Being mainly a nocturnal creature, only a few things in this world motivate me to wake up at 6 o'clock in the morning. One of them is a hearty breakfast. You'll get me up faster if thick, rich hot chocolate is involved. And to my surprise, Sentro 1771 has both, and more! I've been asking myself why I haven't discovered this restaurant sooner.
Jericho and I met up with a couple of good friends at Sentro 1771 at Serendra at 8 o'clock in the morning for a
The first thing the manager asks me when I sat down was, "Would you like some hot chocolate?" I was liking him already. He poured me a cup, the dark, thick chocolate was so rich, you can skip the sugar. This was definitely the good stuff!
Breakfast started with an order of Pan De Sal Sandwich with Ginisang Corned Beef (P210). Sentro uses whole wheat pandesal and their famous corned beef you'd usually have in their Corned Beef Sinigang. It was simple yet delicious, with a few big chunks hidden inside the slices of bread.
My hot chocolate was far too rich to pair with the rice dishes that were ordered, so Jericho and I split a Mango-Banana Fresh Duo (P180) - it's both refreshing and a sneaky way to get fruits in for breakfast. Who doesn't want a mango-banana shake to start their day?
Moving on to the rice dishes, I started with the Baguio Longganisa na Durog (P350). The longganisa bits may come off to be a bit too dry at first, but after dipping them in the vinegar (even have it wade in there a little bit) and scooping up a bit of the rice and atchara, it was pretty darn good - like meaty chicharon, almost. I only wished they served this with more of the scrambled omelette on the side.
Everyone agreed that the Catfish Adobo Flakes (P300) was the highlight of our breakfast! Sentro's catfish dishes always hit it out of the park, so whenever you're in doubt when ordering at the restaurant, order anything with hito, even for breakfast! The catfish flakes was well seasoned, with bits of fried garlic caught in the bits of fried fish.
Jericho really liked the Adobo Flakes Fried Rice (P210), a garlic fried rice marinated with chicken adobo flakes and spring onions and topped with a sunny side up egg. Not being a rice-vore, this wasn't a huge deal for me.
What I did like was Sentro's Hole In One (P280) - French toast with a hole in the middle filled with a sunny side up egg, served with crispy bacon and baked beans, served with either brewed coffee or hot chocolate. You know what I ordered. Any excuse to get another cup of their sinful hot chocolate.
The strips of bacon were surprising - they were really lean, like, zero amount of fat lean. I didn't know such a kind of bacon existed. I loved it! I didn't feel so guilty eating so much, the French toast more than made up for it anyway. The egg was perfectly cooked, with the runny yolk oozing out of the center, and I was happy as a bee. My only complaint would have to be the smidgen of baked beans. The Oliver Twist in me wanted to go up to the cook as ask, "May I have some more?"
After the mosre savory part of the breakfast, we welcomed the sweet with Sentro's Homemade Pancakes with Banana (P185). Similar to their sister restaurant, Cafe 1771, Sentro makse their pancakes using sour cream as opposed to the traditional buttermilk pancakes. I didn't really taste a difference, but the pancakes definitely came out a lot more thicker, while staying light and fluffy.
Going to Sentro wouldn't be complete without and dessert, and I was dying to see my friends' reactions when they tasted the Fried Suman & Mangoes (P180). Their reaction was one of surprise at the texture of the tikoy-like suman, with the fresh mangoes lending an added sweetness to the latik drizzled on top.
Of course, they were also quite hesitant when eyeing the dubious-looking Keso Flan (P220). How do you eat it? Why are there pieces of quezo de bola and sliced bits of salted egg next to the flan? Why is the flan so small? Trying the rich, creamy flan, they realized all you really need was a small spoonful of the stuff to satiate your sweet tooth. That, along with the cheese and salted egg made for an odd, delicious combination. Trying to describe what they were in for, the only explanation I could come up with was, "If a flan and a bibingka had a one night stand, what you're tasting right now is the morning after."
So, when you find yourself mucking around Serendra in the morning and looking for a bite to eat, nix that popular pancake place and head on over to Sentro 1771 for your Filipino (or American) favorites instead. Relax and people watch while sipping you fifth coffee of the day, or in my case, a luscious cup of thick hot chocolate.
Just mucking around Manila,
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Images taken by Jericho San Miguel
Sentro 1771
+63 2 856 0581
Serendra Piazza, McKinley Parkway
Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
Open Daily: Monday - Sunday, 7am - 12mn
