Patisserie Sud Tunisien

The food adventure continues here in Paris. France has a strong reputation for having some of the finest and most mouth watering desserts. Should I name a few? Well, the most common ones are probably macarons, which are seen as an elegance and almost like a luxury good these days. For this specific post, I would like to take you away from your usual French sweets and desserts, but into the other face of what the Parisian dessert scene has to offer!

We're going back to the Latin Quarter area, specifically right opposite the shop I mentioned earlier that sells macarons and small kouign amanns. I am unsure of the name of the shop, but you recognise it from its massive orange-ish poster on top of the shop that says Patisserie Sud Tunisien. Here, you could get all types of delicious sweets and traditional desserts from what I believe, the south of Tunisia.

I've never had anything from this specific region of the world but am always keen to try something new! In other words, and in repetitive news, I am always down to eat. That aside, you could easily recognise this place by its massive display window. You could look inside and see tons and tons of sweets, from baklava to turkish delight.

I can't name all of the sweets they have here because that would be in the region of 15 if not more, but they're all out there in front of you for you to choose. I love baklava but it's difficult to say as to whether the baklava I've had in Sydney is even comparable to what we have here in Paris. Maybe it's best to understand that these desserts have a long and rich history of travels from region to region. Like us international students, these desserts and sweets adapt to their surroundings and go through changes and transformations to best fit in. Okay that was a little bit dramatic but I think it presented my point quite well. It's fair to say that you could have a piece of baklava in Tunisia and another in Turkey or Cyprus and taste a real difference. This is another cool element about food, since you could actually learn from it! I love history and food is a great way to look back into our pasts - undoubtedly a win win situation for all!

Okay enough about history and traveling and corny metaphors, let's talk about how good they are. I mentioned about baklavas and how cool they are. But would you believe it, that this place has so many variations of this one sweet! They had them in all shapes and sizes (literally). You could choose from various fillings (not fillings but more like ingredients) like pistachio and almonds. I had a piece made out of almonds and was extremely delicious. To be honest, I would have gone for my preference of pistachio but I saw them just a little bit too late and the vendor had already picked up an almond one. Well, now I know what to get for my next trip over here.

This wasn't a big regret for me in the end since the almond one did the trick just fine! It was sweet, syrupy, sticky and crunchy! The textured elements were there, and so was the taste. Again, I'm nowhere close to an expert on baklava or sweets from this region of the world, but the one I had here was pretty darn good. Oh, did I mention how much a piece would cost you? Not very much, only €1. 50! Okay this is slightly more expensive than a croissant, but then this is not something you could find everywhere or eat everyday! Well, you can eat it every day but it won't be very good for your health.

Other snacks here are all €1. 50 I believe. They have other cool ones like a really sticky looking cigar, as well as turkish delight, and youyou. I have no idea what the youyou's are, but they look closest to a donut. While you're here, they also have paninis as well as crepes, but like I mentioned a few posts back, I would recommend that you get your crepes somewhere else. And you're just in luck because the crepe stand is just up the street towards the metro, and you will see it right in front of McDonald's. The crepes are cheaper and they're made fresh!

By this point, you may be interested as to where this Tunisian paradise is. Just like Maison Larnicol, you could easily find it at the corner of rue de la Harpe, with the closest metro station being Cluny La Sorbonne, but honestly, it's not a long walk from Saint Michel, both RER Train or the metro. From Maison Larnicol, this Tunisian shop is literally across the street, which in this case is about fifteen steps away - you could confirm on this one.

Just to wrap this up full circle, I just find it interesting that in this city and country of excellent baguettes, croissants, pain au chocolats and of course the luxurious and elegant macarons, there are these hidden places where you can try other equally delicious goodies. They may be quite hard to find most of the time, they are found through getting lost, like I did here with Patisserie Sud Tunisien. Now that I have said this, I would strong encourage you guys to explore the city you are currently living in, just that you come across lovely (and yummy) surprises like I did here, and then of course, share with the rest of our international student community!

Patisserie Sud Tunisien - Ratings :

Accessibility - 10/10

Price - 8/10

Selection - 9/10

Staff Friendliness - 8/10

Cleanliness - 7/10

Overall - 8/10

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