Out & About #882 | Escape the House + Sauga Shenanigans

Weekends for the average adult are catch-up days. Those tasked with raising young children may beg to differ, though this statement will likely hold true for the vast majority of societal contributors. (Adult-aged children need not apply.)

Rising earlier than I do on the standard work-from-home day, I prepared myself for a 9 AM arrival at Costco on Saturday morning. The entirety of the grocery list was obtained in under ten minutes, though not without intense frustrations with the sleepy polar bear, who offered to assist in the morning warehouse run for the first time ever and delayed it with the purchase of a single Hash Brown (Oh, the never-ending Hash Brown woes!).

​Returning from Costco (and a fully-charged lecture about attaining base goals before adding innovation into the equation), I transitioned into chores and the heavily unanticipated, annual tax return process. Lunch was consumed swiftly, then supplemented with snacks of homemade Cha Siu (not executed by yours truly) and a fizzy orange juice-mango passion jam medley.

​From the glossy sheen to magnificent marbling to crispy, charred edges, the homemade rendition was not only far more delectable than Magic BBQ, but economic as well.

​The evening hours were scheduled to spent at an escape room with friends. Leading up to the appointment, I began to suffer queasiness in the stomach. Just as I had readied myself, the sleepy polar bear informed of having departed solo, without prior confirmation of my intents. With less than twenty minutes left to the booking slot, I raged with incredulity and hurried hopped into my own vehicle to make up for lost time.

Thankfully (or not so thankfully), my extreme speed guided me to the facility in sixteen minutes. Much to my relief, our commencement time was not strictly enforced.

​Browsing the archives, I realized that my last escape room experience had taken place in December 2016. Pricey admission, paired with a tiresome commute into downtown Toronto, had unfolded into a relatively dismal turnout with minimal excitement. Given this record, I had turned down escape rooms for good, much like pho. Alas, one positive experience was all that was needed to turn the tables.

In reviewing room choices and prices for HintHunt and Trapped, I learned of the current market prices for a sixty-minute experience: $30 to $40 before tax. These were extravagant rates to me, for the event is brief and level of enjoyment is entirely dependent on the facility's "Game Master(s)".
When go karting was eliminated as an alternative, I took matters into my own hands, eventually securing a stellar deal on Groupon for Escape The House. It was, by far, the most budget option possible: $64 after taxes for a group of four, or $16 per person.

​Upon arrival, we signed our names on the waiver and were instructed to place our belongings in a locker. Any device capable of capturing media were prohibited to preserve the integrity of the game room, and reasonably so. The key would remain with us until after the game session.
Adjacent to the lockers was a single stall bathroom. It was surprisingly clean, despite being a unisex stall, though I grew progressively wary of the toilet's restrictive flushing capabilities.

There were three rooms on offer at Escape The House: Turbulence, Trapped, and Last Stop Motel. When my first choice of Last Stop Motel was fully booked, I entered onto the waitlist but booked Trapped in the meantime. The waitlist notification was never received, thus we merely continued with Trapped.

A briefing was provided by one of the staff members prior to entry. Beyond walkie-talkies, unlimited hints, and cautionary warnings about ceiling panels and biohazard signage, we would be given a rundown of our room format.

S​POILERS AHEAD!

We were first split up into two teams of two, each in a separate room. One team would manage the walkie-talkies, which allowed communication with the Game Masters for hints; the other team would be responsible for reminding of time remaining, for the timer was only present in that room. The sleepy polar bear and I were split into separate teams, partially due to tensions remmaining from the morning and partially due to our shared lack of familiarity with escape rooms versus the other half of our party. Their room was decorated to resemble a club, complete with UV lighting! Our room adopted the format of a jail cell, dreary, grey, and somewhat questionable.

Both groups had similar puzzles to solve to remove locks in the room. Commencing from an algebra equation, we transitioned to matching opposites for the Seven Deadly Sins, flashcards with digital and analog clock readings, and identifying word and letter combinations to unlock lockers. Some of the puzzles were to be solved independently of the other team, though there were quite a few obstacles that involved sharing findings to unlock puzzles in the other room. Once all three lockers in the room were unlocked, the two rooms would be connected via the middle locker. At this point, pressing three buttons in unison would release us into a corridor to solve the final puzzle.
While we did not succeed in cracking the code before the timer was up, the group still managed to escape, admittedly reaching out for hints with greater frequency while counting down to the final ten minutes.

​At the termination of the event, we were gestured towards a photobooth area with signs and props nearby. The St. Patrick's Day embellishments were a kitschy, unexpected touch. Commemorative group photos were captured for Escape The House's social media account and our own personal reference.

I'd declare my second foray into the world of escape rooms successful in shedding awareness on the vast spectrum of conceivable happenings. Escape The Room was undoubtedly more enjoyable than Captive by Yonge and Dundas, with decidedly friendlier staff too. Of course, the extreme discount was another factor for fondness. This verdict was also voiced to the more experienced half of our party, as it had reinstated faith in future escape room potential.

​In the thirty minutes that followed, we hovered by the entrance in contemplation of supper options. My suggestion to venture northeast for noodles in North York was received with surprise yet zero reluctance. Our first choice of MeNami was, unfortunately, booked for a private event. While the drive was only an estimated twenty-seven minutes, we deemed other options too risky for impromptu visits. Avoiding the area altogether, we settled on Kamen (formerly known as Kenzo), then slipped into Yunshang Rice Noodle upon realizing our tenth place on the waitlist.

Formerly occupied by Macey's, the interior was barely recognizable after renovations. The overall atmosphere now resorted to a warm, hazy vibe with geometric light fixtures. Red patent leather booths lined the west and east perimeters, while four-person tables with bar stools were fitted in the middle column of the dining area.

Menus could be accessed via a QR code on the table, allowing each guest to peruse the menu (in both English and Simplified Chinese) and place their order without ever needing to summon a server. Orders would be sent to the kitchen directly, however payment would not be due until the conclusion of the meal.

< Pictured above and below:

• Deep Fried Pumpkin Pancake w/ Red Bean Paste (5 pcs)
• Coconut Lava Balls (5 pcs)
• Braised Chicken with Noodle
• Original Rice Noodle Soup
• Signature Pork Rougamo (Add Coriander)
• Tomato Rice Noodle Soup w/ Beef Slices and Enoki Mushroom >

The sleepy polar bear and I still were not on speaking terms, thus the Original Rice Noodle Soup was not shared (beyond morsels of minced meat and pickled veggies). Situated across from me were the Deep Fried Pumpkin Pancake w/ Red Bean Paste, Coconut Lava Balls, and the restaurant's signature Braised Chicken with Noodle. Of particular interest to me were the Coconut Lava Balls. Encased within in thin layer of glutinous rice flour was a coagulated mound of sago-containing coconut milk. The exterior was coated with coarse sugar for improved crunchiness, while the interior was supple and jiggly without adopting a runny consistency. The stench of fryer oil was undeniable, but at least somewhat drained on the paper dollies underneath.

My Rougamo and Tomato Rice Noodle Soup duo had been ordered in poor judgement. The coarse, starchy texture of the Rougamo was exceptionally satiating, causing me to return it to its paper bag after a mere few bites. Aromatic bites of shredded pork were stuffed within it, then laced with parsley at an additional fee of sixty cents. The flaky, oil-based pastry of Bingz was undoubtedly superior to the centimetre-thick, floury casing, however the textured, well-seasoned filling left an impression on me.

The Tomato Rice Noodle Soup was of an extravagant portion. I barely made a dent in the bowl before waving the white flag. Tender beef shabu strips, sweet corn kernels, disintegrated tomato pieces, chewy enoki mushroom bunches, and stray sections of lettuce were submerged in an orange-tinted, presumably tomato-based broth. Foamy edges along the bowl were telltale signs of not skimming the foam, thus I avoided spooning the matter as much as possible. Generally speaking, the dish was quite palatable and of a reasonable size for $16.48. That said, the amount of MSG embedded within the opaque broth was not for the faint of heart. For the remainder of the night, I would attempt to reverse its dehydrating effects by downing water, only to see failure. Between the wee hours of morning into daylight hours, I continued to suffer from extreme dryness and a horrendously parched throat. Heed my warnings.

​Initial fears circulated within my mind as I made my way over to the bathroom. Macey's washroom facilities had been nothing short of revolting, and I began mentally bracing myself for the worst. To my utter relief, the grey plastic stall walls had been transformed to dark wooden frames, evoking a Congee Queen-like vibe. A warm ambience similar to the dining floor eradicated the eerie essence of its predecessor.

​The Rec Room assumed our final stop of the day. Absolutely rambunctious and brimming with bodies, the games floor was not my preferred change of scenery. I could barely hear myself over the crowds when we first entered.

But the Pump It Up! area gradually vacated. As a DJ stepped onto the dance floor, groups began to deviate away from the arcade games and into the building crowd. We would position ourselves in close proximity to the game machine to maintain our spot in line.
In the meantime, water bottles could be refilled at the bar and new games analyzed at a distance. Sightings of virtual golf on the games floor and PokéBalls in the Trophy Case were filed for reference: no longer were these elements exclusive to The Rec Room in Calgary and Playdium Brampton.

​The power couple, along with myself and a fellow PIU cardholder, took hostage of the pads until the 11:50 PM mark. As it was nearing midnight, we all agreed on heading back.

Following a much-needed discussion with the sleepy polar bear - amidst gusty, subzero conditions - I zipped home, eventually crawling into bed just short of 2 AM.