STARBUCKS...STARBUCKS...

To make a journey complete, Dankey would always visit his most favored haven…STARBUCKS…

After the plane had landed to Macau and the hotel accommodation was settled the first place Dankey visited was of course…Starbucks!!!

It is located in one of the busiest tourist spots in Macau, Senado Square. The store has two floors, big enough to accommodate their regular customers and tourists.

The second floor is very spacious and relaxing with the very distinct homey ambience, perfect place to rest the aching feet of local and foreign tourists and backpackers. Dankey relaxed in the cozy couch while sipping his cold orange juice and eating the famous “egg tart” of Macau.

Why were egg tarts in Macau so famous? Where did it originate?

Portuguese egg tarts were evolved from "pastel de nata", a traditional Portuguese custard pastry that consists of custard in a crème brûlée-like consistency caramelized in a puff pastry case. It was created more than 200 years ago by Catholic Sisters at Jerónimos Monastery (Portuguese:Mosteiro dos Jerónimos) at Belém in Lisbon. Casa Pastéis de Belém was the first pastry shop outside of the convent to sell this pastry in 1837. It is now a popular pastry in every pastry shop around the world owned by Portuguese descendants.

Custard tarts were introduced in Hong Kong in the 1940s by cha chaan tengs. They were then introduced in western cafes and bakeries to compete with dim sum restaurants, particularly foryum cha. During the economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s, Lu Yu took the lead with the mini-egg tart. Ironically, mini egg tarts are now a common dim sum dish and are richer than those served in bakeries.

One theory suggests Hong Kong egg tarts are an adaptation of English tarts with custard filling. Guangdong had more frequent contact with the West, in particular Britain, than the rest of China. As a former British colony, Hong Kong adopted some British Cuisine. Another theory suggests that egg tarts evolved from the very similar Portuguese egg tart pastries, known as pastel de nata, traveling to Hong Kong via the Portuguese colony of Macau.

Dankey loved the taste of Macau's Portuguese tarts,hmmmm..yummy...how he wished to bring it all home. Here in the Philippines, Dankey's favorite local pastry is Ensaymada, a soft bread with margarine, cheeze and sugar on top...and of course, the barista must serve it warm...yummy! Does Starbucks also offer local pastries in your country?

And don't you dare forget to bring home a Starbucks Macau tumbler as souvenir...















source: Wikipedia