Le Fournil de Mimi (Aix-en-Provence, FRANCE) ★★★☆☆

This morning, I was sent out early to get all of us some freshly made bread for breakfast. There were only a handful of options within walking distance according to our friend, Google Map but mysteriously, I bumped into Le Fournil de Mimi while on my way to another bakery shop.

This is great! Save me at least 5 minutes and they have gotten everything we need here from baguette to croissant and pain au chocolate.

I wanted something sweet and they had a pastry corner with the usual chocolate tarts and eclairs readily available.

The choux pastry of this chocolate eclair wasn't the best I have experienced on this trip but it was serviceable.



Little nugget had the plain croissant.

Well, we have another highly anticipated lunch in Cassis, a charming little coastal town located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, just a 45-minute drive from where we are staying. Stay tuned.

Food Rating: 4.4/10

Price: €€

Address: 135 Boulevard Ferdinand de Lesseps, 13090 Aix-en-Provence, France

Opening Hours: 6:00am - 8:00pm (Mon - Sat), 6:00am - 1:00pm (Sun)

Bocca Piena (Aix-en-Provence, FRANCE) ★★★☆☆

After our quick Japanese meal, we leisurely strolled along the tree-lined boulevard of Cours Mirabeau, the bustling heart of Aix-en-Provence. I was looking to add a sweet exclamation point to a long and exhausting day and found Bocca Piena just a few steps from Fontaine Des Augustins.

Apart from frosty ice-cream, the little artisanal ice cream parlour also offers a small selection of crêpes, waffles, frozen pastries and fresh fruit juices.

I wasn't picky tonight so I kind of let my team choose the flavors and they came up with this. 

Fleur de lait literally means "flower of milk" in French. In the context of ice cream flavors, it typically refers to a simple flavor that highlights the pure, creamy taste of milk. I guess it's sort of like the Hokkaido milk ice-cream in Japan, known for its super creamy flavor.

It's a casual 12-minute walk back to our hotel but besides passing by the iconic Fontaine de la Rotonde, the route mostly took us through a residential area full of apartments.

I think the writing is on the wall that our trip is about to end in a couple of days. Yes, all three of us are exhausted but who would prefer going back to work/school when you have beautiful cities like this to explore everyday?

Food Rating: 5.4/10

Price: €€€

Address: 67 Rue Espariat, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France

Tel: +33 (0)4 0375-3172

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 12:00am (Sat - Thu), 12:00pm - 11:00pm (Fri)

Le Yen Koï (Aix-en-Provence, FRANCE) ★★☆☆☆

Little nugget wanted some Chinese food to wrap up our day in Aix-en-Provence. I couldn't blame him after our deep run of French cuisine all week but it's nearly impossible to find decent Chinese dishes in town and so we elected for something similar, Japanese food.

To my pleasant surprise, finding a decent Japanese restaurant in the heart of Aix-en-Provence was not as difficult as I first thought. With the help of our Google Map app, we not only narrowed down our search to eventually find Le Yen Koï, but also managed to make an advance booking with just a few clicks.

This upscale Japanese restaurant is divided in a few separate areas. Close to the entrance was the sushi bar. 

Then, the teppanyaki counter. 

We finally found ourselves a quiet corner to park so we could enjoy some privacy.

Little one was so happy to see some Asian food for a change. 

Tonkatsu Ramen – The noodles were decent, so were the eggs and barbecued pork but the broth left something to be desired. What went wrong? I guess it tasted too much like the broth from our instant noodles. Not much depth of flavors. Just saltiness.  

California Roll – This tasted more like the ones we had in Hong Kong!

Yakisoba with chicken – Like the ramen, the Japanese fried noodles lacked the authentic flavors. I really didn't know if it's the sweet soy or......



I think I have said this on many different occasions. Living in Hong Kong is a true blessing, as we have easy access to authentic culinary delights like Italian pasta and pizza, as well as Japanese sushi and ramen, just to name a couple. The vibrant food scene in Hong Kong ensures that we can savor these flavors locally, offering a diverse range of options that cater to our cravings for these international cuisines without the hassle of traveling around. I don't think I can say enough about this.

Food Rating: 4/10

Price: €€€

Address: 4 Rue Paul Doumer, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France

Tel: +33 (0)4 1205-5595

Website: https://leyen-aixenprovence.fr

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:00pm daily, 7:00pm - 11:00pm (Sun - Thu), 7:00pm - 11:30pm (Fri - Sat)