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. read more

Cravings - Jakarta fried rice - Chinese Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Cravings is a go-to place for warm, affordable food. I usually order their spicy chicken/beef fried rice ( which is good and filling enough). Their chicken lo mein, vegetable lo mein is also good for less price. read more

The food is okay, if you can get over the bugs in your rice. I had no idea this place has been shut down so many times for health code violations, but now I can't say that I'm surprised. Eat with caution. read more

Cravings - Chinese Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

This place is truly phenomenal for the price. My personal suggestion is to ask for everything you order to be made extra spicy. The Jakarta fried rice is my personal favorite and of course, extra spicy. It comes with shrimp and crispy diced chicken that is just so good in the fried rice. The rice comes packed into large takeout container with a fried egg on top. The lunch menu is also insanely cheap with full entrees and rice served for $7 or less. This is probably the best fried and possibly even the best Chinese restaurant on Green for the price. Enjoy! read more

Cravings - Jakarta Fried Rice - Chinese Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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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. read more

Cravings - Stir fry tofu with black fungus - Chinese Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

The employee or owner at the register recommended the hot & spicy chicken; but, if that is the best they have, I don't want to come back. The chicken was hard and flavorless, as if it had sat in a freezer for months, before being thawed and stir-fried. read more

Very good Asian food just off Green St. My new favorite place for sure. The chicken was tender and soft unlike other places where it can be a little rubbery. The portions were also huge and it's such a low price. The service was fast and friendly as well. Would definitely recommend and I'll be back. read more

Pretty average and basic. The menu bored me a little, the food was good not great. I ordered beef with black bean sauce and it was good but nothing special. Granted I paid like $7. Overall, it was kind of boring considering the alternatives close by! read more

Cravings - Chinese Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

I have been searching in vain for serious Chinese food ever since I left the SF Bay Area 14 years ago. Unfortunately I lived in the South for 13 of those years, but last year we moved to Urbana and still couldn't find any place that was as good as the ones in San Francisco. They all seemed geared towards the American palate, which to me is somewhat bland. My wife and I stopped in here today, and this is it! Truly authentic Asian cuisine, oh so good! Everything was perfect, the spiciness was exactly what we wanted, and you can actually taste the pork in their pork egg rolls. Even the white rice by itself was superb. I read some of the other reviews and got a good laugh at one perturbed reviewer. The poor dear got scolded for being on the phone while standing in line. Of course they could have stepped out of line or told their friend that they would call them back, but no, let's get upset and feel abused instead. Four years later and the trauma is still fresh. Kiddo, you have *so* much living ahead of you, maybe you'll get it someday. I think we might go back for more tonight. This place is the best! read more

Some of the best take out Chinese food on campus with the best prices. Their hot and spicy soup is my fave and they have amazing tea. I usually get fried rice, but their entree's are really good and filling. There's usually enough food for multiple meals! Take out has a really fast turnaround time and the staff is always nice. There are enough seats to sit and enjoy a very casual dining experience, but you order from a counter and they call your number when the food is ready. They have both an english and chinese menu. read more

dry fish curry with egg add spice and jakarta fried rice add spice have given me so much serotonin.

Man. I was wary about this place, because it looks like every other Chinese food place ever and I don't like most takeout restaurants. But it's really really good. Sure, it's not the swankiest of places, but if that bothers you so much take your food to go! First of all, the guy running the place is so cool. I told him I wasn't feeling well and wanted some soup. He was like, I have JUST the thing. Not long after, I picked up a huge bowl of soup with big ol' chunks of fish cakes, squid and shrimp. It was a hot and sour seafood soup with noodles, and it was nice and spicy. At most places, when they talk about spicy food, it's not really that hot. Not so at Cravings. I am used to eating spicy food and I was wiping my nose. Gross, I know. Anyway, the ingredients taste fresh and the portions are huge. They provide water and tea for free, which is great when it's cold outside. And they give great takeout containers for soups. I know, it's the little things. I'll definitely be back to try more on the extensive menu. Hm, I wonder if they deliver... read more

A little bit of home away from home. A wide selection, healthy portions, cheap prices, and consistently yummy Chinese food is why I really like it here. Cravings reminds me of my mom's cooking which is always a great treat when I'm feeling homesick or just get ridiculously sick of dorm food (which is often). They have a very extensive menu with something for everyone, they have lunch specials for even cheaper chow, and the owner is very friendly (yay for discounts, especially if you go often). I would recommend any of their noodle or rice dishes (I frequently go with Ma Po Tofu or anything with chicken ^^) and they cater all people from those on special diets, vegetarians, Americanized Chinese food (think orange chicken), to the more traditional dishes. You can take-out as with most Chinese restaurants, but I've always sat down with friends when I eat here. Good eats. read more

Tofu and Broccoli with Garlic sauce is the only dish you need to know. Everything else is quite mediocre. At some point there is no taste to the meal. However, this dish in particular is quite good, mentioned above. read more

So good! The owners are so nice and the food is always good. I love to get the Hunan pork, twice cooked pork or the Ma Po Tofu. Totally recommend read more

This is the tastiest Chinese food on campus (note, Golden Harbor is not on campus). It is also the cheapest, and they give large portions -- for me, easily enough for 2 meals usually. Most dishes are $6-8. Some more special ones are $9-12. The more American orange/General Tso's/sweet and sour/etc. chicken dishes are $5.25. The owner guy behind the counter most of the time is one of the friendliest restaurant workers I have ever met. Tips: -They make Chinese food the best. If you're unsure of what to get, your best bet is to get something Chinese instead of Japanese/Thai/etc. -Be sure to look at the white board on the floor to the left of the counter! -Explore the Chinese menu sitting on the counter (it has English translations) These are some of my favorites: Basil pork egg rice, Jakarta fried rice, Pork with preserved vegetables, Crispy beef, Fried fish fillets with bok choy, Beef stew eggplant pot, Spicy fried chicken, Mapo tofu, Sizzling chicken pot. read more

Everytime I've gone here every dish has been good. I've also brought my friends here multiple times and they all said it was super good as well. The owners are also super nice and make me feel at home. read more

One of the ladies working at the cash register remembers my friends and me whenever we go in! She even remembers our orders. The food is excellent, the prices are super reasonable (especially for college kids) and the people are very genuinely happy. read more

Overrated, clap, clap, clap, clap. Overrated. Yelpers, I usually trust your judgment, but you didn't get this one right. Since I love small hole-in-the-wall places with friendly owners (this place meets those criteria), this review is kind of hard to write, but I have to do it. The Mongolian beef that I ordered was cold. Additionally, it wasn't sweet, and there were a lot of onions in the dish. A lot! The ingredients (rice, beef and onions) were fine, but I can't eat something that has been sitting around for awhile and isn't fresh and hot. I'll try this place again because the owner is a nice guy, but my first experience wasn't a good one. read more

Oh how I miss CRAVINGS. This place is really like home away from home. The guy who runs the place is from my hometown in Malaysia. So usually when I walk in here I just ask him whats good today and I just take what he recommends. For fans of uber spicy dishes, try the chilli chicken. Yes the place is dingy, but its really cheap, especially if you split family style. You can call ahead to order. read more

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. read more

First time in Champaign, IL and I went to my trusty Yelp app to find a tasty place for dinner. After reading the reviews for Craving, I decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, the summer hours aren't updated on Yelp and the place was closed early on Sunday night. Oh well, Monday night, I returned and boy, was I glad I did. This place is about as dive as you can get. But we all know, good Chinese restaurants are all about the food...so I dove into the menu. I was happy to see they had a "Chinese" menu for the real authentic dishes. I ordered the mushroom and tofu curry. It came with a small bowl of seaweed soup and rice. Extra rice was free (which is always should be!) as was the hot tea and ice cold water. The curry and the soup were both delicious. I returned the next time to try their famous hot and spicy chicken. WOW! The servings are enormous. There is a reason why this is the most popular dish...it was amazing. Cravings is a must try for Asian food lovers. I highly recommend it. read more

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. read more

Five minutes in I wanted to leave. So I did. It wasn't very busy, walked in and sat down, didn't realize you're supposed to order and fetch yourself. Table was dirty, started to wipe it down as I noticed the manager was standing there watching me and not offering to help. All the other reviews rave about the bang for the buck on tasty food and I'm willing to bet they're right. Maybe one day I'll come back and take it to go. read more

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 ;-). read more

There are really better options, both in Champaign and on campus. I don't really want to say that, because I used to love Cravings. Like many of the people writing 5 star reviews, I was impressed by the large menu, the frequently cheerful staff, and the mostly reasonable prices. But as I went to other Chinese places in town, my opinion began to change. I noticed that most of the dishes at Cravings were really heavy and oily. And that most of the specials were very similar to one another. And that some of the menu options .. didn't really match what was being described. I don't mind some innovation, and I know you can't really get a Japanese style bowl of Ramen anywhere in Champaign, but Cravings' offering is nowhere close. The last three times I went I ended up throwing out my leftovers. I absolutely hate wasting food, but I couldn't finish them. One was a squid special; the squid was extremely chewy and seemed overcooked. The plate was mostly green peppers in a salty sauce, in any case. Another was a "coconut shrimp" plate. This translated to fried shrimp with (very sweet) uncooked coconut milk simply poured over them. Unhealthy and not even tasty. The last was Gado Gado Fish, which I remembered getting and enjoying in the past. It was still really heavy - lots of breading with an oily, thick sauce. If you want to spend a little more money, I highly recommend Golden Harbor instead. But the food is much better. If you want to spend about the same or just a little more, I'd check out Lai Lai Wok instead - which I think is overrated, too, but is a bit better than Cravings. Or you could get take-out from Rainbow Garden, which is pretty solid. If you want to spend less, you could try out Empire or Bo Bo China. (Bo Bo China is all you can eat if you really want to maximize your calories/dollar.) read more

This is my favorite Asian food. The quality of the food is unbelievable. Service is very quick and fresh. The owner and his family are great people who care a lot about their product and their customers Go to Cravings you won't be disappointed. read more

I love this place. Not only does it have fond memories in my heart of high school and college, it has great food and great staff. The man that owns it is super nice. When I used to go with my sister a lot in high school, he always gave us a huge smile and said, 'Hi twins!' The Indonesian fried rice, Crispy beef, Crunchy Chicken, and basically anything on the menu is amazing. I love this place. read more

I love this place. Great food and the owner is super friendly. I am a senior on campus and I would argue that this is the best Chinese restaurant on campus. What should you eat? Jakarta fried rice, Spicy Chicken, and Crispy Beef. I literally came here 2 or 3 times a week this past summer and I never regretted it. read more

Love this place for cheap and pretty tasty chinese-ish food. Went there the other day, and my boyfriend and i split the fish masala (crispy and spicy) and pork hofun (noodly with mild brown sauce). 2 very different meals, both delicious and very filling. Food is very reasonably priced,. Restaurant does look a bit dingy and generally smells a bit funky, maybe a greasy-smell. Still recommend the food. read more

Cravings really caters to poor college students--the prices are cheap and the portions are decently sized. And it also helps that the food is actually good here. read more

Living at the corner of Green and Wright, I should have seen my addiction to Cravings as inevitable. There is a huge menu with a lot of great items. My favorites are the General Tso's Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Jakarta Fried Rice, and the Hot and Spicy chicken. The food is delicious. The prices are great. You always get more than enough meat and a side of rice. That said, the place is kind of sketchy. There are rumors that it was closed for a few days in Spring 2013 due to health violations. And I'll admit, I have seen a bug or two crawl around right on the menu. But with the delicious, greasy food that comes out of here, I'm willing to eat a couple bugs. Definitely worth it. Pro Tip: Call in your order for pick up and start walking there. By the time you get there, your order will be ready to go and all you have to do is pay. Boom. read more

Went to this restaurant multiple times. Gotten different meals ranging from broccoli & chicken to some veggie plates. Food comes out pretty quickly and is decently priced for a campus-town restaurant. Not the cleanest restaurant out there and finding seating can be difficult during the school year. Also does get pretty loud in there when its packed. Overall, good food at a pretty cheap price, give it a visit. read more

This place is a family owned restaurant with a rapport that is unmatched in Champaign. My dining experience was exceptional, due to the family friendly vibes and the hospitable staff. I had a spicy, curry chicken dish that was recommended by the owner. Unfortunately, I do not remember the name of my dish but believe me when I say it was delicious. The spice was not overpowering and the flavors were very robust. The price was very affordable, there are very few things on the menu over $10. After receiving my food, the owner personally came over to my table and asked if I liked the food. He stated that he wanted to be sure that I enjoyed it. This was very nice of him and it made me feel appreciated that I decided to dine here with my friends. I went during peak dinner times, so the place was packed. I did find the overcrowded dining area to be a bit overwhelming, but the food made up for that. This is also indicative of just how good the food is! One thing that I don't like is that fact that you have to stand in line and place your order at the register before being seated. I would've preferred a waiter. For your first time, be sure to review the menu before going for this very reason. I lucked up and trusted the owner's recommendation. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. If you are in the mood for some good Chinese food you must try this place out. read more

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? read more

Ordered Garlic Ckicken with fried rice. There was NO sauce! Ruined my meal. Never had this without some sauce, worse I've ever had. Not in town often, so not sure if bad night but I'm not happy as it wasn't cheap. read more

OK. First I need to say that I'm not a Chinese food fan. But, I like some kinds of it. Ambient of this restaurant is very bad. There is always a smell and smoke inside. Because of that you may start coughing. This is a very bad thing! Food is OK. But I had better experiences about Chinese restaurants, so this is not my first option in C-U. And, price is reasonable, actually cheap. However, service is so slow. So many people order by phone before they're coming to this restaurant. To sum up, if you wanna have a Chinese food, Cravings wouldn't be your first option, as long as you're not specifically try the food of "South China". I recommend Evo, in C-U area. read more

Good food, if you know what you are looking for. Large portions. The menu has good dishes and bad dishes. I recommend sizzling chicken hot pot, eggplant with Szechuan garlic sauce, and twice cooked pork. Never go for their 'most popular' dishes or you will never find the actually good dishes! Bad, free tea. Chairs and tables sticky/smell like hot chili oil, do not leave your jacket on them. Overall slightly above average chinese place, definitely different (better) than your run of the mill takeout. Go here to figure out what irresponsible students actually eat. read more

they're nice about allergies and other diet restrictions, and the restaurant owners are chill and cool. also, i really like their beef ho fun. it's my go-to meal whenever i don't know what and where to eat. they make it just like the ho fun that i like from a specific restaurant i've gone to since i was a kid read more

One of my favorite places while going to UIUC. It's cheap and got great portion sizes for students. The owner is hilarious and they got free tea and water while waiting for the food. Pay cash and no taxes for you :) read more