Best of Egg Tarts

Best of Egg Tarts
Monday February 28, 2011 10:09 pm PST


Introduced in Hong Kong in the 1940s, these custard pastries were first offered by cha chaan tengs - Chinese tea diners that serve affordable on-the-go dishes such as noodles, pasta and fried rice.
These little tarts are believed to have been nicked from Macau's Portugese community, as they look like the pastel de nata that have been around since the 1800s.

But regardless of where they come from, there's an eternal debate between connoisseurs that divides neatly into two camps: shortcrust versus flaky pie crust.

Leung Sang Hong Kong Pastries
$1.00 per piece. 18 Sago St., 6221-1344.
This one confuses us with its thin, dry crust, leaving us unsure whether it was meant to be shortcrust or flaky. It maintains a hard, smooth exterior but is crumbly and messy once bitten into. We felt there wasn't enough crust to balance the generous yet bland filling.

Rochor Original Beancurd
$1.40 per piece. 2 Short St., 6334-1138.
The crust is so good you can eat it on its own. Baked to perfection, it crumbles nicely in your mouth. The filling, however, is disappointing. Pale and bland, it lacks texture, that egg-y flavor, and real oomph.

Tong Heng Confectionery
$1.40 per piece. 285 South Bridge Rd., 6223-0398.
This is one hard, shortcrusted tart. More of a pudding than a custard, it features an extremely sweet, rather dense filling, bordered by a crumbly, biscuit-like crust. Topped with a mustard yellow finish, it feels jelly-like to the touch.

KFC
$1.30 per piece. Islandwide, 6222-6111.
The flaky, crisp crust neatly borders the pale yellow center. With an evenly-caramelized coat, a bite into this melt-in-your-mouth custard leaves an addictive creamy aftertaste.

Madeleine's Original Portuguese Egg Tart & Puff $1.30 per piece. 198 Tanjong Katong Rd., 6247-9363.
Hands-down winner. A tale of two extremes - its crisp, buttery crust mingles well with a smooth and creamy filling. Fragrant at first whiff, it stays loyal to the original Portuguese pastel de nata.

Quoted: http://sg.promotion.yahoo.com/weekend-edition/dining/post/dining/42/best-of-egg-tarts.html