Must see: The Warrior Emperor and China's Terracotta Army.

I had a lovely day out with two friends.  We met at the Royal Ontario Museum to take in the Terracotta Warrior exhibit, here from China.  These artifacts are from the Qin dynasty, and include some of the full-sized sculptures of warriors, administrators, and horses.  It's the first exhibit of these items in North America and it's very impressive. Zouheir had the privilege of seeing them in the original site of their discovery when he was in China last year, and so I was happy to see the exhibit here in Toronto with friends.  We spent a couple of hours at the exhibit.  The documentation was excellent: a mix of text, photographs, maps, and video commentary that added to the excitement of seeing these ancient artifacts. 

At noon, we went upstairs to C5 for lunch, the elegant restaurant added to the ROM during the renovation.  On the top floor, it has lovely views to the south and west of Toronto, including a new garden/green roof that was added since I was there last.  While still relatively young, it provides a respite from what was a rather "industrial" view of the adjoining rooftop.

We all chose the special Terracotta Warrior menu (pdf), starting with a hot and sour egg drop soup, a choice of two entrees (Duck Confit or Tong Mein Noodles), and then a fabulous puff pastry with mango puree, fresh fruit, and sesame ice cream.

The exhibit is a must-see, and is on until early in 2011.  With the wonderful conversation and a delicious lunch, we're making plans for another outing next month.