Savoring Sah'vo-ree

"Savoring Sah'voh-ree"

Sun.Star Davao, May 14, 2011

Starting from its humble beginnings as an Escolta-based panciteria in the 1950s, Savory (uniquely pronounced as "sah'voh-ree") Restaurant was named as such because its Filipino-Chinese owners wanted to serve food that was “appetizing to the taste or smell” to their loyal customers.

However, it was only after the Savory Chicken dish came out that the brand began to have a strong following from its growing clientele.

Who wouldn’t fall in love with their lip-smacking chicken which is marinated in a special secret sauce with spices, and then fried to its crispy and juicy perfection?

I remember during summer vacations in Manila, as a child, I would eat Savory’s famous chicken with our relatives at home and it was such a treat! That was way before the ubiquitous lechon manok became common take home food and our favorite fastfood chicken dishes still did not exist. Now, I’m giving away my age. Tee-hee!

We decided to rebrand to Classic Savory in order to refresh the brand and re-establish it with the current times”, says the restaurant’s marketing supervisor Niño Uy Cardenas.

Niño shares that the owners always knew that Classic Savory will be able to maintain its hold on their family-oriented market but when they opened their first branch in 2007, they did not expect the response to be that overwhelming.

“The food served in Classic Savory are comfort food dishes that make people feel better just by eating. The food is prepared fresh everyday by our cooks and we use only the best quality ingredients for our dishes. We also make sure our people in our restaurants know what customers need to have a satisfying dining experience”, describes Niño.

Aside from their well-loved Savory Chicken dish, their other mouth-watering specialties and bestsellers include classic dishes such as Lomi, Pancit Canton, Sweet and Sour Pork, to name a few.

“Classic Savory has recently been awarded by SOOO PINOY of Philippine Daily Inquirer, Department of Tourism and Unilever Food Solutions as having one of the best tasting pancit canton dishes”, Niño proudly adds.

With 41 branches nationwide and still counting, the third generation owners are aggressively expanding all over the country in order for more customers to experience what generations have been craving for in their restaurant.

“Davao being a premiere city in the Philippines has always been our priority and we’re happy that we were able to finally open a branch in SM Davao and soon in Abreeza Mall”, enthuses Niño.

E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit www.momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com.