171 King Street East
Toronto, Ontario Canada
Tel: 416 304 0550
Hours: Lunch: Tuesday - Friday 12:00pm-2:30pm;
Dinner: Tuesday - Saturday 5:30pm-10:30pm
 Fresh, well-seasoned, and high-quality food is what you can expect from Hiro Sushi. There was no other way to celebrate my husband's birthday than with the consumption of pure protein. To get us into the spirit for eating fresh fish all night, the front walkway had carved wooden fish hanging by a fisherman's net. The restaurant also had knives displayed behind glass cases (some of which could be purchased) and Asian artwork on every wall. This set the mood for a tasty birthday meal. The dinner menu had about 15 options. We were also given a piece of paper with handwritten menu items on it for additional food choices. We ordered, spicy salmon rolls, edamame, beef sashimi, vegetable tempura, the Chef’s choice sushi platter, and wild salmon sashimi (highly recommended by our friendly waitress).
 My sister Carolyn, described the spicy salmon rolls as having a soft centre similar to when you bite into a fresh cream puff. The chef used the perfect amount of spicy mayo dressing because you knew the sauce was there, but it not overpower the entire roll. The beet-like coloured beef sashimi was topped with green onion, and a bright red chili radish. The outer edges of the beef sashimi were lighty cooked to reach its light brown colour. After a few chews, the beef disappeared in my mouth, similar to the way an ice cube would melt if it was left in the sun. The vegetable tempura came in a steamy blob with a variety of thinly sliced vegetables. It is common to serve deep fried vegetables individually, but I enjoyed the combination of flavour profiles coming from the green, orange, and yellow vegetables. Although tempura is deep-fried and crispy, these vegetables were tender and soft.
 My MEH (Meat Eating Husband) ate most of the Chef's choice sushi platter. The platter had tuna, white fish, salmon, and even eel. To my surprise, my husband's face lit up with excitement after trying the eel. He described it as, having a similar texture to that of salmon, but with a milder taste.
 My favourite dish of the night award goes to the wild salmon sashimi. After taking my first bite of the sashimi, I immediately compared the taste with the first time I tried glacier water: un-touched, refreshing, and soothing. I noticed a green herb on the sashimi that tasted like basil and mint combined, but I knew it was not either one of these herbs. I asked the waitress about the herb, and she said the chef topped the sashimi with Shisho, a herb commonly used in Japanese cuisine. I highly recommend Hiro Sushi to all of the self-labelled sushi experts out there. Enjoy!
Overall Review: 3.5/5 Kiwis
 Who knew just lean beef, soy sauce, and minced garlic could make a refreshing burger? I consider myself lucky to have recently stumbled upon an Asian Burger recipe from Laura’s Lean Beef website. This website has a variety of beef recipes that are simple, yet unique. Physically, the Asian burger took on a darker than usual shade of brown from the soy sauce. While cooking the burger on the grill, the assertive aroma from the soy sauce was difficult for my taste buds to ignore. Unlike the strong aroma, the minced ginger and soy sauce complimented each other nicely; not one ingredient overpowered the other.
 The glistening green onions on top of the burger reminded me of the sun hitting the surface of a pool. Green onions, also known as scallions, are a common ingredient used in Asian recipes. The green onions on this burger acted like the cherry on top a sundae; adding colour and a distinct flavour profile that trigger memories. The burger itself was beyond easy to make. It took the same time to prepare this burger, as it would to fry an egg or toast a piece of bread. If you do not like green onions, I would recommend having a slice of avocado on this burger to add a smooth texture to the dish. And this is how Nutrition Meets Life . . . We all can get stuck in a recipe rut sometimes, but it is important we dig ourselves out. Eating the same foods every week will bring in the same nutrients for your body. You cannot expect your body to excel at its best if you don’t provide it with a balanced diet. Not to mention, eating the same foods over and over again can get boring. Who wants to eat one vegetable for the rest of their life? With recipes so readily available on the internet, it will only take a few minutes to find a recipe that fits your cooking equipment requirements, time commitments, and ingredient lists. Don’t be afraid to try something new. New ingredients, flavours, nutrients, and dishes await you! Overall Recipe Rating: 3/5 Kiwis
Can you go without meat one day of the week? Say, on Monday? Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative encouraging people around the world to skip the meat in all of their meals for one day of the week. There are many health and environmental benefits from starting each week without meat in our diets. For some, aka my MEH (Meat Eating Husband), giving up meat is an unthinkable task. But, there are so many lip-smacking alternatives to meat. So, what's for dinner tonight? Click here for some meatless recipes. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to attend a long debate about Meatless Mondays with my husband. Cheers, Allie
148 Yorkville Avenue, Toronto
416-968-0469
Hours: 11:30-3pm, 5:30-11pm
 The experience from being in business over 20 years has made Il Posto Nuovo one of the best restaurants in the ritzy Yorkville district of Toronto. Their well lit patio surrounded by greenery made it difficult for our group to agree on sitting inside, even with a humidex in the high thirty's. Sitting inside the restaurant was just as lovely because of the warm green coloured walls and modern dark brown chairs. The restaurant seated approximately 100 people inside, not including the private room for parties which was enclosed by frosted glass sliding doors.
The dinner menu was able to get saliva brewing in my mouth. Maybe it was because the menu items were written in Italian. When the appetizers arrived, I realized I didn't need the English description on the menu. The four other appetizers I tried at the table were all equally mouthwatering. I particularly enjoyed my Aunt's appetizer, the Carpaccio di manzo (thinly sliced aged beef tenderloin with Parmesan cheese and extra virgin olive oil). I am not a fan of raw anything, so this was my first time trying Carpaccio. It took the beef about 5 seconds to magically disappear in my mouth, similar to the way bread disintegrates in water. The combination of fresh Parmesan cheese with this aged beef will forever make me take my Aunt's advice to "always order carpaccio from a high end restaurant".  The Gnocchi "Il Posto" came with homemade potato gnocchi, portobello mushrooms, asparagus, roasted red peppers, garlic and oil. Similar to the plating of the dish, the sauce of meal was simple, light, and tasted elegant. Each bite took me on a trip to discover new flavours. The strong taste of the roasted red peppers were tamed by the portobello mushrooms and garlic. Being a gnocchi specialist, I was impressed with how the texture felt airy, rather than thick. The gnocchi was so soft, there were times throughout the meal that I forgot what I was eating. The asparagus added a crunch to every bit, balancing out the pillows of gnochhi.
 I wasn't that hungry after finishing every last bite of my gnocchi, so I ordered some gelati from the dessert menu. My sister, Carolyn, ordered the torta al cioccolato. The dessert had three distinct layers. The bottom was a shortbread crust, topped with dark chocolate mousse, which was topped with milk chocolate mousse. Hesitant to share, my sister allowed me one small bite from the chocolate drizzed plate. The chocolate mousse filled my mouth with bubbly goodness that I did not want to swallow. I enjoyed tasting the different layers of chocolate, one not outshining the other. It is amazing how elegant and flavourful food can enhance the overall experience of dining out. The service was nothing extraordinary, our water glasses did get empty, and our waiter was not particularly friendly. However, the food had the ability to make my toes tingle through a bite of Carpaccio or gnocchi. And that's impressive.Overall Review: 4.5/5 kiwis
 What did everyone have in their hand at the mall? A Tim Hortons frozen lemonade. This new beverage is available in two flavours: original and raspberry. After trying both flavours, my mom and I agreed we preferred the raspberry lemonade. The original was lacking the refreshing zest of lemon! In addition, for a beverage with the word frozen in the title, I was expecting the texture to have thicker chunks of ice and be less like a melted slushy. After consuming half of this beverage, I found it to be overpoweringly sweet. This led me to investigate the sugar content; which I regret doing now. The nutrition information for the new frozen lemonade beverages were not available on the website as of yet (Tim Hortons are usually amazing with posting their nutritional information, so I will let this one slide). However, looking at Tim Hortons mixed berry real fruit smoothie, which has 30 grams of sugar per 10 oz serving, I would assume their lemonade isn't far behind in sugar content (I will get back to you on that one!). The lemonade has almost as much sugar as one of Tims strawberry vanilla filled donuts. I know its hot, sticky, and hard to breathe outside, but trust me when I say that water is your best choice to quench your thirst.
Smitten Kitchen is one of my favourite food blogs. All of the recipes I have tested from this blog have not only worked out, but they have left my guests thinking that I am a better cook than I really am. I chose to test the chicken and mushroom Marsala recipe because I have never cooked Marsala before. 
Marsala wine hails from Marsala, the coastal city of Sicily in Italy. Marsala is made by fortifying Marsala wine with alcohol, such as brandy. This addition of alcohol was originally done to ensure the wine would last long ocean voyages by being more resistant to temperature changes. Today, Marsala is mainly used in cooking and served with a variety of cheeses such as Roquefort or Parmesan.
 I have made this recipe over five times and it has not disappointed me yet. While cooking this recipe, be prepared for your entire home to be filled with the sweet smell of Marsala, the kind of smell that gets your family waiting patiently at the dinner table for food. The chicken was so tender, it felt as though I was cutting into a marshmallow. Soaked in Marsala, the onions and mushrooms released a sweet sherry flavour with every chew. Although Marsala was the hero ingredient of this recipe, the natural flavours excreted from the vegetables did not go unnoticed.
And this is how Nutrition Meets Life . . .
Having the ingredients you need in your kitchen when trying new recipes is not about luck, it’s about planning. Here are three tips to help you plan your meals during the week:
1. Have new recipes picked out the day before you go grocery shopping! This way, you can add the ingredients you need to the list.
2. Don’t waste ingredients! If a recipe calls for an ingredient that only uses half of the amount you bought, try and find another recipe which uses that same ingredient. Take coconut milk for example, if a recipe only calls for half a can, then try and find another recipe that uses the other half!
3. Know what you have in your pantry, fridge, and freezer. Sometimes, we can forget what we have in our kitchens. We may end up buying more than we need, or forgetting what we have on hand, so make sure to plan a regular kitchen inventory!
Overall Recipe Rating: 4.5/5 Kiwis
 I recently put a citrus garlic broccoli recipe to the test with my MEH (Meat Eating Husband). And guess what? It passed!!!!! I got the recipe from Veggie Wonder, a blog that has mainly vegetarian recipes, who would have guessed? :) To be honest, broccoli is one of my least favourite vegetables, raw or cooked. I find broccoli to be dry and lacking the robust flavours that other vegetables have to offer. I only eat broccoli knowing it has vitamin C, an antioxidant which supports the bodies immune system, and calcium, an element which supports bone health. I followed the recipe directions word for word and ended up with a charming veggie side dish. The broccoli was tender, leaving out the ‘snap’ sound you hear when biting into a piece of raw broccoli. If you enjoy the taste of garlic, I recommend making this recipe with garlic cloves instead of garlic powder. I found the flavour of the recipe to be more pleasantly enhanced when made with garlic cloves. The prized ingredient of this recipe was the freshly squeezed juice of an orange. Because of the orange, the broccoli was zestful and left an inviting orange aftertaste to go back for another bite! And this is how Nutrition Meets Life . . .
 Roasting is a cooking method that brings the flavour profiles of vegetables to life! This recipe was simple, fast, and made for a nice addition of colour to my kitchen table. Here are three tips to help you save time when roasting vegetables:
1. Be sure to check how long a recipe requires you to roast vegetables. With this number in mind, put the vegetables in the oven first, so they will be ready in time for the rest of the meal.
2. Line the roasting pan with parchment or aluminum paper. This method leaves you with minimal clean up.
3. Pre-cut the veggies you want to roast the day before you want to make them. You can just throw them on the pan, cook, and serve!
Overall Recipe rating: 3/5 kiwis
 Last weekend was my mother’s 60th Birthday. My sister, Carolyn, and I anticipated her having anxiety from this number, so we woke up early and decided to make pancakes. We quickly googled, “easy pancake recipe”, and picked the first recipe that we saw. And so it begins. We quickly found out, we didn’t have regular milk, so we thought, logically, that white milk could be substituted with chocolate milk, no big deal. So we whipped up at batch of pancake batter and gave it a quick taste test. The batter had the same salty aftertaste you get when eating fish and chips (without the fishy part of course)! But, my MEH (Meat Eating Husband) reassured us, the batter was not supposed to sweet. Ok, fine. So we carried on to cook the pancakes, and added chocolate chips to cover up the pancake batters saltiness.
 Even though, the pancakes were edible (and that’s all I can say about them), they brought my family together that morning to celebrate my mom and her past and future accomplishments. My mom was overjoyed with the effort we put in to celebrate her birthday.
Later on that evening to balance out the salty morning we had, my sister and I made sweet cupcakes for dessert. These cupcakes were moist, creamy, and refreshingly good. Since there were extra cupcakes, my mom took them to work, where she shared her 60th birthday experience with her colleagues. This made me realize, food is more than a substance that provides nutrition to our bodies.
Food sparks conversation, brings people together, and creates memorable moments.
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