Portuguese egg tarts in Calgary

[Office Broccoli]

Does anyone know where to find portuguese egg tarts in Calgary? I just got back from Macau and need a fix...

[sharonanne]

Did you ever find these?

We stayed in Chinatown in NYC which is like ground zero for Chinese bakeries and although many had Macao tarts none had even the slightest taste of coconut.

[ilikebigmactoo]

You can also get Portuguese Egg tarts at the bakery in New Asia Mall (below Central Grand). I think the bakery is called Logans. They were the first bakery to introduce Portuguese Egg Tarts into Calgary. I haven't had it in a long time, so I can't tell you if their quality is still ok, or how it compares to those you had in Macau.

Correct me if I am wrong, I think Portuguese Egg tarts is one of those things that were invented in Macau, so going to a Portuguese bakery probably won't do you much good.

[Office Broccoli]

I went to both Logos and Maxim's on the weekend and both of them had the regular egg tarts and not the Portuguese ones. Will head to T&T this weekend and see what I can find.

[sarah galvin]

There was a Portuguese bakery on 17 Av SW a couple blocks west of Crowchild, in a little strip mall. It was sold and no longer a fully Portuguese bakery but I think they still have the tarts.

[S_B_Russell]

Next time you're in Edmonton, check the Italian Centre Shop South, as their baker is Portuguese and does excellent tarts. So does the Nata Portugeus Bakery on Stony Plain Rd.

[Libertycafe]

Based on my experiences with dim sum egg tarts and the Portuguese tarts that I get from one of the Portuguese bakeries (the one with the big red sign advertising chicken) along 118 Avenue in Edmonton, I find the taste somewhat similar, but the pastry is different and the texture of the custard filling also different. I've never noticed a distinct coconut flavour to the Portuguese tarts, but perhaps that is because it doesn't haven't the Macau influence. I'll have to ask next time I go there.

[miss.foodie]

Portuguese egg tarts are usually not the same as the ones at dim sum as portuguese egg tarts have coconut flavour added to the custard and the custard typically looks like it has a couple of little burnt spots (ie. like brulee). I have seen portuguese egg tarts at both TnT Supermarket locations (although a little less often at the Harvest Hills location). They are sold in the same bakery section as the normal egg tarts but have the little brown spots on them as I had previously mentioned. While they are not as good as they ones I've tasted in Asia, they are the best I could find here in Calgary to satisfy the craving.

[sharonanne]

Thank you for correcting me. While all of the pictures on the internet show the burned spots none of the recipes have coconut flavouring. I guess you just can't trust everything you read!

[Office Broccoli]

Thanks miss.foodie. I'll have to pay a visit to T&T. Logos Bakery, which I go to for convenience doesn't have them. I've attached a photo of the ones I tried in Macau.

[miss.foodie]

I know many of the recipes online don't have coconut flavouring as I did a search too after I posted... so I thought I was losing my mind.. as I'm sure both the ones I had in Asia and the one from TnT had a hint of coconut. The coconut taste in the TnT ones aren't as strong as the ones I tasted from Asia. Hence, I did a search again online for Portuguese egg tarts coconut.. and I came up with some hits that said it had some coconut milk in the custard... I guess there are variations of the Portuguese egg tart... although I have to say that all the ones I've had so far had coconut flavour to it.

[fmed]

Here's a blog posting that describes Portugese Egg Tarts well: http://ugonnaeatthat.com/2009/02/18/macau-portuguese-tarts/

I think that blog is alua2's - a regular poster here on this forum.

They are often called Pastel de Nata: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastel_d...
or Pateis de Belem. The ones made in Portugal don't have coconut, but the ones in the Macau style do.

[alau2]

Thanks for the link, fmed. :-)

[miss.foodie]

Thanks, fmed, for helping me sort of the differences between the ones from Portugal and the ones from Macau. None of the posts I read online ever mentioned that there was difference between the two styles and it was the coconut.

[sharonanne]

Sorry if I am wrong but I believe these are the same as the egg tarts served at dim sum. I can't say I've tried them all but my favorite is at Grand Central upstairs in the small mall on Centre and 16th ave N. They don't put them on the carts you have to order. The key is the crust which needs to be super flaky and tender.