This is the Food Place food court, located at Pavilion Mall. The food court is located beside the Oriental Kopi Restaurant. I will introduce you to another food from another stall.
This time I ordered Portuguese tart from the Nan Yang Siew Bao stall for breakfast, which cost RM3.70 per piece.
This is a beautifully caramelised Portuguese egg tart, a simple yet legendary pastry with roots that stretch far beyond our shores.
Golden on top with dark, blistered patches, the tart immediately promises richness. The crust is made of delicate, flaky pastry, crisp and buttery, breaking softly as you lift it. Inside lies the heart of this classic—a creamy custard filling that’s smooth, lightly sweet, and fragrant with egg and vanilla.
Bite into it, and you get layers of texture: crispy shell, creamy centre, and a whisper of caramel bitterness from the charred top. It’s indulgence in the simplest form.
The Portuguese egg tart, or Pastéis de Nata, was born in the 18th century at the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, Lisbon. Monks and nuns used egg whites for starching their clothing, leaving behind large amounts of yolks. Rather than waste them, they turned the yolks into pastries—thus, the first custard tarts were created.
After the monastery closed during Portugal’s 1820 Liberal Revolution, the secret recipe was sold to a sugar refinery, which later opened the famous Pastéis de Belém bakery in 1837. Even today, thousands queue daily in Lisbon to taste the original.
The tart made its way to Macau, a former Portuguese colony, where it gained popularity with a local twist—slightly sweeter custard with a stronger caramel top. From there, it travelled across Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore, becoming a beloved bakery staple.
In Malaysia, bakeries like Nan Yang Siew Bao embrace this heritage while adding their own craftsmanship. Each tart is baked to achieve that signature golden top and flaky base, staying true to its Portuguese roots.
The Portuguese egg tart may be small, but it carries centuries of history, culture, and care in every bite. From a monastery in Lisbon to a humble stall in a Malaysian food court, its journey is proof that true classics never fade—they simply find new homes.
