it to go so that the cleanliness doesn’t bother you.

Why is the food so good??! I literally can’t get enough of the food here. Coming from a Chinese family, this place really reminds me of home with the Asian ladies peeling peas, the numerous voices chatting in different languages, and sometimes the owner’s children? running around. It’s a very lively place and I really like the owner — he’s fluent in multiple languages and is overall a pretty cool guy. The food is really cheap and you get a lot for what you pay. One nuisance is the long lines and crowds because they’re so popular, but they have a good ticket system to make sure you get your order.
My favorite item is the Jakarta fried rice! I’ve also ordered the wonton noodles in miso soup which have lasted me for lunch, dinner, and impromptu midnight snack. Their menu is really diverse and offers home-​made meals from China, India, Indonesia, and many more Asian countries. If you’re from outside of the U.S. and missing home, a meal here will soothe your aching heart like chicken lo mein for the soul.

Great takeout options. The food was fine. I got Chinese food, but there are so many other cuisines available on their menu.

I haven’t even tried the food yet, but the service is more than enough to bring me back again. They’ve got a wide variety of cuisines here, but they’re mainly a Chinese restaurant. For their Chinese food, they have separate English and Chinese menus (with American Chinese food on one, and real Chinese food on the other).
The girl at the counter was very enthusiastic about explaining the menu to us. She made several recommendations and she knew everything that was in every dish on the menu. Totally different from most Chinese restaurants.
*Update: The food was great. My tofu in the stir fry tofu with black fungus could’ve been crisper, but the seasoning was perfect. The whole dinner portion comes with unlimited rice, unlimited side soup, and hot tea for under $ 8! I will definitely be back again to try other things on the menu.

Between 6 hungry people, we ordered:
1) Indonesian Fried Rice
2) Crispy Beef
3) Crispy Tofu
4) Chicken Lo Mein
5) MaPo Tofu
Platters are around $ 7 each and everything is cooked fresh to order. The flavors are amazing here and the service is amazing, the food comes out quickly. It’s feel-​good, home-​away-​from-​home cooking. It’s no wonder there’s always a lot of international students and a few home-​grown midwesterners eating here — they’ve discovered one of the best spots for Asian food in Champaign. (And the engineering quad is also right across the street!)
It’s not a fancy place. You’ll clean your own plates when you’re finished and when you order, you’ll be given a number which they will call out from the counter. You can grab your own silverware, napkins and cups of water/​tea from the big kettles near the cash register and clear your own dishes when you’re finished. But what they lack in pomp and panache they make up for with good food and cheerful service. Simple as that.
If I had to choose to order one thing consistenlty, it would be their crispy tofu. Hefty wedges of soft tofu are lightly breaded and fried. It’s served topped with strings of fresh green onion and this incredible thick garlic dipping sauce, which I would eat with plain rice. It’s that good! And it’s my favorite.
The Indonesian Fried Rice comes with a fried egg on top and their MaPo Tofu comes spicy (chilis bring it on), in a very sharable portion. Our dishes also came with the soup of the day, something along the lines of egg drop soup with tomotoes. Here you will get an affordable meal with amazing Taiwanese-​Indonesian-​Chinese flavors.
When i was a student here, I would mostly order take-​out and the portions would last me at least two meals. Come here if you want a filling, hearty meal that will nourish your heart and soul. Dining in is great to eat family style since the dishes are shareable. If you come consistently enough, I think you’ll find your favorite dish that you’ll want to order every time. The owners are incredible people who take great pride in their restaurant. They know they are a beloved spot on campus and treat their patrons in the same way.

My second take-​out Chinese experience in Chabana while here at school, and it wasn’t much better than the first.
My roommates and I decided to order from Cravings after realizing the Golden Harbor might be too expensive. This was probably a bad decision as we had moved from probably middle tier Chinese to low tier Chinese food in terms of price and quality.
The General Tso’s chicken was just OK, I’ve had better and it honestly more resembled orange chicken in both taste and looks.
Others got a beef dish and a seafood combination which was on the Chinese menu. I had no clue many of these restaurants have Chinese menus that are often more authentic and probably better quality and tasting than the regular menus. I need to order off those menus and not the Americanized ones for future reference.
The fried rice was pretty bland as well.
Eggrolls not very good, either.
They forgot to include a side order of crab Rangoon and when we called back they said next time we are in the Rangoon will be free.
I wasn’t impressed with the food but in all fairness it was like $ 6.50 for a large portion so at least I wasn’t hungry afterwards.
I still want to try some of the other Chinese places in Champaign as well as ordering off the non-​Americanized menus. I think the cuisine is interesting but the quality just hasn’t been there at the last couple places I’ve tried.

Well, almost exactly one year later, I’ve revisited Cravings as my first lunch after coming back to CU. While the points I made last time about the interior still stand, I did try the Jakarta fried rice, and it was quite good! Good enough to bump this up to 4 stars, but alas, I had some bad service this time around. A mistake was made when putting in my order, so I ended up having to wait 20 minutes for my food. I couldn’t even sit down to wait since all the tables were full. Ack! Just 3 stars then…
P. S. Excessive use of styrofoam — cups, takeaway boxes, and bowls for small soups, all in styrofoam.