Sentro 1771: Contemporary Filipino Cuisines Reviewed

Dining at Sentro will remind you of your favorite Filipino dishes that nanay (mom) or lola (granny) used to cook for the family dinner table. And being Pinoy at heart, Sago was excited to check out what’s cookin’ at Sentro 1771.

So together with four foodie friends I moniker the BAND (Brian, Az, Noemi, and Dine), Sentro 1771 in Greenbelt, Makati City underwent palatable analysis. 🙂

We mostly ordered their signature dishes to verify the classification. It included Rated GG, Catfish Sentro style, Corned Beef Sinigang, and the new Crispy Drunken Shrimps.

Honey Garlic Pork Spareribs P350

The menu said: “Really tender grilled pork spareribs.” Really take it word per word, especially the first two. Or the knife was just really sharp; but I think it’s the former.

Rated GG P230

GG is short for Galunggong fish (Makarel/Big-Bellied Round Scad). Although the galunggong recipe is common in Filipino homes, Sentro’s Rated GG is a five-piece galunggong fillets fried in garlic, oil & topped with browned garlic. It is one of their signature dishes but I find it just ok. And since it’s fillet, it’s easier to eat in comparison to the usual home-style.

Catfish Sentro Style P350

The catfish fillet is glazed with Japanese ponzu sauce (sweet-sour-soy). I’m not really sure what a Japanese ponzu sauce is, but this catfish, or ‘hito’ in local terms, was a sure surprise for me. I didn’t know catfish can taste that good. It certainly tastes much better than how it looks like.

You can actually have your catfish cooked in another style other than “Sentro style,” you could have it as “Adobo flakes” (P350) where your catfish is cooked like adobo in vinegar, native garlic and turmeric (luyang dilaw). It is then fried with the garlic until crisp. I have to try this next time.

Corned Beef Sinigang P420

The Filipino cuisine is never complete without the tamarind broth. Sentro’s Corned Beef Sinigang is one of those to be sought with in their menu. It’s a mix of corned beef short ribs (the real corned beef) and boneless shanks with native vegetables. A Sentro original and the best one of the night.

Sentro’s Bagoong Rice (P280)

We had the Bagoong Rice for our staple. The menu says “A meal in itself,” and I would have to agree! Rice fried with garlic and bagoong (shrimp paste). The serving size is good for sharing with a friend or two. It comes with a generous serving of grilled Macau chorizo slices, beef tapa and some omelet strips.

I am not much fund of anything with bagoong, but I didn’t mind this one since it was mild. Moreover, I would just have to say that the sliced grilled Macau chorizo is very good. They could make a totally new dish out of it! Again, let me repeat that, the sliced grilled Macau chorizo is very good!

Lastly, this article would not be over without mentioning the bottomless Sago’t Gulaman drink (a Filipino concoction) just for Sago. 🙂 I missed to take note of the price though.

In summary, Sentro is known for innovating and reinventing home grown Filipino dishes, and interestingly taking “lutong pinoy” a notch higher. We (Sago & I) highly recommend and give our thumbs up for Corned Beef Sinigang, Catfish Sentro Style, and definitely the Bagoong Rice.

Surely, we’re coming back because there’s a lot more in their menu to try and discover. We’re already eying the Sizzling Tofu, Fish Mimosa, Sentro Roast Chicken, Tomato Kesong Puti Salad that looks too good in the photo of Sentro’s website, Kare-Kare, and the Catfish Adobo Flakes.

One of the BAND members even noted that we missed the Australian Lamb Caldereta (P450) in the menu, having seen it too late.

Sentro is the modern Filipino cuisine arm of the Chateau group of restaurants. It is located at the 2nd level of Greenbelt 3 in Ayala Center, Makati City. Tel 7573940. Mobile number: 09178660449.

Await next month’s review on two of their new offerings: the Stuffed Squash Blossoms and the Crispy Drunken Shrimps.

See more details about Sentro and the Chateau 1771 Group of Companies here. Also watch out for Sentro 1771‘s second branch cooking soon in Serendra,  Bonifacio Global City early May.