When Sentro 1771 opened at Greenbelt 3 over a decade ago, people raved about how it managed to elevate Filipino cuisine. Instead of serving home-cooked food, executive chef Vicky Rose Pacheco gave her dishes a modern twist.

For example, the “lowly” galunggong was filleted and served with a citrusy ponzu sauce. Diced tofu was tossed in a sour dressing and served on a sizzling plate. This inexpensive source of protein was also cubed, fried and paired with diced bangus (milkfish) belly and spiked vinegar, a healthier take on tokwa’t baboy (fried tofu and pork).

Instead of alienating purists, Sentro drew Filipinos and foreigners alike who appreciated the chef’s efforts.

“Normally, Filipino food is served in a casual setting with casual service—all dishes served at the same time,” Pacheco said in a statement. “We’re bringing Filipino dining to the next level by adding finesse—it’s casual, not formal, but fine.”

Until now, Corned Beef Sinigang is still Sentro’s bestseller. The drama involved after placing one’s order—a waiter presents a demitasse of broth to the head of the table, who then decides whether it is sour enough—won diners over. Romi Garduce, one of the first Filipinos to climb Mt. Everest, said in a radio interview that all he wanted to eat after the climb was Sentro’s Corned Beef Sinigang.

Business as usual

A second branch opened a few years later in Serendra, Bonifacio Global City.

Its newest outlet is at Capitol Commons in Pasig City. During a recent visit, this writer was pleased to note that there were no tacked-on signs announcing, “We are on dry run, please bear with us.” Instead it was business as usual. By lunch, the first floor was filled with happy diners.

The staff’s efficiency and professionalism can be credited to Sentro founder and CEO Ricky Gutierrez and Pacheco, who started out as a sous chef at Chateau 1771. They have worked together for 25 years opening restaurants and bars such as Chateau 1771, Sidebar, Portico 1771, Sentro 1771, Café 1771 and WineBar 1771.

In the book “Behind the Doors of Chateau 1771” (RRVG Publisher, 2013), Gutierrez admits that the restaurant business is very challenging: “Some days you run it, some days it runs you, and if you don’t respect it, it can run you to the ground.”

Pacheco can only shake her head “over foodies who think they can create a restaurant because they love to eat. That’s not the way it works.”

Passion, consistency

To stay in the business this long naturally requires sufficient capital and an overriding passion to create and innovate.

“We would never have lasted if our food was not authentic, consistently delicious and of good quality,” said Gutierrez.  “The steadfast commitment of everyone in the organization to excellent food and service is what helped Sentro stay on top of its game for the last 12 years.”

For lunch that afternoon, Pacheco served the house favorite, Corned Beef Sinigang, and some of her new dishes. There was a papaya salad similar to the Thais’ Som Tam, but without the spice.

Smoked fish (tinapa) and chopped vegetables were stuffed in rice wrappers like Vietnamese spring rolls, and tilapia fillets were cooked in coconut milk and served on a bed of malunggay. While not exactly groundbreaking, the latter made for easy eating since all the bones had been expertly removed.

Pacheco also served two kinds of rice: the first tasted like the Thai rice we know that is mixed with fermented shrimp; the second used red rice and vegetables, supposedly the healthier alternative.

Dessert was a hit—the combination of cheesecake-like leche flan (crème caramel) with slivers of salted duck egg and quezo de bola made for a salty-sweet treat.

It’s good to know that, since it opened over a decade ago, Sentro 1771 has stayed true to its tagline of serving modern Filipino cuisine.

Call Sentro 1771 at tel. nos. 9418277 (Capitol Commons), 7573938 (Greenbelt), 8560581 (Serendra).