A deserving lunch

When I received a call from mom last night, my heart skipped a beat. The last time she called late at night was when dad went to the hospital.Thankfully that was just a scare.

Back to yesterday's call. Sounding weak and worried over the phone, she revealed that dad hasn't been feeling too well lately. Due to her own ill health, she couldn't offer much help. Despite his discomfort, dad had driven himself to the clinic at night. Mom sighed, "We old folks need someone younger around the house".

I told her that my plan is to move back to live with them in the future. Well, I hope that the day isn't coming soon. It is every child's wish to see their parents live a long and healthy life.

Luckily dad's ailment is nothing serious but still it breaks my heart to see my parents' health deteriorate. I want to see them robust and well again. Am I asking for too much when just last night, I was brooding over my own loss of youth? As they say, you begin aging the day you are born, I just have to face the fact.

Anyway, to comfort myself, I went for a nice lunch today. It was at Parco Caffe, the same restaurant we celebrated CH's birthday in. I was running an errand nearby and instead of heading straight back to the office, I surprised myself by walking into the restaurant. I don't normally take lunch, let alone eat at a restaurant all by myself.

I picked the 2-course lunch special. The food was quite good but I enjoyed the dining experience much better the last time because I had CH for company.

For starter, I had the mesclun salad with asparagus and prosciutto. The heavy dose of butter over the asparagus was too rich and almost ruined the dish. I used the butter on the focaccia instead.

While I enjoyed the freshly baked focaccia bread with cherry tomatoes very much, I didn't eat up all as it would send me straight to bed after lunch.

The seabass was cooked simply and served over a bed of fruity sauce. At first I didn't think it would work but somehow the calamansi juice, fish and tangy sauce came together really well.



I ended lunch with a strong cup of coffee. Then I walked out of the restaurant with a happy smile on my face. I should treat myself well every once in a while. I deserve it. We all do.