Touch Tanks and Jellies at Ripley's Aquarium of Canada (part 2: After lunch)

After eating, the girls expended some energy at the Discovery Centre, which had a play area with slides, smaller aquariums and the “research submarine.” The girls loved exploring this and got their own special view of the Dangerous Lagoon from inside this submarine. I was too shy to crawl under, but it would have been so cool!

The girls got to touch Bamboo sharks, Horseshoe crabs and Cownose rays at the touch tanks (Shoreline Gallery). It was a wonderful experience for them to be able to touch and feel these creatures. At this gallery as well, you can find the majestic Sea Horses and, hubby’s favourite, the Weedy Sea Dragon.

Bamboo sharks

Horseshoe crabs

As I mentioned, my favourite exhibit, right up there with the Dangerous Lagoon, was the Planet Jellies exhibit. The jellyfish habitats were so mesmerizing with backlit and colour changing displays. It was simply spellbinding. I wanted to just be able to sit down and stare at it-- definitely psychedelic! I loved that they had displays as well of the different life-cycles of the jellyfish. They actually had specific tanks for the baby polyps and full grown medusas!

Jellyfish exhibit @ Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

 

Before heading to the end of the exhibits, we passed by the Life Support Systems where we were able to get a behind-the-scenes look into how the Aquarium waters were maintained. It showed the colourful tanks and pipes along with stats on water quality and conditions.

As with other attractions, you can guess what you can find at the end—the gift shop! Selling anything aquatic from glass figurines to stuffed mermaids, the girls had a frenzied time figuring out what they can get for a souvenir. They also have a make-your-own stuffed animal section so the kids can have more than wonderful memories to take home.

The birthday girl chose a shark tooth fossil necklace which she was quite eager to take to Show and Tell in school. By the time we got out, there was a huge line up for ticket purchase, going about a block long to the Convention Centre. I don’t think I would have the patience if I didn’t have tickets and had to line up. Little did these people know that when they do finally get to go inside, it was going to be even more packed! It could have been because it was the last weekend of March break or maybe because it was new, but it was full! I didn’t want to feel like sardines in a can (would rather feel like a Great White, you know)!  I wouldn’t visit again, though, until after the dust settles, whenever that may be. But for sure we are going to go back. It was one of the best aquariums we’ve seen, after all!

Toronto on Dwellable

Under the Rays and Sharks: DD#2’s birthday trip to Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada (part 1)

DD#2 wanted her birthday trip to be a surprise so I figured we should take her to the newly-opened Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada. She had not seen it on TV or other media so she did not know about it yet. Boy was she excited (and surprised!) when we finally got to downtown. Thankfully, I got tickets online and managed to go straight to the line for ticket-holders. They sell tickets online for specific time entries to attempt to control the crowds. They open usually from 9am to 9pm and you can probably explore the place in about 4 hours or less.

We started off with the Canadian waters which was just ok as the usual fish off the Great Lakes were not as interesting for us as the other sea creatures. The tank for the Pacific Kelp was quite stunning, though! It was huge (about 360,000 litres) and simulated the motion of the waters. I felt like I was swaying in the water from outside the tank!

The next area we checked out was the Rainbow Reef which was, as the name implies, quite colourful! Similar to what I had seen off the waters of Batangas and Palawan, beautiful corals and marine fish were so wonderful to behold. Truly a kaleidoscope!



The Dangerous Lagoon was next. It was probably the best exhibit there, tied with the Jelly Fish exhibit which I truly loved! We rode a moving sidewalk (the longest of its kind in North America supposedly) which transported us through the underwater tunnel. Sharks of all kinds and Stingrays swam right above us. This was also the largest exhibit in the aquarium--at a whopping 2.5million litres.

sharks @ Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

A huge Green Sawfish was also there along with the hard to spot sea turtle (bonus points for us who saw it!). We absolutely loved being up close to these awesome sea-creatures! Grandma believes the girls caught the picture-taking bug from me. Having brought their own cameras, they took about 250+photos each (along with my unspecified quantities :P)—a big chunk of which was in this exhibit.

Sawfish @ Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

By the time we got to the end of the tunnel, it was just about time for lunch. They had a small café serving the usual kiddie fare—hotdogs, chicken strips, pizza, and wraps for the adults. As to be expected, the prices were high, but we had to get something to manage our hunger (there was a Beaver Tails truck outside so you can guess what we had after we left :P). The café was quite small, though, and could not accommodate the huge crowds. Most people were already sitting on the floors nearby while others eagerly awaited tables about to be vacated.

...Part 2 coming next week! Watch out for it :)

Toronto on Dwellable

Going Gourmet for Sweets: Prairie Girl cupcakes and Jelly Modern Doughnuts

I have always had difficulty resisting sweets. In fact, I had too much cake when I was preggy with DD#2 that my doctor rang alarm bells! But that is past and all is well. So, might as well enjoy the wonderful delights that are out there!

My friend introduced me to Prairie girls cupcakes after our Winterlicious meal. She got it as a treat for “the girls,” but allowed me to sample. I am a girl, after all! We went to the First Canadian Place location and the line-up was long! It was pretty quick, though.

Prairie Girl cupcakes

We got a couple mini cupcakes for each of these flavours: Chocolate Chocolate, Chocolate Peppermint and Chocolate Raspberry. I guess it is pretty obvious we are chocolate people :) These were probably the best cupcakes I have ever had (even if I only got to taste a couple—the girls devoured the Chocolate Raspberry before I could ask for a bite!). Yum Yum! The cupcake was fresh and moist and the icing was divine. Made from real buttercream and Belgian chocolate, these were simply heavenly.

Hubby has now been made aware of its location so he knows where he can get these treats again should his girls’ cravings arise.

Well, now that we know where to get really awesome cupcakes, we have to have a source as well for doughnuts. You can imagine our delight when we found Jelly Modern Doughnuts tucked inside Pusateri’s at Bayview Village mall!

This winner of Food Network’s Donut Showdown had some very pretty donuts in their display rack. How could we have resisted? DD#1 wanted to try the Classic Jelly so we got one of those. We also got a Callebaut chocolate (yes, same chocolate I had at Pangaea!) and Skor bar.

Jelly Modern Donuts

Needless to say (or else I wouldn’t be writing about it!), these were the best doughnuts we’ve had! The doughnuts melt in your mouth and are filled with subtle yet distinct flavours. Not overwhelmingly sweet nor greasy, just absolutely delicious! They have other flavours we can’t wait to try: Maple Bacon, Carrot cake and S’mores!

The cupcakes and doughnuts each cost about $2-3 for the minis. But it is so worth it! And hey, if you have to indulge, go all the way! Happy Eating!

‘Lishin at Momofuku Noodle Bar

When my friend and I were trying to decide where to go for Winterlicious, we quickly agreed that we had to try to get a reservation at Momofuku. This particular location in Toronto is one of the several award-winning restaurants founded by Chef David Chang in New York. It is just a noodle bar, according to Hubby, what could be so special about it? Well, my friend and I just had to see for ourselves what the fuss was about.

First impression was not so great. The place was packed and we arrived about 15 minutes early for our reservation. There were some walk-ins who were getting seated so we were wondering if the reservation was absolutely necessary. But it was better to be safe. Anyway, about 5 minutes into the wait, we saw that a table for two was empty. When we asked if we could get seated, the hostess said it was too early for our reservation and that she will call us as soon as something was available. 10 minutes later, she called us to be seated—at that same empty table we saw 10 minutes ago! Inhale. Exhale.

We were hungry so we decided to give the place a chance to redeem itself with some fantastic food. We already knew what we wanted to get and the food came pretty fast—only, the main course was served ahead of the appetizer. Anyway, I will go with the order in which I ate my meal.

The pork buns looked very unappetizing. I would not recommend this at all. Half each slice of pork was fat. It was actually yucky. I sliced off all the fat before biting into the buns. The actual buns were good. They were moist and had some sweetness to it. The hoisin sauce and scallions also complemented what was left of my meat. The pork itself was flavourful and was very tender—if it had bones, I would say it was falling off the bones!

Pork Buns @ Momofuku

Now, my Chicken Ramen was absolutely delish! The miso broth which had a dollop of hoisin was lovely and the noodles had a good bite. The egg was poached, not the usual hard boiled ones in ramen—yummmm. The menma (bamboo shoots) was tender and not stringy. And the chicken…perfect! The skin was crunchy, the meat was juicy and beautifully seasoned. A couple of decent-sized pieces came with the dish. Now, the bowl was only 2/3 full which made me think they adjusted the portions for Winterlicious. Not a good idea if you wanted to communicate value you wouldn’t normally get outside of this event. Nevertheless, I was quite full and did not have the space to finish my compost cookie dessert.

Chicken Ramen @ Momofuki

This compost cookie is one of the specialties of Momofuku’s Milk Bar. We had a little bite and proclaimed it was moist, chewy and yummy!

Compost Cookie @ Momofuku

My friend ordered the Shiitake bun (which looked so much yummier than my pork buns!),

Shiitake Bun @ Momofuku

Ginger Scallion noodles,

Ginger Scallion Noodles @ Momofuku

and rice pudding from the Milk Bar. And she claims these were absolutely delicious. I trust her food taste!

Rice Pudding @ Momofuku Milk Bar

As for service, some of the servers were not too pleasant—like they were not happy to be there. I was taking some photos and one of the servers kept saying, “excuse me” in a very impatient manner so she could dump our pork and shiitake buns on the table! Well, despite that we said we would return. So much for demanding great service! The food was so good, we tried to look past the not so awesome service. Plus, having great company makes you a little bit more patient. Until the next Winterlicious!