There is a slight possibility that my family have been eating too many sweets lately. There is more on this theme to come. However, in the meantime, please enjoy these photos of some fabulous sweet treats we have been trying.

Balha's
761 Sydney Road
Brunswick
3056
(03) 9383 3944

My family's favourite Lebanese pastry shop. It's big, it's plush, and the pastries are A-mazing. My dad sometimes surprises us on his way home from work with a box of Balha's treats. A couple of weeks ago, the whole family went on a little excursion to Brunswick and came back loaded with baklava, ladies' fingers, ma'amoul, almond syrup cakes, and much, much more. (See photo above). The highlight for us was this wonderful pistachio custard cake. It was light, creamy, sweet, and just plain gorgeous.





El-Faiha
648 Sydney Road
Brunswick
3056
(03) 9386 6974

On the very same excursion down Sydney Road, we wandered into a much smaller (but no less fabulous) pastry shop, El-Faiha. The aroma upon walking in was just incredible - a hit of rich buttery, spicy goodness. We were only planning to have a browse, but the salesperson was so friendly, and the pastries so beautiful, that I momentarily forgot the half-kilo of Balha's pastries we'd just acquired, and bought 2 of these cute little cashew pastries.

I took a bite of one of the pastries as we walked back to the car - I was in heaven! It was honestly one of the most delicious pastries I can remember eating. Next time I head down there, I will take the advice of the salesperson and get the "7 pieces for $5" deal.

I think El-Faiha may have just overtaken Balha's in the race for "Sarah's favourite pastry shop on Sydney road". But I will probably have to do a few more tastings before I make a definitive decision.


Devine D'lites

http://www.devinedlites.com.au/

On a (slightly) healthier note, I recently ate these super-cute strawberries, from the Devine D'lites stall at the Prahran Market. (Available Tuesday, Friday and Sunday). Val makes chocolate covered strawberries using lovely ripe strawberries and Belgian chocolate. They're delicious, and scarily easy to eat. Perfect for a light dessert, or dinner-party treat.

And next week begins the diet...