It’s Diwali season, and Sydney’s Little India is shimmering in all its festive glory. And what is Diwali without sweets? The Festival of Lights is upon us, and with it comes that irresistible craving for mithai, the heart and soul of every Indian celebration.
Diwali isn’t just a festival, it’s a feeling. A season that brings with it light, warmth, and sweetness. A time when life itself feels as though it’s been sprinkled with sugar and saffron. Homes are adorned, lamps are lit, prayers offered, and boxes of mithai exchanged among family and friends. Each sweet carries a wish for love, for luck, for a sweeter tomorrow.
Here’s where you can find the best sweets in Sydney’s Little India, Harris Park.
First stop: Taj Sweets - where tradition lives in every bite
This is Sydney’s oldest and most beloved mithai shop, serving the community for over 25 years. Step inside, and you’re immediately hit by sweet nostalgia, trays upon trays of jewel-toned sweets glistening under warm lights, a strong aroma of cardamom and roasted nuts, and the comforting sound of Hindi chatter layered over clinking utensils.
Taj is famed for doing things the old way, using pure ghee, slow-cooked milk, and recipes passed down through generations. Their gulab jamuns are soft, syrupy perfection, barfis are dense and creamy with just the right sweetness, and their kaju katli sparkles like edible silver. You’ll also find besan ladoos that melt at the touch, and milk cake so indulgent it’s impossible to stop at one bite.
Come Diwali week, Taj becomes the beating heart of Harris Park. Lines snake out the door, and the shelves are refilled by the hour. Every mithai box that leaves the counter feels like a small parcel of joy, destined to light up another home.
Second stop: Jaipur Sweets — a Rajasthani rhapsody
Your trip to Harris Park is not complete without indulging in Jaipur Sweets’ jalebis. Jaipur Sweets greets visitors with a riot of colour and crunch. The scent of frying syrup reaches you before the sign does. This place is Rajasthan reborn in Sydney, and its claim to fame is golden crispy jalebis twirled into hypnotic spirals, and the ethereal Rajasthani ghevar, a honeycombed disc that dissolves into sweetness with every bite.
Crispy, syrupy jalebis will delight your sweet tooth.
Here, mithai isn’t just made, it’s performed. The cooks behind the counter pour batter into hot oil with practiced ease, creating golden spirals that sizzle and tempt. Their jalebis are a Sydney legend, amber loops dripping with syrup, perfect with a drizzle of rabdi.
And you cannot not mention their emerald pistachio burfis and rose-tinted milk pedas. During Diwali, it becomes a spectacle of lights, laughter, and trays of freshly made sweets. For many, this stop is not optional, it’s a pilgrimage.
Final stop: Chatkazz — where sweets are colourful & creative
And finally, there’s Chatkazz sweets & namkeen, a crowd favourite and a true Harris Park landmark that reimagines mithai for the modern palate. Step inside, and the mood instantly lifts with their colourful and creative mithais.
Their paan roll is a delicious fusion of fresh, minty burst of paan masala wrapped in creamy cashew sweetness. The pink coconut barfi and cham cham, glowing in pink and yellow hues, are as delightful as they look. And you can’t miss their Bournvita barfi, an absolute favourite among regulars. It’s a delightful twist on tradition, blending the nostalgic malt-chocolate flavour of childhood with the creamy richness of classic barfi.
A colourful array of mithai for Diwali.
Beyond sweets are their namkeen snacks. They’re spicy, crunchy, and completely addictive. The kind of munchies that disappear before you even realise it. From crisp sev to flavour-packed chivda and fafda. It’s that perfect mix of sweet and savoury that makes Chatkazz a favourite stop whether you’re celebrating Diwali or just craving a little crunch.
To truly taste Diwali in Sydney, walk this mithai trail, enjoy the festivity, carry home a little box of everything, and share it with your friends and family. Because in the end, that’s what Diwali is all about: the light we share, the sweetness we spread, and the joy that multiplies when it’s given away.
