Ronsee and I made our first trip to The Ex this evening. It's become tradition for us to go to The Ex every year for the ridiculous food offerings. This year's selections weren't as exciting or innovative as previous years, but we managed to get four things in before the Food Building closed:
1. "K-Pop Bulgogi Fries" from Supa Fries — Crispy fresh cut fries with marinated bulgogi ribeye beef, kimchi, green onions, lime, sriracha mayo, and toasted sesame seeds. Asian fusion fries are nothing new, but this combination works really well together. I wish there was more kimchi, but overall, worth getting. Rating: 9/10
2. "Southern Slang" from Fran's — Buttermilk fried chicken served on a sweet bun, topped with house-made slaw and a spicy chocolate sriracha sauce. They fried the chicken fresh for us so it took a bit longer to get our food, but it was piping hot with excellent crispy batter. The slaw gives a good texture but the chocolate sauce drowns it — both literally and in flavour. I wish they had coated the chicken with the chocolate sauce and put more slaw on top, like the menu picture indicates. Still, the sweet-salty combo works well, and it is somewhat reminiscent of chicken and waffles, but in burger form. Rating 7/10
3. "Fuwa Fuwa Mango" from Fuwa Fuwa Japanese Pancakes — Original soufflé pancake with mango sauce and fresh mango. This popular Japanese pancake restaurant serves up really tasty, fluffy, almost mousse-like pancakes, and it's their first time at the CNE. The pancake is light and airy, so it makes a good option for CNE food adventurers 'cause it's not too filling. The mango option is actually only available at the CNE, and it was very reminiscent of a mango mousse cake. Delicious, though not very original in flavour profile. For the price ($11) and the wait time (at least 10 minutes), though, I was expecting more than one pancake. Rating: 7.5/10
4. "Apple Cheesecake Poutine" from Granny Smith Apple Fries — Apple "fries" topped with cheesecake chunks, salted caramel sauce, and whipped cream. Flavour profile is exactly like apple pie. The apple "fries" are literally deep-fried apple strips and coated with cinnamon sugar. The cheesecake chunks didn't really add to the apples at all because it has such a mild flavour, but it did add a nice texture contrast. I only wish that we had gone earlier in the day because by the time we got there, the apples weren't freshly fried, so they had already absorbed a lot of the oil making them soggier than they should be. There also wasn't sufficient sauce, so the fries got quite dry halfway through. Good in theory, not that great in execution. Rating: 5/10
I'm planning to go back to The Ex next week, so hopefully I'll get a good variety next time. I'm eyeing the pierogi burger, the funnel cake fried chicken sandwich, the cherry pie deep-fried cheese curds, and the cookie dough ice cream "spaghetti." We'll see how much stomach power I have. I better start eating ultra-healthy until then...
1. "K-Pop Bulgogi Fries" from Supa Fries — Crispy fresh cut fries with marinated bulgogi ribeye beef, kimchi, green onions, lime, sriracha mayo, and toasted sesame seeds. Asian fusion fries are nothing new, but this combination works really well together. I wish there was more kimchi, but overall, worth getting. Rating: 9/10
2. "Southern Slang" from Fran's — Buttermilk fried chicken served on a sweet bun, topped with house-made slaw and a spicy chocolate sriracha sauce. They fried the chicken fresh for us so it took a bit longer to get our food, but it was piping hot with excellent crispy batter. The slaw gives a good texture but the chocolate sauce drowns it — both literally and in flavour. I wish they had coated the chicken with the chocolate sauce and put more slaw on top, like the menu picture indicates. Still, the sweet-salty combo works well, and it is somewhat reminiscent of chicken and waffles, but in burger form. Rating 7/10
3. "Fuwa Fuwa Mango" from Fuwa Fuwa Japanese Pancakes — Original soufflé pancake with mango sauce and fresh mango. This popular Japanese pancake restaurant serves up really tasty, fluffy, almost mousse-like pancakes, and it's their first time at the CNE. The pancake is light and airy, so it makes a good option for CNE food adventurers 'cause it's not too filling. The mango option is actually only available at the CNE, and it was very reminiscent of a mango mousse cake. Delicious, though not very original in flavour profile. For the price ($11) and the wait time (at least 10 minutes), though, I was expecting more than one pancake. Rating: 7.5/10
4. "Apple Cheesecake Poutine" from Granny Smith Apple Fries — Apple "fries" topped with cheesecake chunks, salted caramel sauce, and whipped cream. Flavour profile is exactly like apple pie. The apple "fries" are literally deep-fried apple strips and coated with cinnamon sugar. The cheesecake chunks didn't really add to the apples at all because it has such a mild flavour, but it did add a nice texture contrast. I only wish that we had gone earlier in the day because by the time we got there, the apples weren't freshly fried, so they had already absorbed a lot of the oil making them soggier than they should be. There also wasn't sufficient sauce, so the fries got quite dry halfway through. Good in theory, not that great in execution. Rating: 5/10
I'm planning to go back to The Ex next week, so hopefully I'll get a good variety next time. I'm eyeing the pierogi burger, the funnel cake fried chicken sandwich, the cherry pie deep-fried cheese curds, and the cookie dough ice cream "spaghetti." We'll see how much stomach power I have. I better start eating ultra-healthy until then...
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