Fridays are the perfect excuse for me and Daddy S to have date nights. It is the end of the week long hard work, all the more reason to unwind, plus Friday nights usually has the worst traffic jam of all days in Metro Manila.
Last night, Daddy S was craving for soup so we decided to have dinner at Sentro in Greenbelt 3. Sentro serves Filipino dishes with a twist. This is my second time here while Daddy S often comes here with his colleagues. Inside theo restaurant you can already feel the Filipino vibe with light fixtures made of local materials (abaca) and chairs have sewn rattan in them. It was a homey atmosphere. The only concern that I have last night is that the restaurant is quite humid, probably there is something wrong with the air conditioning. But it was forgivable because the staff and waters are very accommodating and warm.
While waiting for our order, we munched on a local snack called “Buto ng Pakwan” or dried watermelon seed. Basically, you eat it by cracking the seed open and inside you will get the nut. Tastes a lot like a peanut. A good idea to serve to waiting customers because it will while away the time trying to crack all the seeds open but you will not get full because the fruit is very small.
Now for the food, we ordered for the house specialty which is the “Sinigang na Corned Beef”. Wikipedia describes Sinigang as a Filipino soup or stew characterized by its sour and savory flavor most often associated with tamarind (sampalok). It is one of the popular viands in Philippine cuisine. It is loaded with vegetables such as okra, kangkong and eggplant. Prior to serving the dish, the waiter let us have a sip of the soup to know if we want to adjust the sourness/saltiness. I appreciated this part of their service very much because it gives customers the leeway to have the soup tastes just how they want it.
Sentro lived up to the expectation of their famous dish. The vegetables are not overcooked; the kangkong stalks are even crunchy! I am not a big beef eater but I enjoyed how tender the meat are. Hubby said it taste good too and the quality of the beef is high (he is the expert, not me!).
Another dish that we tried is the tofu with chicken on oyster sauce. It compliments the sourness of our soup dish. I am a big fan of tofu and chicken so I enjoyed this one very much. I like that it is not fried and is a very light dish.
To make the dining experience a lot healthier, I paired my viands with organic brown rice and water with lime.
To conclude, we enjoyed our dining experience at Sentro. The service, food and ambiance is much commended. Air conditioning needs improvement though. But overall, we recommend this restaurant for the family. We left the restaurant as happy and satisfied customers.
Note: This is not a paid advertisement. The blogger came in and left the restaurant as a paying customer. Everything written on this blog was paid on the dining experience of the blogger on the day of their visit.