For a few years now, my girlfriend and I have been unable to agree on one thing in particular. One day, she decided to show me a Chinese pastry that she said I would love. She told me this was an authentic Chinese dessert, an egg tart called a dan tat, but I’d been eating it for years as a pastéis de nata, a Portuguese egg tart. I have distinct memories of going to my grandmother’s house and rushing through the main course just to be able to eat this dessert. One time, my dad even brought me homemade pastéis de nata to settle a feud we had— they’re that good, I swear they have healing powers.
One day, my girlfriend showed me a Chinese pastry that she said I would love. She told me it was an authentic Chinese dessert, an egg tart called a dan tat, but I’d been eating it for years as a pastéis de nata, a Portuguese egg tart. I have distinct memories of going to my grandmother’s house and rushing through the main course just to be able to eat the dessert. One time, my dad brought me homemade pastéis de nata to resolve one of our disagreements. They’re that good. I swear they have healing powers.
When my girlfriend placed the pastry in front of me I was pretty confused. I thought this dessert was so unique to my upbringing and a real staple Portuguese dessert.
The Research
In order to solve this conundrum I did some research and discovered that both the dan tat and pastéis de nata had been made independently for years. In Portugal, the egg tart was created by Catholic monks that stole the recipe from France and brought it to Portugal 200 years ago, and In China, the pastry had been made in Guangzhou as early as 100 years ago.
Chinese Egg Tart/Dan Tat
Portuguese Custard Tart/Pastéis de Nata
Research however, was not enough. After trying both versions of this treat, I still could not decide which was better without bias. Because of this, we decided to put our friends to the test.
The Taste Test
Our judges concluded that the dan tat was more of a breakfast pastry, with less sugar and milk, and had an almost jelly-like consistency. The crust was thin enough to provide a nice crunch but it wasn’t overpowering.
The pastéis de nata, on the other hand, was denser. It was more milky and pudding-like in the center, and the top was “like creme brulee”. This pastry was considered more of a dessert as opposed to the dan tat, but the crust was thicker and a bit dry.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I don’t think we’ll ever know which one is better, but we may have found the perfect medium. After hearing feedback from our friends, my girlfriend told me that there was actually another type of Chinese tart called a po tat. It has the same milky consistency as the pastéis de nata with the flaky thin crust of the dan tat.
Apparently, the “po” comes from it being inspired by the Portuguese dessert, also referred to as a Macau egg tart. So in some sense, I guess you can say that we both won this debate because, as cliché as it is, the dan tat and pastéis de nata are better together.
