Restaurant: Napoleon Super Bakery
City: Oakland, CA

Portuguese egg tarts, or “po taat” in Cantonese, are my favorite egg tarts. Shown above is what I ate earlier today; it should have been baked or torched longer for a more caramelized top. These are the best Portuguese egg tarts I can find in Oakland Chinatown, however. I have only seen the regular Hong Kong egg tarts in other bakeries in that area.

Portuguese egg tarts (蛋挞, literally egg tart) are a typical pastry from Macau having its origin in the colonial past of the city, and nowadays a dessert expanded all over Asia. This tart basically is made of a puff pastry case filled with custard in a crème brûlée-like consistency, caramelized on top. Do not confuse with the “simple” egg tart, which is not tasty as this one! Portuguese egg tarts are sightly “evolved” from “pastéis de nata” (葡式蛋撻), a traditional Portuguese custard pastry. Evolved in the way that in Portugal are served warm with cinnamon, and in Asia without it, for example. Good Portuguese egg tarts should taste like slightly burnt sweet caramel and custard. (logafter)