Where to find the best dan tat, the anytime egg tarts
The non-Asian mother-in-law of a dear friend of mine once told me that “the Chinese don’t have desserts, not real ones.” The implication that I (a Chinese American) was other, different, and weird, hung heavy in the air between us.
What about red bean buns, almond jelly, mooncake, dan tat or even fortune cookies? They weren’t the forms, textures, flavors or names of desserts she might have been used to, but they were the desserts I grew up with. My desserts.
Dan tat was my reward from my grandmother for finishing that extra siu mai or har gow at dim sum. It’s the pastry I bring to people’s homes when they invite me to dinner as a show of gratitude. And because after any meal, there’s always room for an egg tart.
Years later, when we were waiting for my friend’s son to be born, I brought a large box of dan tat to the hospital and shared it with her mother-in-law in the waiting room. After finishing one, crumbs still on her lips, she turned to me and asked where I found these divine little desserts. I told her the name of the Taiwanese bakery.
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Apparently, a good egg tart goes a long way in opening someone’s mind.
I’ve littered countless tablecloths with dan tat crumbs at dim sum restaurants across the San Gabriel Valley. Nestled in neat, pleated paper cups, they were often served warm near the end of the meal. But even the cold ones were good, the crusts still flaky and the middle just a tad sweet.
There are two distinct styles of egg tarts, both equally excellent. The Hong Kong tarts are descendants of custard tarts from the United Kingdom, with pale, smooth tops and flaky crusts. The Macau or Portuguese-style (Macau was a Portuguese colony until 1999) is a version of the Portuguese pastéis de nata, with a scorched top and a crispier, caramelized bottom.
You can find the Hong Kong style at most dim sum restaurants, while a number of Chinese and Taiwanese bakeries offer the Macau tarts.
Portuguese, Hong Kong and cookie egg tarts at Supita
Supita, a new bakery on Sawtelle Boulevard, specializes in both Hong Kong-style and Macau tarts. And a couple of other variations as well. It was opened earlier this year by the team behind Simply Splendid, the nearly 20-year-old Hong Kong-style bakery in Alhambra.
“We saw that there was a market here on the Westside for different kinds of bakeries,” marketing coordinator Claire Lam said during a recent call. “We didn’t see anyone just focusing on egg tarts or any Hong Kong-style bakeries so we saw the opportunity and took it.”
Supita’s Hong Kong tarts are the gold standard, handmade from a combination of both an oil-based and a water-based dough to form the layered crust. It’s rich and flaky but not buttery. And more golden than some of the paler, crumblier crusts found at most of the dim sum restaurants around town.
The middle custard is wobbly, set like loose Jell-O made from just eggs, water and sugar. It’s only slightly sweet, swollen and plush with the unmistakable flavor of pure egg.
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The Portuguese-style are made with a butter puff pastry that bakes into tight, crisp swirls at the bottom of the tarts. They’re filled with a decadent custard made from heavy whipping cream, whole milk and eggs. It’s denser than the Hong Kong style, and not exactly smooth. Like the pudding-soft center of a Basque-style cheesecake. It’s baked until the top just starts to scorch, with a surface blanketed in deep brown spots that taste like caramel.
The shop also serves an egg tart in a buttery cookie shell. It reminded me of the cookie shot glasses a couple of bakeries pushed a few years back, only filled with egg custard.
There’s an egg white tart, too. An attempt at offering customers a healthier option. Just order one of the regular ones.
Dan tat from Kingdom dim sum
The dan tat from the new Kingdom Dim Sum in Hollywood are the most reminiscent of the ones I ate as a kid, only better. The custard is peak smooth and glassy. The crust is as delicate as chalk.
I was turned on to the restaurant by David Chan, an accountant and attorney who for a long time, was on a mission to visit every Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles and beyond. When he posted a photo of the dan tat on Instagram, I drove over the next morning.
A mortgage broker named Laurence Mo opened Kingdom Dim Sum in March. His father, Man Mo, is responsible for the tarts.
“My dad used to work in Cantonese dim sum restaurants for over 20 years,” Laurence said.
Man cooked at the Sam Woo locations in Irvine and in the San Gabriel Valley, as well as at NBC Seafood in Monterey Park.
“I opened up a restaurant for him so he can work on something he likes,” Laurence said.
Man and his best friend, another chef from the San Gabriel Valley who cooks alongside him at the restaurant, make the dan tat in small batches every morning. It’s a recipe the two configured over the last three decades.
He uses butter in his crust, along with flour, oil and eggs. It flakes easily, disappearing into a fine powder when you take a bite.
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The tarts feel heavy in your hand, with a generous portion of custard that reaches the brim of the crust. The middle is soft and gelatinous with a sweet delicate egg flavor bolstered by the addition of coconut milk.
Be careful on the walk to the car, if they make it that far. They’ll crack if they happen to brush up against each other in the box.
With siu mai, har gow and a host of other more well-known dim sum dishes, Laurence said the tarts are far from the most popular items on the menu, but he’s proud of his father’s creation.
“I try to introduce them to people who come in and have never had them,” he said. “Then once they try it, they usually like it.”
Man only makes about five orders in the morning, then makes another batch in the afternoon, but only if he sells out.
“We keep the batches small because we want them to be fresh and we don’t sell leftovers,” Laurence said. “We take the leftovers home.”
If you come around 10:30 a.m. when the shop opens, they’ll still be warm.
Where to get dan tat
Supita, 2008 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 985-1388
Kingdom dim sum, 5445 Hollywood Blvd., St. B, Los Angeles, (323) 378-6190, kingdomdimsum.com
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