aixcentric

Enjoying a Japanese lunch at Niji in rue d’Italie and discovering Ding Dang, an Oriental grocery, nearby.

Just getting to grips with Japanese cuisine, I was keen to try Niji which I’d noticed in rue d’Italie.  It’s a typically small centre ville restaurant and soon filled up when we visited yesterday.  It  has an extensive menu, with a few vegetarian choices too.  My non-vegetarian friends opted for Bento au Porc, Bento au Boeuf, and Umi no Sachi which was a brochette of different grilled fish with rice….my vegetarian dishes Kappa maki and Shinkomaki (rolls of rice and veg in seaweed) were served with soy sauce, tasty indeed. There are 16 desserts to choose from which are familiar, but with an oriental twist…Tiramisu flavoured with green tea for instance.  We all  enjoyed our different choices.

The service was efficient, of course, friendly too.  I was amazed when our server explained that Niji (which means rainbow by the way) has been in place for 16 years.  As my French friend said, that really is impressive for a small restaurant in Aix.

Closed Wednesdays; take-away service.

Tel: 04 42 26 14 74; http://www.nijiexpress.fr

Next we went to Ding Dang, just across the peripherique in the cours Gambetta.

Deceptively small from outside, this has rooms of oriental treats – from soups, sauces and noodles, to crackers, sweets and cookies.  Big chiller section with fresh oriental herbs and vegetables and what looked like large bamboo sticks…but I’m only a learner with all this.  Thank you to Fiona for walking me through this Aladdin’s cave, and giving me lots of tips!

Ding Dang is at 6 rue Gambetta.

Open Mon-Sat 10-20:00; Sun 10-14:00hrs.