'We have decided to retire': Will cease on 15 Aug 2024
Closing for good after 26 years
After 26 years, Madeleine's Original Portuguese Egg Tarts, located in Tanjong Katong, is closing for good. On Wednesday (July 17), the stall took to its social media channels to break the news that it "will cease operations after Aug 15".
The in-video caption read: "It is with mixed emotions that I announce the retirement of our business after 26 years of dedicated service, we have decided to retire and close the business." "This decision was not made lightly, but after much consideration, we are confident that this is the right step for us at this point in our life," the notice read.
The owner then went on to thank both customers and employees for their support through the bakery's 26-year run. Supporters of the business took to the comments section, expressing their dismay in response to the news.
100-Year-Old Egg Tart Shop Tong Heng Thrived Even During Japanese Occupation, Says 4th-Gen Owner
There’s a Chinese saying that goes: “Wealth does not last beyond three generations.” But whoever said that simply hasn’t met Ana Fong, 59, the fourth-generation owner of Tong Heng.
For Singaporeans, Tong Heng is synonymous with their diamond-shaped egg tarts, among other traditional Cantonese pastries. According to Fong, Tong Heng sells around 1,000 egg tarts a day and up to 3,000 on good days. As of 2024, there are two stores in Jurong and Chinatown, where the bakery stands as a rare centenarian-to-be.
How have they kept the family business alive for nearly a hundred years? Why stop at two outlets? And have their egg tarts always been diamond-shaped?
S’porean Who Moved To China Returns Home To Be Portuguese Egg Tart Hawker
Robbie Liang, 47, was working as a mechanical production engineer in 2009 when he decided to quit his job and move to Yunnan, China. “I didn’t like the systematic style in Singapore. I couldn’t stick to that kind of life,” he tells 8days.sg. China appealed to him as it shares cultural similarities with Singapore. Robbie later got hitched to his wife, who hails from Shandong, and the couple now has two kids — a son, 7, and a daughter, 6.
During their 12 years in Yunnan, they ran their own F&B business selling yogurt desserts, which Robbie identified as a market niche as the majority of the Chinese population has a genetic lactose intolerance towards fresh milk. “So they go for yogurt as a source of nutrients,” he explains. Robbie’s wife, a baking enthusiast, also came up with a Portuguese egg tart recipe out of interest, and sold them as a “secondary product” alongside yogurt. Portuguese egg tarts (also known by its native name pastéis de nata), which originated in Lisbon and is also popular in former Portuguese colony Macau, are characterised by their crispy, flaky puff pastry crust and burnt egg custard filling that’s still creamy in the centre.
In 2019, husband-and-wife decided to close their yogurt business and move back to Singapore. “We came back for our kids’ education — they refused to speak to me in English because everyone around them was speaking Mandarin,” recalls Robbie. Due to their F&B experience, they continued to work in the line by setting up another food business here. And this time, they focused on Portuguese Egg Tarts as Robbie points out there wasn’t much demand for yogurt in Singapore back in 2019. “Egg tart is a form of culture here too, since some of our ancestors are from China,” Robbie says. He notes that “Singaporeans are more used to Hong Kong-style cookie crust egg tarts”, but he decided to offer the flaky Portuguese tart as “I just love this type of crust”.
Chinese Egg Tart vs Portuguese Egg Tart: What's The Difference
Chinese Egg Tart vs Portuguese Egg Tart
Egg tarts have become an ultimate dessert for people who want a rich and creamy option. This is because egg tarts are the just-right amount of sweet, and the overall texture is creamy yet delectably crispy at the same time. The better option between Chinese egg tart vs Portuguese egg tart is a long-running debate. We are sharing all the details you need to know about them to make an informed decision over which you prefer. Everything that you need to know about the ins and outs of each tasty treat.
Chinese Egg Tart:
- The Chinese egg tart is essentially a custard tart that has become an important part of Cantonese cuisine that’s actually derived from the original Portuguese variant.
- Chinese egg tart is most commonly referred to by its Jyutping name Daahn tāat. However, you’ll also find it called dàntǎ when spoken in Mandarin. English-speaking individuals often ask for Hong Kong-style tarts or “Dan Tat” when seeking Chinese egg tarts.
- The Macau variation featuring a caramelized top is called ‘po tat,’ which is actually Cantonese for its Portuguese counterpart.
- A Chinese Egg Tart is a custard-based dessert that’s inspired by both English custard tarts and ever-popular Portuguese egg tarts.
- While the basic recipe incorporates custard atop a Chinese puff pastry or shortcrust base, various variations featuring everything from green tea to chocolate and bird’s nest are available.
- There are two primary variations of Chinese egg tart – egg tarts from Macau and Hong Kong. The very first Chinese egg tarts arose in the city of Guangzhou, situated on the banks of the Pearl River northwest of Hong Kong, during the 1940s.
- Chinese egg tarts have a flaky, buttery crust filled with creamy sweet piping hot custard that may or may not be flavored, depending on the recipe and variation in question.
- Hong Kong-style egg tarts are typically sweeter than their Macau counterparts and come flavored, whereas Macau-style egg tarts have a more prominent custard flavor without any other additives.
Portuguese Egg Tart:
- One can’t forget that Portuguese egg tarts from its homeland Lisbon have become named one of the 50 best things to consume around the globe.
- They’re a classic that everyone needs to try at some point, even if homemade instead of direct from the bakery that bought the original recipe.
- The Portuguese name for Portuguese Custard Tarts is Pastéis de Nata which translates to Pastel de nata in English.
- The variety that gained popularity in China was Pastel de Belém which translates to Pastries of Bethlehem (which is a reference to Saint Mary of Bethlehem parish in Lisbon, where the recipe originated).
- Portuguese egg tart is commonly known as pasteis de nata and is known for its denser texture as compared to a Chinese egg tart. Each tart is made up of a puff pastry shell filled with a dense, creamy custard that’s been baked until lightly caramelized.
- What Does Portuguese Egg Tart Taste Like? - Expect a sweeter, milkier custard taste than Chinese egg tarts overall, with caramelization and a consistency that’s often compared to creme brulee. In the majority of cases, it is dusted with cinnamon which adds a unique flavor.
- Classic Portuguese egg tarts have been influenced by Japanese cuisine. Japanese people tend to love to add green tea flavoring to enhance and modify the overall taste making this a commonly encountered variation.
- For the most part, Portuguese egg tarts tend to be milkier and have a pudding-like texture in the center.
- Many people also associate its top with crème Brulee, so it’s best that you keep such consistency in mind if making your own at home. This pastry also has a thick and much drier crust which differentiates it from Chinese egg tarts.
Chinese Egg Tart
Hong Kong–style egg tart
The egg tart (traditional Chinese: 蛋撻; simplified Chinese: 蛋挞; Cantonese Yale: daahn tāat; pinyin: dàntǎ) is a kind of custard tart found in Chinese cuisine, derived from the English custard tart and Portuguese pastel de nata. The dish consists of an outer pastry crust filled with egg custard. Egg tarts are often served at dim sum restaurants, Chinese bakeries and cha chaan tengs (Hong Kong–style cafes).
The egg tart started being sold in the early 20th century in Guangzhou (Canton), Guangdong province, inspired by the European custard tarts. Guangzhou's status as the only port accessible to European foreign traders led to the development of Cantonese cuisine having many outside influences. As Guangzhou's economy grew from trade and interaction with European powers, pastry chefs at the Western-style department stores in the city were “pressured to come up with new and exciting items to attract customers”.
So egg tart varieties, inspired by those from Europe, featuring a lard-based puff pastry crust and a filling similar to steamed egg pudding (燉蛋), were then created by department stores and appeared as a "Weekly Special".[2] Nowadays, there are two main varieties of egg tart in China. The one that appeared around 1927 in Guangzhou’s Zhen Guang Restaurant (真光酒樓) is close to the egg tarts popular in Guangzhou and Hong Kong today. The other variety is from Macau and is a Macanese take on the pastel de nata, as Macau was then a Portuguese colony.
Pastel de nata
The typical appearance of the pastel de nata in Lisbon, Portugal
Pastel de nata (Portuguese: [pɐʃˈtɛl dɨ ˈnatɐ]; pl.: pastéis de nata; Portuguese: [pɐʃˈtɐjʒ ðɨ-])) is a Portuguese egg custard tart pastry, optionally dusted with cinnamon. Outside Portugal, they are particularly popular in other parts of Western Europe, Asia and former Portuguese colonies, such as Brazil, Mozambique, Macau, Goa and East Timor. The Macanese variant has been adopted by KFC and is available in regions such as mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand. In Indonesia, this pastry is especially popular in Kampung Tugu, Jakarta, a culturally Portuguese (Mardijker) enclave.
Pastéis de Belém, which were created before the 18th century by Catholic monks at the Jerónimos Monastery in the civil parish of Saint Mary of Bethlehem, in Lisbon. At the time, convents and monasteries used large quantities of egg-whites for starching clothes, such as friars and nuns' religious habits. It was quite common for monasteries and convents to use the leftover egg yolks to make cakes and pastries, resulting in the proliferation of sweet pastry recipes throughout the country.
In the aftermath of the Liberal Revolution of 1820, following the dissolution of religious orders and in the face of the impending closure of many convents and monasteries, the monks started selling pastéis de nata at a nearby sugar refinery to bring in revenue. In 1834, the monastery was closed and the recipe sold to the sugar refinery, whose owners in 1837 opened the Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém. The descendants own the business to this day.
