A couple of weeks back, I was lucky enough to attend a friend’s special day and it was beautiful (: After the ceremony, we went for a small celebration and I was asked to find a place that would be fitting for the occasion. I think I found the perfect place!
Anada has been on my to-go list for the longest time, and I was so glad we headed there to celebrate their beautiful day! It’s such a cosy place and the ambience was perfect! Not to mention how delicious the food was! I’ve not had spanish food ever since I came back from Barcelona, and that was almost a year back! How time flies!
We were seated at the long table by the window and I was seated at the sofa seats, facing the restaurant. I love being able to see the hustling & bustling of the kitchen, staff and the bar. Just makes the night even more interesting!
Of course, I couldn’t have any drinks that night. I stuck to my water. But our friends ordered a couple to try! You can’t really go wrong with ordering Sangria at a Spanish restaurant. The cava sangria had a good balance of cava and citrus, just what a sangria should be! The newly weds ordered the cocktail – papa doble. It was refreshing and had a really good citrus flavour! Definitely something I will try once I can have a drink (or two haha)
As for the food, we decided to order some tapas, a main and a couple of paellas to share among the 6 of us. We were actually quite filled up by the end of the night!
The first tapas we had was the fried cauliflower with zataar and house yoghurt. This was my favourite tapas of the night! The cauliflower was nicely caramelised on the outside, soft and tender on the inside. Together with the tangy house yoghurt, it was absolutely delicious! Wanted to order one all for me (and bub)! hehe
Next up, the fried aubergine with a dollop of labne, chilli and mint! This was really flavourful but would have been even better if the aubergine was slightly warmer. It went really well with the labne though!
The last tapas we ordered was the bone marrow on toast with wagyu cecina. I’m not a huge fan of bone marrow and I couldn’t have the cecina, so I gave this a miss. However, everyone else said that it was a very delicious small treat! They definitely enjoyed this a lot cause they were still talking about it at the end of dinner!
This, ladies and gentlemen, is hands down the best dish of the night! Crispy pork belly with meat that melts in your mouth, sitting on a bed of smokey aubergine. I was definitely in pork heaven after my very first bite! The crackling was so crispy and perfectly seasoned, I wanted more!
After all the tapas and pork belly, we were definitely looking forward to the paellas! Haven’t really had good paella in Melbourne so I was really hoping this place would be it! And it sure didn’t disappoint! The chicken and seafood paella was flavoursome and the rice was al dente, just the way it should be!
The squid ink paella was also really delicious, and there is just something sexy about the black rice against the seafood. haha but it might just be me thinking that! I have to admit though, I do prefer the chicken and seafood one. I think it might be because I have a constant craving for tomatoey food! hehe
We definitely enjoyed ourselves at Anada, and I can definitely say that I will be back again for the fried cauliflower and the crispy pork belly! Can’t wait!
Would just like to congratulate Karen and Patrick on their beautiful marriage. May you have endless years of love for each other, and may it continue to grow every single day! (: Hope your week is going well dear readers, remember to always cook and bake with love! Till the next post, xx