Day 4 — In Search of the Best Egg Tart in Tokyo
Given six hours and four locations, find the best egg tart in Tokyo — that’s the mission I set for myself as I left home on 14 September 2023.
For those who know Japanese — do you know the kanji for tarts (タルト)? In Chinese, it’s written as 撻 (pronounced tāat in Cantonese), a sort of ateji to mimic the sound of the English word tart.
That’s right — The egg tart has been a product of multiple cultures since its inception. Influenced by custard tarts from Britain and pastel de nata from Portugal, egg tarts have become an integral part of the food culture in Hong Kong, a former British colony.
Every year, HENNGE commemorates International Day of Peace by hosting Feast for Peace. In order to let fellow HENNGE employees have a taste of this East-meets-West delight, I took a day off from coding to embark on Egg Tart Hunting.
Scope
Egg tarts can be broadly classified into two types: Hong Kong-style (港式蛋撻) and Portuguese-style (葡式蛋撻). Most bakeries offer both variations.
While both are wonderful afternoon snacks, in my search, I decided to exclude purely Portuguese pastel de nata, as they tend to be sweeter than the Chinese version, and I wanted to offer a taste of egg tarts as close to the Hong Kong versions as possible.
Candidates
Given a fixed budget and limited time, I narrowed the list of candidates down to just four locations around Tokyo. Tokyo has an excellent transportation system, so I got around by taking the train or just walking on foot.
See this list if you can’t see the embedded map above.
1. 3米3 (San Mai San), Shimo-kitazawa
Hong Kong-ness ⭐️ / Interior ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Taste of egg tart ⭐️
I have been to another San Mai San location (fun fact: 3米3 is a playful rendition of the kanji for porridge, 粥) and adored their porridge and cutesy interior.
This time, I find myself disappointed by their egg tarts. The Hong Kong-style egg tarts were underbaked at the bottom, with a glaring lack of consistency in texture.
2. 香港誠記 (Hong Kong Seiki), Shinjuku
Hong Kong-ness ⭐️⭐️ / Interior ⭐️⭐️ / Taste of egg tart ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This place is no-nonsense: Desserts only, no drinks. I got served my egg tart 2 minutes after I placed my order.
The Portuguese egg tart was served warm and was rather tasty. However, it didn’t seem like the egg tarts were baked in-house.
3. 香港物語スイーツ (Hong Kong Sweets), Yotsuya
Hong Kong-ness ⭐️⭐️ / Interior ⭐️ / Taste of egg tart ⭐️⭐️
Very loud decor with high-contrast colours. I ordered a Portuguese egg tart with Vitasoy, a popular comfort drink in Hong Kong. (Fun fact: I’ve never had it with ice in a nice glass.) The egg tart tasted underwhelming.
4. 香港贊記茶餐廳 (Hong Kong Chan Ki Cha Chaan Teng), Akasaka
Hong Kong-ness ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Interior ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Taste of egg tart ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was the only restaurant where the staff spoke in Cantonese! Instant bonus points.
The restaurant name is not easy to pronounce (チャンキチャチャンテン, in Katakana), but the menu and decor are really authentic and well thought out. Cha Chaan Teng are a kind of local cafés common in Hong Kong. With cantopop playing in the background, I feel like I was temporarily transported back to the bustling city.
Their egg tarts are Hong Kong-style. The custard filling melted in my mouth and left me wanting for more.
Conclusion
I’ve never had so many egg tarts in one day. Chan Ki was a clear winner, so I took the liberty to call them “THE BEST EGG TARTS IN TOKYO!!!!” and ordered a dozen egg tarts from them.
Here’s my challenge to you — If you ever find something better in Tokyo, write to me at sauyee[dot]chan@hennge[dot]com. Foodies are my friends.
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Notes:
For a more professional review, please refer to TimeOut. Chan Ki has several locations around Tokyo.
Check out other 2023 HENNGE Advent Calendar articles here.
