Rua de Belem 84
1300-085 Lisboa, Portugal
http://www.pasteisdebelem.pt/en.html
Many years ago, I had my first taste bud-blowing Portuguese egg tart experience at Lord Stow's, known far and wide in Macau and Hong Kong for their super delicious Portuguese egg tarts. The egg tarts came hot out of the oven, with a broiled, charred egg crust on top and a crispy, crunchy shell (very different from the soft, flaky versions of the egg tart you find at dim sum restaurants). Andrew Stow, the mastermind behind Lord Stow, developed his egg tart recipe after the Portuguese pastel de nata, which originated in the early 19th century from the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (the Heironymite Monastery) in Belém. Back then, the monks developed many different desserts using egg yolks, as the egg whites were used for other things including starching clothes and wine-making. As a means of survival, the monks sold their pastel de nata in a local shop and the popularity of the tarts instantly soared. They were quickly renamed 'Pasteis de Belém' and the store is known world-wide as the original creators of the egg tart. With only 12 hours in Portugal, we HAD to make this historic stop for the some yummy egg tarts.
It was pretty amazing to see how many people were lined up for this store - it also didn't help that some sort of Nike charity event occured nearby and all the attendees decided to make a pit stop at Pasteis de Belém. We had to fight our way inside, fight to place our order and then fight for the pick-up line. They have quite an operation set up, with multiple people set up in back to package all the egg tarts into these cute cylinder boxes.
Apparently the recipe is kept secret and has not been changed since the original version from the monastery. The egg tarts tasted different than Lord Stow's with a more crispy and crunchy shell - almost like syrupy layers of fried wonton skins. They can also be served with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and cinnamon which we found to be a nice compliment to the egg custard. Pasteis de Belém is definitely a place you don't want to miss when visiting Lisbon - many other places serve it but nothing beats the original!
1300-085 Lisboa, Portugal
http://www.pasteisdebelem.pt/en.html
Many years ago, I had my first taste bud-blowing Portuguese egg tart experience at Lord Stow's, known far and wide in Macau and Hong Kong for their super delicious Portuguese egg tarts. The egg tarts came hot out of the oven, with a broiled, charred egg crust on top and a crispy, crunchy shell (very different from the soft, flaky versions of the egg tart you find at dim sum restaurants). Andrew Stow, the mastermind behind Lord Stow, developed his egg tart recipe after the Portuguese pastel de nata, which originated in the early 19th century from the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (the Heironymite Monastery) in Belém. Back then, the monks developed many different desserts using egg yolks, as the egg whites were used for other things including starching clothes and wine-making. As a means of survival, the monks sold their pastel de nata in a local shop and the popularity of the tarts instantly soared. They were quickly renamed 'Pasteis de Belém' and the store is known world-wide as the original creators of the egg tart. With only 12 hours in Portugal, we HAD to make this historic stop for the some yummy egg tarts.
It was pretty amazing to see how many people were lined up for this store - it also didn't help that some sort of Nike charity event occured nearby and all the attendees decided to make a pit stop at Pasteis de Belém. We had to fight our way inside, fight to place our order and then fight for the pick-up line. They have quite an operation set up, with multiple people set up in back to package all the egg tarts into these cute cylinder boxes.
Apparently the recipe is kept secret and has not been changed since the original version from the monastery. The egg tarts tasted different than Lord Stow's with a more crispy and crunchy shell - almost like syrupy layers of fried wonton skins. They can also be served with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and cinnamon which we found to be a nice compliment to the egg custard. Pasteis de Belém is definitely a place you don't want to miss when visiting Lisbon - many other places serve it but nothing beats the original!
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