I'm a foodie, NOT a shopper!…read more After walking around Sydney's CBD, we visited the famous Queen Victoria Building, a late 19th-century Romanesque Revival marketplace that is now a shopping mall filled with high-end boutiques and eateries. We crossed George Street to The Strand, where we were in search of the world-famous patisserie, Black Star Pastry. Although I don't use IG or FB, I heard about Black Star Pastry's Strawberry Watermelon Cake while reading an old New York Times article about this Australian patisserie, which declared this signature cake and most-requested cake as "The World's Most Instagrammed Cake." So, I made Black Star Pastry a destination during our pre-cruise stay in Sydney. We followed the directions posted on The Strand's directory to Black Star Pastry and ogled the artistically and attractively decorated cakes while zeroing in on the Strawberry Watermelon cake slices lined up next to the Raspberry Lychee and Mango Yuzu cake slices. Honestly, all of the cake slices looked lusciously delicious, but our taste buds were craving a refreshing slice of Strawberry Watermelon. We selected the cake slice, and the amicable countergirl neatly packaged it and asked if we needed eating utensils. Of course, we needed and wanted eating utensils as we dreamed about digging into the cake at their dining counter right away. My husband rushed me to finish taking photos, and he jabbed his fork into the tender yet juicy cake. Before I knew it, he unassembled the cake slice to reveal a fresh-cut slice of juicy, ripe, and sweet watermelon, light rose-scented cream, tender cake, and was topped with fragrant rose petals and fresh strawberries. He claimed it would be easier to eat because the cake slice was about 3" high and looked like it would've toppled when pierced from top to bottom. Yeah, it was HIS "thing" about eating this cake, I decided to take a bit of the top layer, then a small slice of the watermelon bottom layer together. It truly was refreshing, light, and not overly sugary. The lightness and flavors of this cake seemed like it might have been low-cal, but even if it wasn't, who cares when you're on vacation?!

Sometimes the most viral places disappear or disappoint before I can taste. I am thankful that this…read moreplace is still bustling in Sydney. There is a location in NewTown as well but this was closed today'. Definitely more of a take away, but there is a counter space area to enjoy across the stand. Service was fast and the slices are kept refrigerated since they use fresh fruit. The watermelon slice was refreshing and delightful. It was def not more than 6 small bites so for $13 aud it was on the pricier side. The raspberry lychee was a bit sweeter since lychee tends to be sweeter but the acidity from raspberry made a perfect combo. Happy to have tried it, not sure if worth $26 for 2 small slices. ...

We were very happy with our Black Forest cake the person that helped us was very kind and it is…read morealways difficult to decide what to try because everything looks so lovely.

Pattisons churn out perfect pastries - but for me, a bit too perfect. Whilst I associate them with…read morehigh quality and consistency, it's at luxury prices and feels a bit soulless. There's no particular spirit or experience to be had when entering the Pattisons store in Mosman, it just feels like the staff work in a shop that sells cakes (really good cakes) but it lacks the charm of some of the other quality vendors in the area. Don't get me wrong, they're the sort of cakes that I would feel very comfortable serving up for afternoon tea if my energies didn't stretch to home cooking. Who am I kidding, they'd be far better than any of my home cooking, which is perhaps the problem. Great pies, cakes, pasties, biscuits, quiches and macaroons but with their slick black and white branding and identikit product, they're it' just a bit too perfect somehow.

HOLE IN THE WALL! If you love cheesecake, this is a must visit! They have other pastries/desserts…read morebut the cheesecake is what I think they're known for. Simple, moist, smooth with the right hint of lemon/lime. It was perfection!

Our friends in Sydney bought us take away from Lorraine's because they think this is the best…read morebakery in Sydney! We had the mascarpone cake which was a pleasant sensation of texture and flavours. Mascarpone layers interlaced with coconut crisps (not quite crispy anymore since we had ours takeaway) and the strawberry slices came together to deliver a great combination. The cheesecake totally blew me away! Bear in mind that I had this takeaway at least 2 days after it was bought. Even then, the cheesecake slice was still beautifully moist and smooth. With just a hint of lemon/lime, the cheesecake delivered a perfect balance of sweetness and tanginess! Cookies from Lorraine's were really good too! So so so glad our friends bought us these takeaway as I will definitely be looking it up next time I'm back in Sydney!!! Two thumbs up!!!

What a great bakery. Everything a bakery should be - fresh, plenty of variety and even better if…read morethe price is outstanding. Now I am a sweet tooth but I have made a promise not to buy anymore donuts, cinnamon scrolls or apple Danish pastries as I am trying to loose weight. The bread is fresh and plenty of types available - you can ask them to slice it for you as well. My favourite bakery item is their quiches! For only $4.70 you can eat a Spinach Quiche Lorraine. Just ask the server to reheat the quiche as they are served cold. Highly recommend this bakery.

Delicious Asian goodies!…read more While in town, my family and I stumbled upon this bakery as we needed something for our breakfast the next day. While most of their stock was sold out (it was on Valentine's Day when we visited), we managed to try a couple of blueberry cream cheese breads and chocolate croissants. They were delicious the next morning and affordable!

After a long day of walking around and riding the train for over an hour we stumbled upon this…read moreAsian bakery. It reminds me of Brug bakery back home, and I love their stuff as they have on top of their different varieties of breads they have a nice combination of sweet and savory pastries. We grabbed a plate (yes it is self serve) and carefully chose one each as we were going to eat dinner soon and didn't want to be overly stuffed. Can you guess what we got? Everything we got was soft, fluffy, buttery, and oh so creamy, and even crispy. Ok I lied, we got more than one each but it was for after dinner as a snack. You know those late night cravings. And yes it still tasted good at midnight. They also have a nice variety of drinks too.

Hungarian donut? Cone of deliciousness? Kürtösh? Call it what you want but it's so good!…read more My friend recommended the hazelnut Kürtösh but the pistachio one looked so good that I did what any normal person would do... got both! I preferred the pistachio Kurtosh. The hazelnut one was like candy on top of the cone and very crunchy like candy. These are made to order so take around 10 or 15 minutes. Not really ideal for a grab and go but was worth the stop. They have a ton of other pastries as well that are pay by the pound. The kurtosh was really good, especially with coffee. I wouldn't go out of my way to go here but if nearby I would definitely go again.

This homey café is about one thing - Delicious, passed-down-from-mama recipe pastries and cakes…read more They're pretty proud of their house specialty - the twisty Hungarian pastry called (funnily), Kurtosh. It's quite good. Honestly, I'd say forget the pastry twister and go one of the Slab Cakes instead. Oh, so good! So far, my favourite has been the Catastrophe Flourless Choc Cake. Or mayyyybe actually the Lemon Crumble Cheesecake. Pretty much mention Mum's Chocolate Cake and I'm ready to trip someone over for a bite! If you can't choose, you could order a sliver of each and call it day. This is the best bit about Kurtosh - everything is sold by weight, and there's no minimum (or maximum) for what you buy. So you can literally order a sliver each of four kinds of cake. Hoorah! Extra bonus: open late so you can pop in for after dinner dessert.

Caketown is a small cake shop located at the st peters end of King St. Its right next to the…read moregraffiti shop, 567 king st, which is how I came to find it. All the cakes here look good, so be prepared for a lot of umming and ahhing, when you make the difficult decision to choose one. My choice was the delicious pecan tart. The lady behind the counter said the most popular was the butter cake, which I was surprised to see was actually covered in chocolate. I must say I was relieved cause I didn't really want to eat a cake covered in butter. I was later cured of my ignorance when I found out that its called a butter cake because thats its main ingredient. The mud cake, pear tart and Vanilla slice all looked to be different and worthy of a next visit. Back to caketown I go.

The cakes on display and the shopfront is so beautiful and delicate! A real gem and I'm so glad I…read morevisited. Apart from cakes, they sell cupcakes and snack-sized tarts. I tried a cupcake and the icing was too hard and sweet for my liking, and the cake itself was a little dense and dry. But if I ever need a big cake for a special occasion, I'll be sure to visit Soiree. The fondant is perfect, the cakes look incredibly classy and intricate. Love the designs.

This place is amazing. The crepe cake and Nutella crepe cake are to die for. They're like 1,000…read moretiny crepes with an amazing homemade French pastry Creme in between every layer. The homemade whipped cream on top is also good. Huge selection of hot teas, and you've GOT TO TRY the Marie Antoinette Hot Chocolate. Made with pure melted Belgian dark chocolate, Almond Milk, orange blossom water, whipped cream, and topped with this crazy pink stuff called Persian Fairy Floss. Will definitely come back at least twice next time I'm in Australia. They also make the absolute coolest looking custom cakes, wish they could send one to America for my birthday haha