Arano's Spanish Restaurant and La Marea

    On a rainy Saturday night, I got a text from our long, lost friend Pia asking for our plans for the night.  This is the same day when we had our pre-Sinulog dinner.  Anyway, I texted her back stating that we are going have a bite somewhere close to our house because of the rain and the heavy traffic.  She said that she'll join us, so I immediately called Paz using her sister's number asking if she can join us too.  She told me that she was not sure because she had to go somewhere.  Earlier that day, Paz left her phone and wallet in Stick's car when we went home after our Chopsticks dinner.  I kept it and thought I could use it for something.  And I was right.  I blackmailed her to join us, saying I will only give her stuff back if she shows up.  And besides, Arano is just a few steps from their house. Literally.  They're neighbors!

    Arano's Restaurant is like hiding from the world because It's just a door on a wall from the outside.  

    I always wanted to eat at Arano for like forever but never had a chance.  But that night was the night.  Me and Stick waited for Paz outside their house and went directly to the restaurant when she showed up, Pia followed shortly.  We had Paella, Spanish Sardines with Bread, Grilled Malasugi, Callos, Chicken Lollipops, Mashed Potato and four glasses of California Red.

I'll stick with Iced Tea next time.

The Spanish Sardines with Bread was served first after a few minutes.  It was Montaño Spanish Sardines, we know because we asked the waitress.  It was delish!  The saltiness of the fish is addictive.  And if I may say, Montaño is the best Spanish Sardines around!

    The rest of the food was served after a long while.  So you should have a lot of things in your pocket for your friends to discuss while waiting for the food.  But it's worth the wait. 

The Grilled Malasugi was scrumptious, it was moist and it didn't taste like fish at all. 

 The Chicken Lollipops was crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside.  I like its sauce because it was spicy and you can simply taste the herbs and the fresh tomatoes.

The Callos was not bad(not a fan of callos in general). 

Finally, the Paella. It was superb!  It has clamshells, chicken meat, vegetables and the rice was just cooked to perfection.  They have mastered the art of cooking paella.  Just perfect!

    After we ate, we drove to Labangon to drop Paz and Pia off.  On our way back, we decided to have desserts at La Marea in Banawa.  

Yema Brownie Cup

Apple Pie with Ice Cream

    I had Yema Brownie Cup, which is a white chocolate brownie in a cup with yema filling in the middle and vanilla ice cream on top.  It was so creamy. Yum!  Stick had the Apple Pie with Ice Cream.  The cold ice cream and the hot pie just blend in your mouth together with the flavors of cinnamon and vanilla.  I wasn't able to ask Stick if he liked it because I was so focused on my white brownie cup.

Arano's Spanish Restaurant
31 Fairlane Village
Guadalupe, Cebu City
+63-32-2561937


La Marea
Paseo Arcenas
Labangon, Cebu City
+63-32-4162919