A trip to Macau isn’t complete without trying one of its highly-praised egg tarts. Unrivaled in their deliciousness, they have become the city’s own edible icon. For many, one of the top must-do items when visiting Macau is to buy a box of freshly baked Macau egg tarts. Their reputation as the best egg tarts you can find – anywhere – has made venturing to Macau something of a pilgrimage for pastry lovers.

Based on the pasteis de nata from Portugal, the tarts were first introduced to Macau by a British pharmacist-turned Baker, called Andrew Stow. After tasting the tarts in Portgual, Stow returned to Macau and started experimenting with the recipe to create his own ‘Macau’ version. Not long after, he opened Lord Stow’s Bakery in Macau’s Coloane Village and the rest is history. More than 25 years after selling their first tart, the bakery produces more than 13,000 a day and they are more popular than ever.

Lord Stow’s Bakery, The founder Andrew Stow was inspired by the Pasteis de Nata from Portugal, and experimented with his own version. (Andrew was called “Lord” because he was the only well-known Englishman in Macau in the 1980s.)

You may have seen similar versions from Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan and even Japan, but people say the Lord Stow ones are still the best.The Lord Stow’s Egg Tarts (MOP10, SGD1.50) looked deceptively simple, with a slightly burnt appearance. 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.