Just when I thought Culinary Exchange couldn’t surprise me anymore, there popped up yesterday a BUFFET. My jaw dropped when I saw it. It was beautiful. The students (and teachers, too) were really proud of their work, and rightly so.

That there were three or four bun offerings was impressive enough (with multiple butters, I am not joking). There were three salads, meatloaves (yes, more than one kind), pork, chicken, curry, rice, noodles made to order…

I was a little skeptical as I walked down the line. Could I eat a true vegetarian meal here? After collecting piles of food on my plate, I determined that I absolutely could, with extra food to spare.

The roasted vegetables was a nice touch. I enjoyed being able to choose my own portion sizes.

My favourite element was the chickpea curry. It’s always the chickpea curry. Cul Ex did a great job making it just coconutty enough to be delicious, but not overpowering. It was still savoury, not sweet. I hope they serve it again in the future.

And then we discovered the dessert bar. I inhaled it all (and felt a little too full afterward) but paused just long enough to appreciate the lovely flavours in their nanaimo bar, fruit, cake, and cheese. [PHOTOS TO COME]

[Note to anyone interested: the buffet will be served every day (or was it just Tuesday to Friday?) until the end of August, and you should know that you are only allowed one time through the buffet line]

I stared at a certain orange something on my plate for a while, not sure if I should eat it. When I broke it apart, it was tangy and sweet (mostly tangy). I discovered that I’d just tried my first gooseberry. Hooray for new experiences!

Speaking of new… I realized partway through my (handmade) ice cream that there are no ice cream places in the Exchange. You can get ice cream as a dessert at a few restaurants (probably places like Boon or Blufish) or you can go to the convenience store on the other side of Main Steet.

You could always get your ice cream at Giant Tiger.

But why are there no ice cream shops? In Osborne Village, it’s fairly easy to find ice cream to go, and of course Little Italy is the best place to grab a gelati.

So, eating ice cream in the Exchange was kind of a new experience for me. It also makes me wonder if I should set up a little pop-up shop for the lunch crowd… Anyone willing to invest in a small business? 😉

[I should mention here that I just tried the coconut milk soft serve at Boon, and I was blown away.]

[Their food often blows me away.]

[I swoon for Boon]

Boon Burger. They have soft serve, non-dairy, extra awesome.