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There is a dessert war brewing in Hyderabad.

No, it is not about qubani ka meetha or double ka meetha. It is not even about who makes the best apricot delight or which legacy bakery serves the butter Osmania biscuit.

Instead, a high-octane, diary-drenched war is playing out under the neon glow of the city’s busiest food areas. If you step onto the streets of Tolichowki or Gachibowli post-dinner, you will see double-parked cars and crowds eagerly waiting for something entirely different: Egyptian-style milk cakes, cheese bombs, Salankatia and loaded Koshary cups.

Hyderabad has officially entered its “Laban” era.

Hyderabad’s new obsession with Egyptian desserts

The city has seen its fair share of Arabian desserts like Kunafa, Baklava, Umm Ali, Basbousa and Qatayef. Now, a new kind of Arabian dessert trend has completely colonised the food map of Hyderabad. If a dessert place has the word “Laban” in its name, there is sure to be a queue spilling onto the pavement. There is a dizzying army of clones: Casa Laban, Nice Laban, Sign Laban, Love Laban, Sky Laban, and Hy Laban. Sprouting rapidly across every major commercial stretch from areas like Malakpet to Nallagandla, these different brands are locked in a relentless race to capture the city’s late-night appetite.

So where did this wave of Laban dessert shops in Hyderabad come from?

This entire culinary phenomenon traces its roots back to Alexandria, Egypt, where the original brand B Laban was founded in 2021 by a former veterinarian named Moamen Adel. Recognising the rich, ultra-creamy potential of natural buffalo milk, Adel revolutionised the Middle Eastern dessert scene by taking traditional, simple Egyptian milk puddings and transforming them into rich bowls layered with nuts, crispy pastries, and rich chocolate sauces. The brand went spectacularly viral on social media, sparking massive overnight success across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Now, Hyderabad’s entrepreneurs have successfully reverse-engineered that exact viral blueprint.

Decoding the menu of Laban dessert shops in Hyderabad

This obsession isn’t an accident. As Hyderabadis, we love our slow-cooked dairy dishes. We also love trying out global desserts. This new crop of Laban brands targets us there exactly. By layering rich milk and clotted cream with the crispy crunch of kataifi and chocolate sauces, traditional comfort is repackaged into trendy cups.

If you are planning to visit any of these dessert spots, here is what you must order:

Casa Laban

What to try? Pistachio and Hazelnut Salankatia

Where? Tolichowki and Banjara Hills

Nice Laban

What to try? Kunafa Cheese Bomb

Where? Tolichowki, Shantinagar, Malakpet and Begumpet

Sign Laban

What to try? Fazea Chocolate Cake

Where? Begumpet, Lakdikapul and Malakpet

Love Laban

What to try? Heba Cake (Pistachio Belgium)

Where? Kondapur, Tellapur, Ameenpur, Manikonda and Kompally

Sky Laban

What to try? Pistachio Koshiri

Where? Shaikpet

Whether this trend represents a permanent addition to our culinary legacy or just a passing, Instagram-fueled food coma, one thing is certain: Hyderabad’s midnights have never tasted this creamy.