Current mood : grateful

Make that extremely grateful.  I recently wrote about what happened to my Dad and since then I've been running around like a headless chicken.  He was finally given the go signal to undergo knee surgery and the operation took place yesterday at 730am.  So after things were settled at home, we trooped to St. Luke's Medical Center in Quezon City to see how he was doing.  Our arrival was timely.  He had just woken up after being in the recovery room for more than two hours.  Although still slightly groggy from the spinal anesthesia, his face lit up as soon as my toddler walked through the door.  

I don't like hospitals.  Even simple and brief visits to the pediatrician make me feel uncomfortable.  This hospital smelled extra weird, so I had to walk around a bit to forget that I was starting to feel nauseous.  I noticed that there weren't too many options as far as dining was concerned.  There was only one indoor restaurant and the rest were outside, close to the main road and with very small spaces.  

We had no choice but to have dinner at Sweet Tomato Grill, the indoor restaurant.  I really wasn't too excited about the food, even after I saw all the food shots in the menu.  But I had judged them prematurely.  The food was good and the servings were quite generous.

Chicken Teriyaki w/ sauteed vegetables

Sirloin Tapa w/ egg and fried rice

Sauteed Fish Fillet w/ black bean sauce

Each of these dishes is good for sharing.  They'll tell you that it's a single order but trust me, if you're not a voracious eater, you can split this with a friend.  I tried all of them and I was quite impressed.

What was the best part of my meal though?  It was this.

My all-time favorite Filipino drink ... Sago Gulaman (tapioca pearls and agar jelly) with lots of shaved or crushed ice.  It won't quench your thirst the way water does, but it's so refreshing!  Even if the weather was gloomy, I didn't think twice about ordering it.  Really though, it's a popular summertime drink in the Philippines.  Do I care? Lol.

Thank God for that enjoyable dinner.  I totally forgot I was inside a hospital.  

P.S.  The Sago Gulaman was really exceptional, I had to have it again today.