Maison Hallab, the Middle Eastern patisserie with Lebanese delights, at La Défense (92)

"Hassan is the grandson of the founder of Maison Hallab, one of the best-known pastry shops in Tripoli, Lebanon," says Mazen, co-founder of the Maison Hallab kiosk with Hassan. Far from being a chain, they wanted to bring the Maison Hallab concept to France, a traditional Lebanese patisserie established in 1881.

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What's on the menu? The inevitable Lebanese desserts, most of them made with semolina, dried fruit (pistachios, walnuts or cashew nuts), sugar syrup and cream. But not just any cream, "a milk cream" says Mazen, with a texture as light as a cloud and devoid of sugar, unlike the custards and chantilly we're used to in our French patisseries.

On the spot, you'll enjoy baklawas with pistachio or cashew nuts, kunefe filled with cream or cheese and served warm with a drizzle of sugar syrup,Osmalliyyeh (fried, sweet angel hair topped with cream, like a mille-feuille), Maamoul with pistachios or walnuts (between two layers of semolina, a mixture of dried fruit mixed with dates) or Mouchabak, which is quickly reminiscent of an oriental version of churros. For fans of Turkish coffee - a coffee made with pomace, served very short, with cardamom powder - Maison Hallab also serves it! " In Arab countries, that's how coffee is drunk," says Mazen.

To discover these specialties, Maison Hallab offers unbeatable (or almost unbeatable) prices, with the simplest pastries priced at €1 and the most elaborate at around €3.50. On site, a few tables and chairs allow you to settle down for a coffee and your Lebanese pastries, around the Maison Hallab kiosk in the Défense shopping center. For lovers of Lebanese pastries, this is the place to go!