Dim sum & bakery · Hong Kong / Macau
Egg Tarts
葡式蛋挞/酥皮蛋挞 — Two great schools of custard pastry: the Hong Kong shortcrust tart and Macau’s Portuguese puff-pastry original, blistered dark and best eaten warm in Coloane.
The Hong Kong egg tart (daan taat) is a dim-sum-counter classic — smooth egg custard in a lard shortcrust, served at room temperature in three-bite tins. Macau’s version, created at Lord Stow’s Bakery in 1989, is a different animal: laminated puff pastry that shatters, custard torched almost burnt on top, eaten hot from the oven.
Lord Stow’s in Coloane Village still bakes the original on the square where it was invented; Tai Cheong in Hong Kong anchors the shortcrust school. Both cost about a dollar, and both are best consumed within sight of the bakery door.
Where to eat it
- Lord Stow’s Bakery (Coloane, Macau)
- Tai Cheong Bakery (Hong Kong, Central)
- Guangzhou bakery counters for the old-school style
Named tables that do it well
- Yu Tang Chun Nuan — Michelin 1 Star
- Jiang by Chef Fei — Michelin 2 Stars
- Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew — Michelin 2 Stars
- Taianmen Guangzhou — Michelin 2 Stars
Routes that eat their way here
More dishes to know
- Char Siu (叉烧)
- Cantonese Roast Goose (烧鹅)
- Claypot Rice (煲仔饭)
- Cantonese Congee (艇仔粥/生滚粥)
- Wonton Noodles (云吞面)
- Hong Kong-Style Milk Tea (港式奶茶)