Sentro 1771 is said to be the pioneer in promoting Modern Filipino Cuisine. They mixed and played around with ingredients to produce classic Filipino dishes with Western and Asian twist.

They are the restaurant that created the Sinigang Corned Beef which I have blogged about several years back. They have been in business since 2002 and they still try to maintain the kind of standard and quality of food they pledged to provide their guests.

I’ve been to Manila several times but it was only last year that I got to dine at this restaurant, two times for that matter. The first was to take my parents out for lunch after my mom’s meeting at church and the second was during my sister and brother in law’s 25th wedding anniversary.

On my first visit, I had to try their famous SINIGANG NA CORNED BEEF which made them popular. They offer a solo and sharing size. What is unique about this restaurant is that they cook their sinigang according to your preference. The server will let you sample the broth to make sure the sourness is to your liking. He would then asked the kitchen to adjust the seasoning to suit your taste. Sinigang is a sour broth and Filipinos can be very particular on how sour they like their soup to be.

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I also got the BANGUS PANDAN (milkfish with miso-tomato-malunggay stuffing grilled in pandan leaves) and FRESH SMOKED FISH SPRING ROLL for appetizer. This is fresh lumpia of tinapang bangus (smoked mikhfish), salted eggs, mustasa, onions and tomato. Since I am in Manila, I tried their housemade salabat which is the Filipino version of hot ginger tea.

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For dessert we shared an order of BIBINGKA – the Pinoy pancake topped with kesong puti, salted duck egg and grated coconut and BANANA and KAMOTE UN-CUE – caramelized saba banana and sweet potato.

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The second time was when my sister and brother in law celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary at the small private room of Sentro 1771. They decided to keep the festivities simple and didn’t invite anyone outside the immediate family so it’s just my parents and us four sisters together with our respective families. My brother in law is known to pull out all the stops whenever he entertains and invites us out to eat. He almost ordered the entire menu since he wanted us to sample all their specialties. He got three orders of each since we were a party of 16. Here are what we feasted on:

SIZZLING TOFU – Diced tofu in a special soy sauce and mayonnaise dressing.

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MACAU CHORIZO AND CHEESE TIDBITS – Mini spring rolls filled with Macau chorizo, shallots and keso de bola.

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GRILLED CHICKEN BARBEQUE – Grilled boneless chicken leg marinated in their very own barbeque sauce.

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BEEF CALDERETA – The popular Philippine beef stew with tomatoes, spices and bell peppers.

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GRIILED SQUID – marinanted in soy and calamansi.

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STIR FRIED AMPALAYA and MALUNGGAY – Thinly sliced bitter melon Cooked with garlic, onions, chicken, pork and shrimp.

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SENTRO BAGOONG RICE – Topped with omelette strips, Macau chorizo, air- dried beef tapa, chicharon, and green mango strips.

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CLASSIC GINATAAN – Ube, sweet potato, glutinous rice balls, banana and tapioca cooked in thickened coconut milk. 

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COFFEE PIE – Chocolate-cashew crust with coffee filling topped with cream cheese and toffee sauce.

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BUKO SPLIT – Ube ice cream in fresh coconut topped with macapuno and buko jello.

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