30 replies to this topic

[Chris Amirault]

Bring out your best egg custard tarts.

For your consideration, I submit Egg Custard King Cafe, several locations. We ate nearly two dozen over the course of two wobbly days last weekend. Their tarts knock the socks off of many of the other bakeries in Chinatown. Might it be the lard in the crust?

[nikkib]

Bring out your best egg custard tarts.

For your consideration, I submit Egg Custard King Cafe, several locations. We ate nearly two dozen over the course of two wobbly days last weekend. Their tarts knock the socks off of many of the other bakeries in Chinatown. Might it be the lard in the crust?

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/custardtartwithgaribaldi

This is the custard tart recipe 2 michelin starred chef Marcus Wareing ( a colleague of Gordon Ramsay) cooked for the Queen for her 80th birthday banquet last year.....

Edited by nikkib, 09 March 2007 - 04:29 AM.

[Domestic Goddess]

Nikkib - the site removed the page. It said "We can't find the page you are looking for. We just had a spring clean, so your page may have been removed."

[nikkib]

Nikkib - the site removed the page. It said "We can't find the page you are looking for. We just had a spring clean, so your page may have been removed."

http://www.bbc.co.uk...rib_81804.shtml

Try this - it should work now

[Gastro888]

Egg Custard King does make excellent tarts but I pose this question to you: are they good because they have high turnover and are usually served fresh and warm? Or are they good because they're inherently good?

Nothing's better than a hot egg custard tart fresh from the oven. Especially if it was made with either a oil-water crust or (even better) a lard crust. I hate those gross quasi-shortbread crusts that I see in some bakeries (Fai Da Bakery). What the hell is that?!?!

I can tell you what makes a bad egg custard tart for me:

-Quasi-shortbread crust
-Bright, unnatural, neon yellow filling
-A filling that's too firm
-An artifically flavored filling
-One that still has a soggy bottom crust
-A crust to filling ratio that's off (more crust than filling. It's a sad egg custard tart that has this. Just sad.)
-If it's too small (no mini tarts for me)

I dislike the artifical flavors that Egg Custard King has to offer. The honeydew one reminds me of the nuclear power plant that Homer Simpson works in. Ick. My favorite is the standard dan tat (Cantonese for egg custard tart) and then the Portguese dan tat.

[Gastro888]

Nikkib - the site removed the page. It said "We can't find the page you are looking for. We just had a spring clean, so your page may have been removed."

http://www.bbc.co.uk...rib_81804.shtml

Try this - it should work now

That doesn't look like an egg custard tart you find in Chinatown. Nice recipe, though!

Here's a Gothamist.com dan tat photo

[nikkib]

Nikkib - the site removed the page. It said "We can't find the page you are looking for. We just had a spring clean, so your page may have been removed."

http://www.bbc.co.uk...rib_81804.shtml

Try this - it should work now

That doesn't look like an egg custard tart you find in Chinatown. Nice recipe, though!

Here's a Gothamist.com dan tat photo

Wow! That would be considered practically sacreligious over here in the UK, try making the recipe i posted - it really is awesome, you'll never want to eat one of those pink "egg custard tarts" again!

[Gastro888]

The pink egg custard tart is the strawberry flavored one that's for sale at Egg Custard Tart King. They have the following types of dan tats:

Egg Yolk
Egg White (bleah...who wants dan tat without the yolks?)
Portguese
Banana
Strawberry
Honeydew

[I_call_the_duck]

Egg white tart? Honeydew? Banana?! No, no, no. That's just wrong. Why mess with perfection?

There's a store on Mott Street (around Division) that's been around for years. Is that still around? That was my favorite for dan tats. They used to have sugar balls and honey bows, but I haven't seen either of those anywhere in years.

Edited by I_call_the_duck, 09 March 2007 - 08:01 AM.

[Gastro888]

Are you talking about Chatham Square? That one?

You can get dan zat (the honey bows) at Mei Lai Wah on weekends only. Dan zats are so good. What are sugar balls? Please describe.

[I_call_the_duck]

I think that's the one. It's a few doors down from a shop that sells candy from a bin. Mei Lai Wah, eh? Thanks Gastro. Gotta score me some honey bows this weekend. Sugar balls are ball-shaped fried dough that's covered in granulated sugar. Nice and crispy on the outside, light, eggy, and airy on the inside. Good anytime, but best when warm. Like Chinese donuts maybe, which I don’t think I’ve seen in shops either.

[Gastro888]

Chatham Square is the chachanteng that serves overstuffed cha siu bao. Is that what you were talking about? Near the OTB?

You can get Chinese donuts at the bakeries in Elmhurst and Flushing. I think Tai Pan makes Chinese donuts.

What's the Cantonese name of the fried sugar balls? I've never heard of anything like that. Now I'm curious to have some.

I do believe the dan zat is an afternoon treat on the weekdays and quite possibly the weekends (after 3pm). I could be mistaken. But I know for sure Mei Lai Wah has the dan zat on the weekends.

[I_call_the_duck]

No, that ain't the one. Did Chatham Square use to be Hop Sing? Haven't been since the new regime.

But anyways, I'll be in the 'hood this weekend, so I'll get the correct name. I'll have to ask my mom what sugar balls are called in Cantonese. We just called them sugar balls. Sooooo good.

[Fat Guy]

Interesting that there's a British recipe presented here. I've read in a couple of places (Wikipedia says so too) that the egg tart came to Hong Kong from the UK (and another version came from Portugal).

I have a near-complete lack of familiarity with this item. They've come around at dim sum places and I've usually written them off. I've never actively purchased one at a bakery. I'll have to remedy that next time I'm in Chinatown.

[Gastro888]

No, that ain't the one.  Did Chatham Square use to be Hop Sing?  Haven't been since the new regime.

But anyways, I'll be in the 'hood this weekend, so I'll get the correct name.  I'll have to ask my mom what sugar balls are called in Cantonese.  We just called them sugar balls.  Sooooo good.

Chatham Square *is* Hop Sing! Yes, you've got it!

Ooh, please share your findings when you do!

FG, are you serious?!?!?!?! You dismiss these wonders? These little precious golden gems of silky, creamy, eggy sweet goodness nestled in a flaky, tender crust? Ai ya! *tsk* You loose foodie points for this.

[I_call_the_duck]

FG, I agree with Gastro. You're missing out. Heaven when they're still warm. I usually put them in the toaster oven for a few minutes if I bring them home.

[Eatmywords]

I would agree that the warmer/fresher the better as I thoroughly enjoyed Custard King's out d'ovens a couple weeks ago. Wanted to try the neon green (tea or melon?) but was too full. I haven't been able to discern from the others I've tried in C-town bakeries, restaurants and dim sum palaces. To me, if they're not warm they pretty much taste all the same.

[Gastro888]

The neon green one is honeydew.

I respectfully disagree. The filling and crust varies greatly from bakery to bakery. There is a difference. It's like saying all apple pies pretty much taste the same if they're not warm.

[Eatmywords]

The neon green one is honeydew.

I respectfully disagree.  The filling and crust varies greatly from bakery to bakery.  There is a difference.  It's like saying all apple pies pretty much taste the same if they're not warm.

Honeydew ayy? Nice.....I'll def try one next time.

Obviously your custard pallette is much more refined then mine but really. It's a super simple, straightfrwd recipe of egg whites, milk, sugar in a simple crust made of white flour, lard, butter. They're going to taste similar. Ofcourse there are ways to tweak it but comparing it to apple pie, w/can use more than one kind of apple and prepd in a few ways is, well, like comparing egg whites to apples.

Just my respectful opinion.....Hey, you want to put together a custard-crawl through C-town to show me the light, I'm all over it.

[Gastro888]

See it's not that easy and simple as you make it out to be. Like an apple pie (which is a fair comparison), the dan tat's recipe appears to be simple and streamlined but it's not. And there are areas in the recipe like apple pie that can be adjusted that yield various results. You don't address the difference between an oil/water crust versus a lard crust versus the quasi shortbread crust. Or whole milk versus evaporated versus cream versus half and half. Also, there's the technique of handling the dough or filling. Like any flaky pastry or egg based dessert, mistakes are easily made that could affect the outcome.

Egg whites?!?!? Who uses only egg whites? Gah, that's not a dan tat.

Edited by Gastro888, 09 March 2007 - 12:02 PM.

[Eatmywords]

See it's not that easy and simple as you make it out to be.  Like an apple pie (which is a fair comparison), the dan tat's recipe appears to be simple and streamlined but it's not.  And there are areas in the recipe like apple pie that can be adjusted that yield various results.  You don't address the difference between an oil/water crust versus a lard crust versus the quasi shortbread crust.  Or whole milk versus evaporated versus cream versus half and half.  Also, there's the technique of handling the dough or filling.  Like any flaky pastry or egg based dessert, mistakes are easily made that could affect the outcome.

Egg whites?!?!?  Who uses only egg whites?  Gah, that's not a dan tat.

Actually, I do think it's that easy in the sense that most in C-town (I can't vouch for other parts of the city or world) are using exactly the same recipe. I've had them maybe 50x in various places. Show me where they differ so drastically and I will go there this wknd to compare.

As for the whites, you're correct. The standard is made with yolk. But Custard King offers whites only (that's what caused my brain fart) and I tried one based on the employees rec. And it was great. You should try one.

Re the apple pie comparison, I don't get your analogy. Maybe because I've had it made so many different ways.

[Gastro888]

Egg Custard King offers more than just egg whites only. Per my post above they offer:

Egg Yolk
Egg White (bleah...who wants dan tat without the yolks?)
Portguese
Banana
Strawberry
Honeydew

I've had the egg white one. It's the Diet Coke of dan tats. It's the skinless white meat chicken breast of dan tats. Bleah. Not for nothing, it's not bad but it's not great.

Where were the various places that you had a dan tat? I've yet to tap into all of the bakeries in Chinatown. I've eaten these pastries all my life and there are distinct difference in the quality of the dan tat. That's what I'm getting at in your post - they're not all the same because they vary in quality much like an apple pie.

Or hot dog. Choose your venom.

[I_call_the_duck]

See it's not that easy and simple as you make it out to be.  Like an apple pie (which is a fair comparison), the dan tat's recipe appears to be simple and streamlined but it's not.  And there are areas in the recipe like apple pie that can be adjusted that yield various results.  You don't address the difference between an oil/water crust versus a lard crust versus the quasi shortbread crust.  Or whole milk versus evaporated versus cream versus half and half.  Also, there's the technique of handling the dough or filling.  Like any flaky pastry or egg based dessert, mistakes are easily made that could affect the outcome.

Egg whites?!?!?  Who uses only egg whites?  Gah, that's not a dan tat.

Actually, I do think it's that easy in the sense that most in C-town (I can't vouch for other parts of the city or world) are using exactly the same recipe. I've had them maybe 50x in various places. Show me where they differ so drastically and I will go there this wknd to compare.

As for the whites, you're correct. The standard is made with yolk. But Custard King offers whites only (that's what caused my brain fart) and I tried one based on the employees rec. And it was great. You should try one.

Re the apple pie comparison, I don't get your analogy. Maybe because I've had it made so many different ways.

To elaborate on Gastro's theory, if you give five pastry chefs the same recipe for an apple pie, you're going to get five different pies. Same with dan tats. Gee, it looks like a dat tat crawl may be in the future.

[larrylee]

To elaborate on Gastro's theory, if you give five pastry chefs the same recipe for an apple pie, you're going to get five different pies.  Same with dan tats.  Gee, it looks like a dat tat crawl may be in the future.

Woot, sign me up.

[Eatmywords]

Egg Custard King offers more than just egg whites only.  Per my post above they offer:

Egg Yolk
Egg White (bleah...who wants dan tat without the yolks?)
Portguese
Banana
Strawberry
Honeydew

I've had the egg white one.  It's the Diet Coke of dan tats.  It's the skinless white meat chicken breast of dan tats.  Bleah.  Not for nothing, it's not bad but it's not great.

Where were the various places that you had a dan tat?  I've yet to tap into all of the bakeries in Chinatown.  I've eaten these pastries all my life and there are distinct difference in the quality of the dan tat.  That's what I'm getting at in your post - they're not all the same because they vary in quality much like an apple pie. 

Or hot dog.  Choose your venom.

I don't see the egg white as being the diet version at all. If you like creme brulee or flan you would get that.

I had them in Dragon Land, Lung Moon, Tai Pan and a bunch of other bakeries I know the locatiion but not the name as well Jing Fong, Golden Unicorn, Silver Palace, Dim Sum Go Go, etc. Custard King is the only one I've seen with assorted flavors.

Maybe it's a cultural thing since you were raised with them. I don't think it's a qlty issue. An Apple pie can have 10 or more ingredients. Your standard egg yolk tat (no matter how lux the ingredients) is a simply composed dessert that, for me, has not varied.

Like I said, I'm always open to be proven wrong. I'll go down to C-town and try them in 10 places.....(as long as Larry Lee comes of course : )

[larrylee]

I had them in Dragon Land, Lung Moon, Tai Pan and a bunch of other bakeries I know the locatiion but not the name as well Jing Fong, Golden Unicorn, Silver Palace, Dim Sum Go Go, etc.  Custard King is the only one I've seen with assorted flavors.

Maybe it's a cultural thing since you were raised with them.  I don't think it's a qlty issue.  An Apple pie can have 10 or more ingredients.  Your standard egg yolk tat (no matter how lux the ingredients) is a simply composed dessert that, for me, has not varied. 

Like I said, I'm always open to be proven wrong.  I'll go down to C-town and try them in 10 places.....(as long as Larry Lee comes of course : )

So would it be strange if we went to all the dim sum haunts and just ordered the custard egg tarts to go?

[Gastro888]

Creme brulee or flan is not made with egg whites only. And yes, the egg white dan tat *IS* the diet verison of dan tat. It doesn't contain egg yolks, therefore it's less fattening and is a "healthier" alternative to the traditional dan tat that contains egg yolks.

What apple pie recipe contains about ten ingredients? More or less it's a pie crust, apples, sugar, lemon juice, spices, salt. And a dan tat is not a simply compossed dessert tart. I've made them before, and ask anyone who's made them at home, they're a tricky dessert that's best left to the pros.

Maybe if I compare it to pasta carbonara or a cheesesteak that might be a better reference point for you. All simple recipes that from various chefs or restaurants yield varying end products.

It's not a cultural thing - my ethnicity has nothing to do with the facts that I'm stating. I speak from a culinary standpoint.

This link might help you understand the complexity of what you think is a simple dessert. Link to dan tat cookoff in China and Chinese food forum

Edited by Gastro888, 10 March 2007 - 02:23 PM.

[Gastro888]

I went to the Egg Custard King location on Grand Street this weekend and had two dan tats hot staight from the oven. That was some good eats. I like how there's more space to sit down in front for those who just want to eat one tart and a office.

Hot dan tats rule but I've decided that I prefer mine after they've cooled off for about 15 minutes. It was delicious & it was tasty but I could still feel that "Ouch I burned my mouth" senstation on my walk from Chinatown to Chelsea.

Edited by Gastro888, 12 March 2007 - 01:59 PM.

[AzianBrewer]

I had them in Dragon Land, Lung Moon, Tai Pan and a bunch of other bakeries I know the locatiion but not the name as well Jing Fong, Golden Unicorn, Silver Palace, Dim Sum Go Go, etc.  Custard King is the only one I've seen with assorted flavors.

Maybe it's a cultural thing since you were raised with them.  I don't think it's a qlty issue.  An Apple pie can have 10 or more ingredients.  Your standard egg yolk tat (no matter how lux the ingredients) is a simply composed dessert that, for me, has not varied.  

Like I said, I'm always open to be proven wrong.  I'll go down to C-town and try them in 10 places.....(as long as Larry Lee comes of course : )

So would it be strange if we went to all the dim sum haunts and just ordered the custard egg tarts to go?

The dim sum joint usually serves the "mini me" tart. Go to the bakery for the standard size.

[Gastro888]

"Mini me" tart. Cute!