- akakd
- First Reviewer
- 5 out of 5
- Avg. Member Rating
- 4
- Reviews
-
1
- Photo
Editor Pick
The World's Greatest House of Tarts
- April 5, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
koshkha from Northampton, United Kingdom
When I was a child my confectionery tastes leaned towards towering heaps of chocolate, whipped cream and nuts. I would inevitably plump (appropriate word that) for the biggest, naughtiest cake in the shop; the one you didn't know whether to eat or climb.
But as I've got older and - questionably - more sophisticated, I've come to see that there's little in life that beats a really good custard tart in any of its many manifestations. As an ex-fatty I am, like an alcoholic, only ever one or two tarts away from heading back down the slippery slope of over-indulgence.
Most of the time the battle with temptation is one I win. But there's always one good excuse to succumb. This is the 'travelling in a foreign country, don't like to say 'no' for fear of giving offence' gambit and, within the rules of diplomacy, you have to grin and swallow.
In May 2006 my husband and I went to Lisbon and stay with my friend Theresa, whom I met many moons ago in a youth hostel in Stockholm. As she whizzed us around all over the place she insisted that the highlight of the weekend would be a trip to the Antiga Casa dos Pasteis de Belem - or, to translate roughly, the Old Tart House of Belem. As we drove back and forth she would point out of the window at an unprepossessing little shop with a blue and white awning and a very long queue outside and murmur in hushed tones about the delights still to come.
~So Where is This Remarkable Shop?~
Belem is the river-side area at the heart of the tourist map of Lisbon. It has the Monastery of Jeronimos and several state museums just along the road. On the other side of the road is a lovely park with cheap restaurants and a MacDonalds on the corner - small irrelevant fact, McDonalds in Portugal does soup! On a Sunday morning there is a big flea market just across from the shop. Further along the coast, a few minutes walk is the Monument to the Discoveries. Pass the Cultural Centre of Belem and head down the road and you will reach the defensive Belem Tower overlooking the waterside.
In short - with all these attractions, there are plenty of excuses to make sure you find yourself within sniffing distance of the Antiga Casa.
~Take Care~
Crossing the road in front of the shop whilst thinking about tarts could be dangerous to your health. The traffic is shocking and you will need your wits about you.
~The Casa Itself~
The building is a rabbit warren of rooms, mostly tiled in traditional Lisbon blue and white. There must be a dozen different rooms, each filled to bursting with little tables and chairs and consumers paying homage to their Pasteis over a coffee. Even if you are planning to take away, be sure to have a wander around and look at the building. Everyone is so busy stuffing their faces that they won't wonder what you are up to.
Back in the entrance hall, there is a shiny old counter and display cupboards full of goodies. Most of the people standing three or four deep at the counter are there for just one thing - a pack (or better still several packs) of custard tarts. These are sold still warm in a cardboard tube containing six tarts. You will also get a small pack of icing sugar and another of cinnamon.
I'm sorry that I can't tell you what these little delights cost - my friend was deeply offended that we should even consider to offer to pay for something so important. I suspect that they would probably cost somewhere between 2 and 3 Euros for a pack of 6 but quite honestly, if they charged 10 times that you'd still want to buy them.
~Eating them~
Walk out of the shop - stop thinking about the tarts, you need to pay attention to that traffic again. Cross over to the park and find a bench.
Slide open the end of the box and pull out the first two tarts. They will be sitting face to face, still warm and inviting. The tarts are approximately two and a half inches in diameter and one in depth. The golden brown pastry is the flakiest I have ever seen. The skin on the custard will be blackened in places and golden in other. Take a good sniff.
Open up the sachets of cinnamon and icing sugar. If the wind is blowing, check which way before you cover yourself in powder (yep, I ended up wearing most of it). Sprinkle them on top and then sink your teeth in.
A local will probably put one away in 3 or 4 bites. I stretched mine out to a dozen or so nibbles. The custard was sweet, creamy and smooth. The flakes of pastry melt in your mouth and the grateful sparrows will take any crumbs you miss.
The nuns in the kitchens at the nearby Jeronimos Monastery allegedly developed the recipe for these tarts more than 200 years ago. It seems in Portugal that a life of religious devotion has its little compensations - a bit like the monks elsewhere with their Benedictine and Belgian beers. It is alleged that only 4 people know the secret recipe for these tarts.
~So how good are they?~
I've worked in the bakery industry for the last 5 years or so and I have had great excuses to travel the world and eat the local speciality cakes and pastries in every different continent. Each was claimed by the locals to be the best cake in the known universe but I actually believe that in the case of the Pasteis de Belem, I can stop my search and die happy knowing I really have had the ultimate custard tart.
If these were served up every day, it might even be worth forsaking all other worldly vices and joining the monastery.
~Recommendation~
If you went to Lisbon and it rained all weekend and you had a nasty hotel and a thug mugged you for your camera, it would still be a great visit to Lisbon if you had a box of Pasteis de Belem
From journal Eating, Sleeping & Looking at Fish
Editor Pick
The Cafe that Serves the Best Custard Tarts Ever
- March 27, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
Praskipark from Warsaw, Poland
Fabrica dos Pasteis de Belem
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are many fine restaurants in Belem. In fact, they line the
Rua de Belem, which leads away from the Jeronimos monastery into the town centre. Now if you have been to Portugal before you will certainly have eaten a pastel de nata which is an egg custard tart made of the lightest, flakiest pastry ever. Believe me, nobody makes these little tarts like the Portuguese.
There is a traditional cafe called Fabrica dos Pasteis de Belem and it is here where they make the egg custards but the Lisboans call them Pastel de Belem and they have been making them on these premises since 1837. This is a very popular destination for tourists and if you hope to try one of these delicacies then you may have to queue a long time.
But it is worth it because the building is worth a visit even if you don't get to sit down and eat a custard tart. As you approach the pavement made from calcadas (Portuguese mosaics) you will see the front of the Fabrica as each window has a bright blue canopy swaying in the wind with the name of the Restaurant/Cafe above and the facade of the building is adorned in blue and white tiles.
As you enter you will catch a glimpse of a time passed when cafes where grand, had large engraved ceilings with beautiful detailed lamps hanging from the centre, casting golden shadows on the cabinets filled with bottles of port, wine, brandy, medronho and other Portuguese sweet licquers and the counters were higher than the people who stood behind them.
This is a wonderful environment to sit, drink coffee and taste one or two of these creamy filled pastries. There are six rooms in the building - all decorated in blue azulejos (Portuguese tiles).To find the top floor it is like walking through a labyrinth of nooks and crannies. Every room is generally bursting at the seams and the waiters who are always smiling, dressed in black and white, with black bow ties, dance around with drinks and pastries piled high on trays.
In the kitchen of this famous building are lots of women standing over trays and trays of flaky pastry, shaping and moulding the delicate round shape of the custard tart while others are boiling milk, vanilla, sugar and cream to pour into the bases.
I have tasted many a custard tart in lots of countries but the Lisboans know how to create perfection.
Do not miss the Fabrica dos Pasteis de Belem. You will be in for a treat!
From journal Biding my Time in Belem
Editor Pick
Pasteis de Belem
- October 29, 2001
- Rated 4 of 5 by
janebubb from New York, New York
If you're on your way to Belem to visit the Monastery de Jeronimo, you have to stop here first. There are tons of places that claim to offer the pastry of Belem, a creamy egg tart baked until nearly scorched that you eat piping hot from the oven, and powder with cinnamon and confectioner's sugar, but this is the real deal. The outside of this little bakery is decorated with blue tiles -- the azulejos left over from the Moorish influence. Once inside, you'll see that the store is humming with industry. An assembly line packs the pastries in cardboard rolls, 10 to a roll, and people are lined up at the counter waiting their turn to get a pastry. If you're lucky, you might be able to get a seat in the backroom so you can sit and enjoy your pastries while basking in the fragrance of the bakery.
We ate 8 of the pasteis between us in about 2 minutes. The waiter brings you a large container of powdered sugar and cinnamon so you can drown your pastry in it before biting into its wonderfully tasty filling and flaky crust. The pastries were extremely affordable and so good.
From journal Once Upon a Time in Lisbon
Pasteis de Belem
- November 5, 2000
- Rated 4 of 5 by
akakd from , Arizona
This is obviously a favorite for locals. The place was packed. Their specialties are pastries filled with meat and cheeses and pastries with a custard filling.
From journal Discover Lisbon!