L'Eclair de Génie The MixC 閃電巴黎 萬象城店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I was a little down when L'Eclair de Génie decided to shut down their operation in the city back in 2017. I won't call myself a huge fan but as a casual fan of their finger-sized cream puffs, I was still slightly disappointed with their abrupt closure.

Well, someone's loss is always another's gain. L'Eclair de Génie (闪电巴黎) has quietly expanded north and doing reasonably well with branches in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Since we had no activities planned this afternoon, I decided to head over to The MixC (万象城) and pay the French éclair specialist a long overdue visit.

In addition to their take-away option, they also have a cozy café where guests can enjoy a delightful cup of coffee alongside some of their signature éclairs.

I still recognize some of these flavors.

I don't think little nugget had the pleasure of trying any of these colorful éclairs from L'Eclair de Génie before. 

So, I decided to get one for him and one for myself.

He wasn't particularly excited about his dessert. I wonder why...

(N°317) Éclair Fraise (¥38) – The strawberry éclair was nicely decorated. Not bad he said.

(N° ?) Citrus Earl Grey Tea (¥38) – I love anything with tea flavors so this was definitely up my alley. Thought the earl grey tea flavored cream was an interesting match with what I thought was citrusy kumquat compote on top. 

It was nice having these cute little éclairs again after 7 years. While savoring my éclair, I couldn't help but ponder over the reason behind the many international brands' struggle to establish themselves in the Hong Kong market. Could it be that the high rents and labor costs are stifling our competitiveness? 

Food Rating: 5.7/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop S218, Level 2, The MixC Zone D, Shucheng Road, Shenzhen, China

深圳市书城路万象城二期2层L2层S218号铺

Closest Metro Station: Grand Theater (大剧院)

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/93/XCri