Lord Stow’s Bakery
In the charming Coloane Village, Lord Stow’s Bakery has become one of Macau’s most popular attractions. Home to the original Macau egg tarts, they are baked fresh daily on site and are considered, by many, to be the original and the best. With their flaky pastry crusts, delicious egg custard centres and crispy crème brulée tops, they taste twice as nice when piping hot. In addition to the original shop in Coloane Village, there are also two cafes located in the Venetian Macao resort.
Margaret’s Café e Nata
Margaret’s shop, located near Senado Square, is also a big local name and immensely popular. In terms of who takes the crown for the best egg tarts in town, it’s a close contest between Lord Stow’s and Margaret’s. Incidentally, Margaret was Lord Stow’s ex wife, but after they parted ways she opened her own cafe. Opinions differ on which establishment serves up the tastiest tarts. Margaret’s tarts have a more homemade quality; the crust is more flaky with a heavily packed filling but is a little on the oily side. Meanwhile, Lord Stow’s are more uniform in appearance and taste – more exact in their balance of sweetness and texture.
Koi Kei Bakery
Koi Kei is a popular bakery chain in Macau. They have shops dotted all over the city and are locally famous for their almond cookies (another popular Macau snack) and their beef jerky. Koi Kei’s version of the Macau egg tart is more firm in texture than both Lord Stow’s and Margaret’s. However, this means that they hold the custard filling better. If you’re buying egg tarts for the purpose of gifts to take home, generally speaking, those from Koi Kei keep the best.
San Hou Lei
Beyond a mean Portuguese egg tart, this bakery serves up a lighter, pure yellow Macanese version, a milky white “bird’s nest” tart and a sweet, moist coconut tart.