Delifrance

God is so good and He is faithful always! That I realy believed.

We came from a follow-up check-up today with our Endocrinologist, Dr. Jimmy Aragon. After waiting for some time, we got to talk to the doctor at around 11am. On Thursdays, we were informed, that Dr. Aragon have a usual meeting which gets him to be late for his clinic schedule.

Anyways, the best of good news. The OGTT test proved that my wife did not have gestational diabetes. However, it was decided that we still have to go through a healthier diet and set an appointment with the dietician. At the end of the month, Dr. Aragon would like to redo through a simplier test, the sugar level of mommy. And we still have 1 question that remained unanswered, what causes the high-normal amiotic fluid in the baby's womb? That question will be probed further by our OB-Gynecologist, Dr. Arlene Bravo-Ricarte. And we have a set appointment on Saturday to eliminate other possible causes, aside from our usual pre-natal check-up.

It was a bit earlier before noon and we decided to have lunch together. We strolled the length of Legaspi Street from the Makati Med's side to look for an interesting restaurant. It seemed like the italian resto that Lani wanted to try was on the other side and we're not too eager to walk further, we settled for Delifrance instead. Delifrance offers salads, pastas, gourmet sandwiches and an assortment of breads and pastries. Its offerings are quite delectable and yummy but on the mid-section on the price bar.

Lani opted for the Ceasar salad with chicken (isn't this her fare in yesterday's lunch?) and I choose the Spaghetti Bolognese with meat balls. Though Delifrance is quite known for good food, its quality can vary from good to bad accross its franchise stores. I wastn't to happy with my pasta.

First, the pasta was cold. I know, they re-heat the pasta sauce, but this just wasn't passed through the microwave for much longer to emulate freshly cooked dish. Second, the french bread brushed with garlic was not toasted to perfection, it was cold as the store counter. In fairness though, the taste was better than ordinary fast food fare but I could have more parmesan cheese to spread to enhance further its flavor. The store crew wasn't as attentive to what customers' requested such that my pleadings for additional cheese was lost to oblivion. I was too happy and in the mood, I dare not complain. I don't want to spoil my fun zone with crappy food and service. What save the day was the order of four seasons juice drink. Well, if the store can mess up a ready to drink vendo juice, it can't last a season but close down.

I paid Php230 for my meal or US$5.11. Not to expensive but I wasn't as satisfied for the value I paid with the quality I got. Franchise stores can really either make or break the success of the whole Delifrance system. I don't think I would be too excited to visit another Delifrance shop anytime soon.

Floating Island

We had a scheduled doctor's visit at Makati Medical Center. My wife will have her sugar rechecked with an Endocrinologist as she seemed to have gestational diabetes. We visited Dr. Jimmy Aragona, who seemed like a nice doctor, but I was kinda disappointed to know that the sugar challenge to check on whether a person does have diabetes comes in different dosages. I was thinking, why was it not done at the first instance, since, it was more or less sure by virtue of the ultrasound results that my wife may have had gestational diabetes. Anyways, we have to come back to the laboratory for the increased dosage sugar test. Visiting doctors is just too much of a hassle as we have to wait in line and you will have virtually nothing to do in the hospital.

We were prescribed to consult a dietician and some training on how to inject insulin and monitor blood sugar. First thing that comes to my mind was, shouldn't their be a flyer or something that says, eat only these kinds of food at these proportions, etc. Well, apparently, Makati Med wanted to make more money than a flyer may cost that there is actually a 1-hour seminar on planning your diet for something like Php640.00. Imagine that. I can do better by surfing the internet for diabetes diet plans. Well, to make the story short, I was a bit pissed that it ruined by lunch mood and we decided to forgo the seminar until after the results of the sugar challenge is completed the following day.

It was way past 1pm and I was more than hungry to walk and find a place to eat. So, I decided to take my wife for a quick bite at Floating Island at Makati Med. This restaurant is quite peculiar as it serves liquour and such gastronomic delights you wouldn't think a place like a hospital would ever endorse such as the cardiac causing crispy pata (deep fried pork leg) and bulalo (beef shank stew). There is even a smoking area on the al fresco dining part of the resto. Imagine that.

Well, I ordered the shrimp with brocolli for my lunch. I wasn't able to take a snapshot of it as well, remember, I'm in no mood after our short visit to the Dietician. The shrimp was cooked well with the shell just a prick away from its meat. The brocolli also was tender to the bite, never cooked too long. I loved the taste, I caught myself spreading the sauce on my cupful of rice. Despite its location in the hospital, the resto serves good food. Although, I couldn't help thinking that I must be smelling that distinctive hospital smell even inside the resto I could lose my appetite at any time. But maybe, it's just me as I'm no fan of hospitals, its smell, the dangers of getting germs and diseases while walking through its corridors and such. If I can get as far away from a medical facility or hospital at any given point in time, I would.

I spent close to Php500.00 or US$11.11 for my meal. A bit pricey, but I just didn't care at that time.