Dim Sum - Pasteis De Belem !

I don't know about you, but every time I go to a Dim Sum place almost anywhere in the world, I find these little sweet egg tarts. Everybody tries to get them and if you are not careful they are out of them before you can get one. They are so not Chinese and so sinfully good that I needed to find out about them. These egg tarts came originally from Portugal, where they are known as Pastéis de Nata or Pastel de Belém. These small egg tarts can be found throughout Portugal's pastry shops and cafés. It is believed that they were invented before the 18th century by Catholic Sisters at the Jerónimos Monastery of Belém, in Lisbon. The Casa Pastéis de Belém in Lisbon was the first place outside the convent to sell this creamy desserts. Since 1837, locals have come here to get them warm out of the oven and sprinkled with cinnamon and powdered sugar. These egg tarts were also the sweet chosen to represent Portugal in the Café Europe initiative of the Austrian presidency at the European Union, on Europe Day 2006. A Briton named Andrew Stow modified the recipe of making Pastéis De Nata with techniques of making English custard tarts and started selling the modified version at his Lord Stow's Cafe in Coloane, Macao, as Portuguese-style egg tarts. They have since become available at numerous bakeries all over Macau and are even served in the Hong Kong branches of the KFC restaurant chain. The craze for these Portuguese-style egg tarts ran through Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan and so it is today, that almost every Chinese buffet or Dim Sum restaurant on this planet offers these little treats for dessert.