With all of these delicious meals in Vegas, it was about time we hit up something more dessert-focused. Well, you can't get much more focused than Sweet Sin Bakery & Cafe located within The Linq Promenade. I have passed by this place on my previous visit to Vegas in 2022 and was wanting to go inside, but alas, we were so full from eating, it didn't happen. With an invite to try their wares, this was the perfect situation for myself, Jackie, Roanna and Eileen.
So we got started with a couple of Smoothies including the Tropical and Wildberries. Consisting of rum, pineapple juice, banana, mango puree and coconut gelato, the tropical definitely tasted like its namesake. It was creamy and smooth with only a mild rum flavor. Good balance of sweet and tangy. As for the wildberries, naturally, it had mixed berries, raspberry puree, strawberry sorbet, cranberry juice and vodka. This one was more on the tangier side with mild sweetness. Once again, the vodka was not overpowering in this.
The first thing we tried was also one of our favorites in the Crème Brûlée Crêpe. This was a made-to-order crêpe that was slipped into a cone, filled with custard and topped with sugar. Then they torched the whole thing. The result was a pretty convincing crème brûlée. Lots of smokiness to go with caramelized sweetness but the concoction was not that sweet. The crepe itself was soft and light with only the slightest amount of chewiness.
Another fan favorite was the Raspberry-filled Croissant. One might consider this a novelty, but I assure you, this was one legit croissant. I've recently been to Paris and this was no slouch. There was defined layers that shattered upon contact. It was buttery and had all the right textures. Inside, there was a wealth of raspberry jelly that was fruity and sweet. Despite the amount of jelly, it did not negatively impact the texture of the croissant.
The hits kept coming with the Chocolate Éclair and Napoleon. The dark chocolate glaze on the éclair was smooth, slightly bitter and mildly sweet. The choux pastry was light and had a slight crispy exterior. Inside, the filling was creamy while purposefully sweet. As for the Napoleon, the layers of crisp pastry were fairly light and shattered beautifully. The pastry cream was rich and just sweet enough. Loved the pistachio on top of the fresh cream.
If you know me, I tend to like fruity drinks and desserts, so the Strawberry Tart was right up my alley. Crispy and firm, the tart shell was a textural delight. On top, the strawberries were ripe and sweet while the fresh cream was light and mildly sweet. At first, I thought the Cinnamon Roll would be super sugary due to the huge layer of cream cheese icing on top. However, it wasn't and that was fine by me. The roll underneath was flaky and buttery.
The most whimsical items were the Macream Cakes coated with a colorful fondant shell and topped with icing, candy and a macaron. We tried Pretty in Pink and the Unicorn. Although the cupcake hidden within was moist and delicious, the sweet fondant wasn't my favourite. After I removed the layer, I quite enjoyed the rest of the cupcake. For me, I liked the Unicorn more since it had chocolate sponge cake.
One of the under-the-radar items was the Ube Cake Jar. Well first of all, it was striking with the classic purple color. Secondly, it had the usual nutty aromatics combined with a muted sweetness. Cake underneath was moist. The award for the most ludicrous creation was the Birthday Shake. Just look at it! Not only was it a shake, we found marshmallows, macaron and a loaded rice krispy square. I thought this was super sweet and the rest of the things on top made it a heavy dessert. Great for kids and people who have a sweet tooth.
As you can see in the shake, they also have Macarons. In fact, there selection is diverse and colorful. I thought they were on the sweeter side, but the crisp texture was on point while the inside was soft and chewy. To complete the dessert selection, we also found Chocolates. They were pretty with striking designs and colors. I didn't actually get to try them, but by all reports, they were silky and sweet. Believe it or not, we had more items than this, but I really don't want to write a novel. With the items I did blog about, it is obvious that the quality and execution is there. If your sweet tooth is calling you, then pay Sweet Sin a visit while you are in Vegas.
*All desserts and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*
The Good:
- Quality items including the legit pastries
- So much choice
- Depending on what you order, not crazy sweet
The Bad:
- It is mostly a take-and-go spot as there are not many seats available
- Wasn't a fan of fondant on the cupcakes
We all know that some of the best macarons in the GVRD can be found at vancouver locations like Soirette and Bon Macaron. If we head out further, there is also Chez Christophe and even Kitchening with Carly. However, are there any decent macarons to be found once we cross a bridge? Yep, L'Opera Patisserie makes some mean ones, but how about Surrey? That is what I wanted to find out the first time I visited Sugar Patisserie out on 64th Ave. It was a fail since it was closed (4pm). So I tried again and picked up some other items including their macarons.
I went for a full dozen of Macarons that covered all 10 of their available flavours for the day. These consisted of peanut butter caramel, strawberry, pumpkin, coconut, chocolate, raspberry, caramel, Tiffany vanilla, pistachio and lemon. When I first bit into one at the store, they were still cold from being refrigerated. Hence, I waited for them to warm up and they ended up to be lightly crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Interestingly, the peanut butter caramel was rather dense and chewy while the coconut was lighter and softer. This was the theme for most of the macarons, so depending on the flavour, the texture could vary. My favourite was the coconut as it was aromatic and not too sweet. As much as I wasn't a fan of the texture of the peanut butter caramel, it was pretty tasty.
However, the most tasty thing was actually the Peanut Butter Brownie. This was well-balanced in flavour with a mild sweetness from the rich chocolate and the classic nutty aromatics from the smooth peanut butter. Texturally, the brownie was dense and moist without being too heavy. This was something that I couldn't stop eating and wanted more of it. With a bevy of layers, the Pistachio Torte sported an almost floral quality. It was aromatic, lightly sweet and ended off with a classic roasted pistachio essence. The torte was light yet a bit dry despite all of the cream in between the layers. 
Something that was less sweet and had a bitter finish was the Chocolate Caramel Tart. It featured a thick ganache chocolate filling that was smooth and as mentioned, with a dark chocolate slant. The buttery tart shell was crispy and firm while aggressively baked. That meant there was a certain nuttiness from the copious amount of butter. Now that tart shell worked with the robust chocolate filling, but it was a bit too strong for the curd in the Lemon Tart. Despite being appealing tart and only purposefully sweet, the aftertaste of the nutty tart shell was more dominant. Now that didn't mean the whole thing wasn't good though as the custard was tasty and had a balanced consistency as well as a sparkly sheen. So despite some shortcomings, I believe that Sugar Patisserie offers up decent enough products, especially given the lack of choices out in the area.
Ah Choobee... Always trying to get me moving in directions that I would rather not. Okay, I'll explain. You see, Choobee, much like the people who believed the Earth was flat, thinks there is a vast wasteland East of Main Street. Hence, she primarily spends her time in either Richmond or the West side of Vancouver. So whenever there is a restaurant decision to be made, Surrey would be equivalent to the end of the Earth. Therefore, I wasn't one bit surprised when she went on and on about L'Opera Patisserie in Richmond. Oh great, get me to go to Richmond again eh? Oh fine, so we did and I ended up picking up a variety of treats.
When asked which box I would like for my dozen of Macarons, I was given the choice of a green or black box. To which replied, I would like the green as the other one reminds me of an early 90's dance group. Then that is where I broke out into song... "Strike it up, this band is gonna play my tune...". Choobee and the girl at the counter began to look at me like I was Randy Quaid. Anyways, the petit macarons were pretty good. The lightly crisp exterior gave way to a soft interior. I would've liked to see it slightly chewier, but it was okay nonetheless. Flavourwise, they were natural-tasting while being only purposefully sweet. The little surprises in the middle only added to the enjoyment. I initially planned on eating one of the 2 Croissants I bought, but my son loved it so much, he took the other half of mine. I don't blame him because it as flaky and crunchy with a light airy and buttery interior. This was a surprisingly good version.
As for the Double-Baked Almond Croissant, it was also quite good except being a bit "flat". The exterior was once again crispy and sweet with plenty of slivered almonds. Inside, it was predictably denser with a controlled sweetness. I thought this was good, but not as good as the butter croissant. I think the one at Thomas Haas is the one to beat. The Opera Cake, being the namesake of the place, lived up to expectations as it was good. The rich and silky dark chocolate on top revealed evenly distributed layers of hazelnut cream and cake which was aromatic, but hardly sweet. The flavours really came through without the intrusion of excess sugar that would have ruined the dessert otherwise.
Due to my daughter's love of macarons, I had to get the Princesse Malibu which featured 2 large macaron shells filled with vanilla bean custard, blackberries, peaches and almonds. To literally top it off, there was a lemon macaron on top. Of course this was difficult to eat, but my daughter happily ate it. I wrestled a bit away from her and it was a good combination of fruit, smooth custard and different textures. Well, I gotta admit I was impressed with the selection I brought home from L'Opera. Honestly, I wasn't expecting a whole lot, but these sweets were well-constructed and on point.
Ever since Faubourg opened a location in Downtown, I had planned to pay it a visit. Each and every time, I could not find a parking spot anywhere nearby. Besides, the price for parking alone would greatly decrease my purchasing power (2 less macarons... lol...). And for the times I met up with Whipping Girl, I had to leave before I could go. Much like the elusive Ogopogo, I was able to catch a glimpse of Faubourg, but it was beyond my reach. Finally, after a relatively light meal, I made it my mission to walk over for some goodies.
I had to pick up some pastries for the kiddies as they would've started whining otherwise... A bit spoiled maybe? Anyways, the Croissant was okay, but not as good as the Kerrisdale location. The exterior was golden brown and crunchy. But the inside was a little dry and not buttery enough. I also got a Pain au Chocolate which was similar. Naturally, the exterior was crispy like the croissant. Inside, it could've used more chocolate as it was quite sparse. I found it on the sweeter side, but there wasn't enough of it to make an impact.
Of course, for my daughter, I had to get some Macarons. Comparatively-speaking, I would say that Soirette still reigns supreme in Vancouver, but the ones at Faubourg are passable. Beyond the crisp exterior, the rest of the macaron was quite dry. I found that they were not super sweet nor artificial-tasting, but the flavour was lacking. Lastly, I got a box of their Mini Pastries (which were the same ones I had at the afternoon tea at their Kerrisdale location). They included Lemon Tarts, Blueberry Tarts, Opera Cake and Chocolate Tart. I found these to be on par with the other location. I particularly liked the lemon tart as the curd was semi-sweet and tart while the shell was firm. Ultimately, not much surprise here as everything looked and ate much like I had expected - fairly solid without much fanfare.
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