Craving

Left/back arrow
Left/back arrow
Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
February 20, 2014

Teixeira's Bakery

Portuguese Egg Tarts

Celia Sin-Tien Cheng

In recent years, Portuguese egg tarts have become a craze in China and Taiwan. Once they were brought over from the formerly Portuguese-ruled island of Macao, every bakery started to make them, and the Chinese egg tarts that you may be familiar with from dim sum became overshadowed. Today in Taiwan and Manhattan’s Chinatown, you’ll find bakeries selling more Portuguese egg tarts than the traditional kind. What’s the difference? Well, I sampled the excellent pastéis de nata at Teixeira’s Portuguese bakery to find out. The pastry shell is so flaky that you can hear the crispiness of each layer as you bite into it. The Portuguese custard is much creamier than the more eggy Chinese version, and the tops of the tarts are slightly caramelized by the baking process. Light on sugar, these tarts are perfect for someone like me who doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth. I bought just one to try and then immediately got back in line for more. At Teixeira’s, the tarts are $1 each or $5 for a half-dozen. I also recommend Teixeira’s wonderful soups and savory pastries such as the pastéis de camarão (shrimp dumplings) and pastéis de bacalhau (cod fish fritters), which are among the many delights that make this adorable Portuguese café and bakery a new personal favorite.

Teixeira's Bakery

186 Ferry St
Newark, NJ
07105
Price
$
Neighborhood
Newark