Lord Stow Egg Tarts @ Lord Stow Garden Cafe

Yes, I know this is strange. Lord Stow doesn't have an outlet in mainland Macau for the simple reason that his former wife owns that turf. How else can you justify his non-presence on the Macau Peninsula?

The late Andrew Stow started the bakery outlet in Coloane, which is quite a nice and laid back place, since then, there has been two more outlet, namely a cafe and a Garden cafe. I know this sounds confusing, but bear with me. The bakery is a take out outlet. You don't get to sit down and get served coffee but round the corner from there is a Cafe, and just within an arms throw, is the Garden Cafe, which operates more like a Bistro. There is one more at UNIMAC, University of Macau, but I never found the need to go there for a cuppa.

The Garden Cafe is quite packed during weekends, even though it is quite a distance away from everywhere else, people still find time to go round to this place to have a pleasant afternoon. In particular, the Garden Cafe serves up full meals, which are fusion cuisines.

The bakery down the road makes all the egg tarts, so if you are wondering if you are getting anything different, rest assured that you aren't. The outlet at the Venetian Casino makes their own egg tarts as can be seen from the kitchen window, but it lacks the full service meals.

The egg tarts here are wonderfully rich, far richer and sweeter than the ones made by Margarets and this is how I like it. Bite into them and you'd be rewarding all your senses. This is not to say that Margarets version isn't any good or less in quality, it's just a different taste.

I have never had the Balem version of the eggtart to see if it has any taste resemblance, probably not since Andrew Stow could not find the fresh ingredients needed to make an authentic Portuguese version so the Macau version is probably the best there is.  The Garden Cafe gets all its tarts from across the road as you can see the bakers coming in with trays of the stuff whenever they run low on it.

The Garden Cafe is a nice place, but be forewarned as the garden has some nasty bugs hanging around. My partner got stung by a hornet when we ate there. The Garden is also houses two reptiles, tortoises, which are no use in getting rid of the bugs.

There are many others who have tried to make the tart and call it their own. I know Koi Kei and Choi Heong Yuen also make their versions which are worthy enough to stand on their own as well. But the ones made by Lord Stowe is still my personal favorite. Rich and tasty, the pastry is baked just right. I never found the need to verify if Lord Stowe's version was really the best after tasting all the egg tarts sold in Macau. One bite, and you know it is.

The Garden Cafe is really the place you should be getting a coffee while enjoying these splendid creations. The other cafe down the road is much smaller and less popular with the cafe going tourist but you can be assured that both places will be packed to the brim during weekends.

Thankfully, Lord Stow has not taken the more commercial route like Margaret's Cafe where the egg tart recipe is now sold at KFC outlets in Singapore. So for this very reason, you should make it a point to try Andrew Stowe's creation whenever you are in Macau.

Portuguese Eggtarts @ Lord Stow Garden Cafe