Mr India Grocers

Bakery: Mr India Grocers
Address: 3950 Grand Park Dr., Mississauga ON (one other location)
Website: http://www.mrindiagrocers.com/
Style: Indian 
Price: $$ 

This was my semi-first sweets experience; I say semi- since I had tried one of the signature and more well-known (at least for a non-Indian ;P) desserts, gulab (deep-fried dough balls soaked in syrup), beforehand. Nevertheless, I've visited the Mr India Grocers "superstore" several times, not for the sweets, but for their well-priced hot food counter (known as the 'haveli' at the back of the store) and I was always thinking that I should try a few of their many sweets. Then my brother went for lunch and came back with a box, so: yay!

At any time, there are about a dozen or so which are organized by number and priced per weight: $5.49/lb for the right-hand case and $7.49/lb for a few slices on the left-hand side. As with middle-eastern treats, these are sold as small squares, balls or rolls, whatever the shape may be, but despite being considerably cheaper per weight than baklava, the price can go up quite quickly as many are quite heavy.

For those who may not know, sweets are pretty much Indian desserts with a very apt name: many items are soaking in sugary syrup. Whereas Greek or Middle-Eastern baking uses a lot of honey, Indian sweets use sugar. These make them sticky and very sweet -- the small sizes must be for a reason, since you can't eat too much of this without getting sugar-high. ;) Besides the items drenched in sugar, there is a vast assortment of little cakes usually made of rice paste and often topped with a heavy, cooked mass of milk, cream and... yup, sugar.

So, to the sweets: the brother came with 2x three different items (this box cost around $6, so roughly $1 per item): The first (in the lower right-hand corner) was the aforementioned gulab jamun, which are actually not really dough balls but are made of powdered milk, butter and sometimes eggs (with very little or no flour), traditionally deep-fried in ghee, dropped in sugar syrup, and then (in this case) rolled further in coconut. Ay, I'm glad I only had one to eat. XDDD These actually don't taste very heavy, so these little guys are quite deceiving. Still: slightly hard on the outside (one was a little too burnt), soft and mushy on the inside with a dense, crumbling 'dough'. Despite the overly browned dough taste to it, it was probably the best of the bunch for me. The second item was pretty much the gulab jamun cut open and stuffed with that cooked sugary cream above. This mushy filling, for me, was just a little too much in terms of, well, sweetness. (ha ha get it?)

The third on the plate is... well, upon eating no one could quite figure it out, except for the top which is that cream and sugar mix. Only one brother called it a 'carrot cake'. It took reading the Mr India take-out menu we have to discover it was gajar halwa, cakes made of, he guessed it, shredded carrots, milk, cream and sugar. This was... an acquired taste. ;P I myself did not really like this, but mostly for the sugary milky thing on top than the actual carrots. One is mushy and melted in your mouth and the other is shredded.. and it just was my least favourite.

Lastly, were these orange dough swirls ($2.49/lb; four big chunks cost $0.69), pretty much the same as the ones bought from Mona the week before, but orange. The brother says that for a dollar more per pound, they had white ones. Although they were quite good (my fave along with the gulab jamun), the ones in Mona were better. These ones were soaked in sugar syrup and there was something slightly bitter about the taste, which I attributed to the orange, though I'm not sure what it is or is it just food colouring?? O.o

Nonetheless, Mr. India wasn't the greatest, but it's made me curious to try other sweets, especially as I assume bakeries/restaurants (such as Shirin Mahal which someone recommended me and someone on Google claimed has the best gulab in North America) will be better than a supermarket. In any case, I would definitely say stick to sticky, deep-fried stuff and certainly to those who want to try something new. (and of course, if you're worried about caloric intake or your blood sugar level, proceed with caution ;DDDD)!

P.S. And erm, thanks to Wikipedia for their articles on Indian sweets. ^^;; Couldn't have done it without you~

Rating: **1/2