Taverna Mercatto *.

We decided to check Taverna Mercatto out because we saw the pretty decor from the outside.

We came here for an early dinner so there's basically no one around.. hahaha

A snippet of their menu ^

DRINKS: 

Beer - Peroni

So refreshing since we came here when it was hot & sunny :D haha
Appetizer:

SALUMI (3/5)
(local and imported artisanal meats)

The jamon was delish! 
The pretzels that came with it were a great mix with this charcuterie board.

Mains:

CHITARRINE E VONGOLE (3/5)

(fresh squid ink pasta, savoury clams, guanciale, bone marrow pangratatto)

The clams & squid ink pasta were good. I liked this pasta compared to the tortiglioni that I've ordered. This pasta gears towards the lighter end of taste buds.

TORTIGLIONI (2/5)
(butchers ragu, lamb neck, wild boar, provimi veal)

There wasn't enough sauce and they added too much salt onto the pasta. But! The meats within the pasta were pretty good.

Taverna Mercatto

$$$  Italian

120 Bremner Boulevard
Toronto, ON M5J 3A6

Day & Night Angus Steak Raw Bar *.

I gave this place 1/5 stars on yelp..  I took nice pictures of the food & place nonetheless haha..

We had a bad dinner experience at this location, mainly due to the poor service. 
The Day & Night Scarborough location is so much better in terms of food & service.

Our waiter, Chuck, was extremely rude and gave us poor service. I don't even know if he thinks his rudeness was being sarcastic or something - it came off as just plain rude. We've visited this location many times before but never had him serve us until now. If we ever decide on coming back to this location, we will request to not have him as our server.

MIXED GREENS & FOIE GRAS 
The foie gras was waaay over cooked :(

JUMBO SHRIMP SALAD 

It wasn't fresh, so I will not order this again.

LOBSTER BISQUE

RIB-EYE (MEDIUM RARE)

SEA BASS
This was okay.

TIRAMISU 
Omg this was so soggy.. D:

We will probably not return to this location.

Day & Night Angus Steak Raw Bar

$$$  Seafood, Steakhouses

548 Carlton Road
Markham, ON L3R 0C6

Maman *.

Maman is a a cute boutique café  tucked in the corner of FCP. 

Came here to try out their lattes and cappuccinos. It was creamy and delicious. 

OUR LATTE & CAPPUCCINO ❤

* + stars for the decor which reminds me of Parisian cafés.

(Especially the bunny decors :D!!) ❤w❤

They have a salad bar available which I plan on trying later on - also try the Lavender Hot Chocolate, which I've heard good reviews for.

Maman

$$  American (Traditional), French

1 First Canadian Place
Toronto, ON M5X 1C1

Chef Papa Tea & Noodle Bar *.

Tried their noodle combo here.
I was recommended the fish tofu as part of the combo. 
At first it tasted really good - similar to soft boiled eggs but then it got bland really quickly. 

I should've ordered imitation crab instead hahaa..
I would come back to try their dinner combo + bbt. 
The drink menu looked pretty good! (Didn't get a chance to try it yet!)

Chef Papa Tea & Noodle Bar

$$  Asian Fusion

8390 Kennedy Road
Markham, ON L3R 0W4

Nadège Patisserie *.

Great service here! 
I got their lattes and tried their pistachio and green tea macaroons.

I liked the green tea macaroons more than the pistachio ones because I couldn't taste much of the pistachio flavour.
Looking to try some of their cakes - a lot of variety are out on display.

Nadège Patisserie

$$$  Desserts, Bakeries

120 Adelaide Street W
Toronto, ON M5H 1T1

Crab Harbour *.

The cholesterol intake at Crab Harbour is definitely worth it. Came here with the fam and PB :)

We ordered two sets of the summer dinner combo here. 

I liked the plates and utensil sets :D

DRINKS

White wine

APPETIZERS

Crab leg & Salad
Edamame

Here're our lobsters :D - I thought the service was great and food quality was excellent. But this might be a bit biased because my uncle knows the owner.. so they might've treat us better... lol ?_?

WHOLE SNOW CRAB

The display of the crab reminds me of the ones in Osaka, it's pretty. It's served cold with two side mini bowls of "crab fat" - soo delicious. It tastes even better when you dip this with the vinegar sauce.

LOBSTER SASHIMI

This is a 5/5. It is refreshing and sweet. I think they chopped up the smaller lobster for the sashimi but the portions were huge - loved this! Will definitely order it again when I revisit.

STONE-POT LOBSTER

I believe this was marinated with just salt - was super full by the time we ate this but delicious nonetheless.

I was too hangree to take nice pictures haha excuse the blurriness..

SNOW CRAB & FRIED RICE

They cooked the fried rice with the crab fat, which was such an awesome combo. Smelt and tasted very good.

STEAMED LOBSTER PASTE CUSTARD SOUP

5/5 stars. Highly recommending this - they steamed this custard with mushrooms, small portions of seafood (mussels, calamari, shrimp etc.) and a lot of lobster paste (so much cholesterol but so worthy :D).

LOBSTER SHABU SHABU

Lobster hot pot with clear soup. This dish is where they can improve on. The soup base was kind of plain. I guess after such a strong tasting meal, they wanted to end off with something more on the healthy side haha.

DESSERTS:

A selection of green tea / red bean / mango ice cream.

Crab Harbour

$$$$  Seafood, Japanese

280 W Beaver Creek Road
Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3B1

Weinkeller - Niagara *.

As a continuation (PT2) of my Niagara getaway with PB, we went to Weinkeller for dinner. 
Thanks for the surprise bae! 
(Although we both established the hype was too high for this restaurant hahaha)

Weinkeller had excellent service - the owner was so friendly and the waiters were also very good. The food was okay. The owner repeated the same questions and same answers to everyone that walked in  "Where are you from?" *says where we're from* "Oh! I'm from Etobicoke!" I thought that was pretty funny lol.

We ordered the prix fixe menu where you can choose anything from drinks to appetizers to desserts for a 3 or 5 course meal (I chose the 3 and Peter chose the 5):

DRINKS: (Wine)

SMOKED SALMON BISQUE
(Smoked in house and finished with crème fraiche and fried capers)

This was too salty on first taste but it got better after a few scoops. The good thing about this was that it was really hot - it opened our appetite up for the night. Peter gave this a 5/5... D:!

TUNA TATAKAY
(Sweet & spicy, dusted and seared rare, with a citrus salad & wasabi crème fraiche)

I liked this one and the sauce it came with was also delicious. The citrus salad was yummy - we liked the veggie that came with it too.

BEEF CARPACCIO
(Hand carved seared tenderloin, herb crusted and served with Panzanella salad)

We both didn't like the carpaccio because the beef was cooked..? It was cooked to a point where the beef was dry haha... D:

HAND CARVED NEW YORK STEAK (8OZ CERTIFIED ANGUS BEEF) [x2]
(Grilled with béarnaise sauce)

The angus beef was good but I think the fries and veggies that came on the side won over - I liked the veggies. The fries tasted like it was drizzled with truffle oil or something; smelt really good!

SEMI FREDO
(An almost frozen Chocolate mousse ice cream with espresso and a hint of cayenne pepper)

I'm not a big fan of spice with desserts but it was highly recommended so I thought I'd give
it a try. Buuutttt... I still don't like it hahaha

Here's an obligatory picture at Niagara Falls since we stayed close by :)

We were exhausted after all the things we did throughout the day (maybe I should start rating these ones too) but after the meal, we gained enough energy to head back to the hotel. And for this, Weinkeller gets credit haha

Weinkeller

$$$  Wine Bars, Seafood, Canadian (New)

5633 Victoria Avenue
Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3L5

Treadwell's Farm to Table Cuisine *.

Started off CB & PB's long weekend trip at Niagara on the Lake :) [more to come! :D]

As part of PBB's #monthlyanniversary surprise celebrations, we joined up a group of friends at Niagara on the Lake to try out the highly rated restaurant - Treadwell's Farm to Table Cuisine. 

Had an amazing time here because of the excellent service and really fresh foods (veggies winning over meat/seafood!). 

This place was definitely a great choice as part of our long weekend road trip :D 

DRINKS:

Chardonnay
("Cuvee Dix Neuvieme", Pearl Morissette 2011)

Great pairing with the main dishes that we've ordered.

PAN SEARED EAST COAST SCALLOPS (5/5)

(with Caramelized Cauliflower, "Pingue's" Guanciale, Caper Vinaigrette)

This was excellent. The outer layer of the scallops was crispy while the middle remains it's freshness - great start to our meal!

CRISPY SKIN NORTH ATLANTIC MACKEREL FILET (4.5/5)

(Potato and Chive Salad, Poached Free Range Egg)

I wanted to grab something on the lighter end and decided on the mackerel filet. This was very fresh! Loved it. The poached egg yolk is used as a sauce for the filet - everything was light and healthy. The veggies were so fresh (definitely a farm to table item haha) - I think it did win over the mackerel!

HOUSEMADE PASTA WITH "CUMBRAE FARMS" PORK BOLOGNESE (3/5)

(Spring Mushrooms, Lemon Gremolata) 

Plus points for making this a non-fatty pasta - but I guess due to the lightness of the meal, it was lacking a bit of flavour for me. I'd prefer if they added more of a cream-base sauce for the bolognese.

DESSERTS:

Crème brûlée (3.5/5)

It was a little mushy for my liking. The top layer (sugar coating) was delicious though!

Panna Cotta (5/5)

This was one of my favourites! The panna cotta wasn't too sweet, the blueberries and raspberries (which was more on the sour-y side) worked so well with the dish. It was an excellent end to our meal - definitely satisfied :)

Treadwell’s Farm To Table Cuisine

$$$  Canadian (New)

114 Queen Street
Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S 1J0