Source:
https://scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3017382/breaking-hong-kong-egg-tart-news-lord-stows-back-now-mandarin
Lifestyle/ Food & Drink

Breaking Hong Kong egg tart news: Lord Stow’s is back, now at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong

  • Hongkongers disappointed at having nowhere to buy Lord Stow’s famed egg tarts since March can now happily head to the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong
  • Get there early though – the tarts are produced in limited quantities every day and are usually sold out by midafternoon
Lord Stow’s egg tarts at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong in Central. Photo: Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong

When The Excelsior Hong Kong closed in March, it left Hongkongers with nowhere to buy Lord Stow’s famed egg tarts without making the trip to the tarts’ home, Macau. Fans of the buttery sweet treat wondered if they would ever be able to purchase them again in Hong Kong.

Here’s some good news: the delicious pastries with the slightly browned egg custard are back – this time at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong in Central, in a pop-up running until October 1.

The Lord Stow’s egg tart stand is in the hotel’s east lobby, where the flower shop used to be. Customers can purchase egg tarts from noon until 5pm. However, all 350 egg tarts produced daily are usually sold out by 3pm or half past, according to the hotel’s executive chef Robin Zavou.

He says the hotel is increasing production to 400 egg tarts from today onwards and will continue to assess demand.

The delicious egg tarts are priced at HK$20 each and can be bought individually or in boxes of four or six.

It was exactly 30 years ago this year that Lord Stow’s bakery opened on Coloane Island in Macau. The shop now produces 21,000 egg tarts daily.

Andrew Stow with egg tarts created using his own recipe.
Andrew Stow with egg tarts created using his own recipe.

They are inspired by Portuguese pasteis de nata, a type of egg tart that originated in the Belém district of Lisbon hundreds of years ago. In the mid-1980s, Macau resident Andrew Stow visited Portugal and afterwards created his own recipe.

The egg tarts made in the Mandarin Oriental use the same recipe as Lord Stow’s, and even follows the tradition of pressing each pastry shell by hand to ensure a flaky crust.

Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central, Central, tel: 2825 4000