I’m back from a wonderful trip to Portugal and still thinking of Portugal’s charming old buildings, orange trees, cobbled streets, port wine, incredible pastries and excellent espresso. I haven’t gotten over the caffeine + sugar high yet! Here are some pictures for you..
Left to right and top to bottom: Pastel de nata or portuguese custard tart; a pastry shop window in lisbon; Pasties de Belem cafe in Lisbon; a very yummy coconut filled pastry sprinkled with chocolate on top; and a huge palmier.
Pastel de nata or Pastel de belem or Portuguese custard tartsare an absolute must eat if you are in Portugal. Nuns at the Jeronimos monastery created these amazing, creamy tarts about 200 years ago.
The nuns used a lot of egg whites to starch their clothes and to clarify their wine. So they had a lot of left over egg yolks. What better way to use up egg yolks than add sugar, cream and spices to the egg yolks and bake them in tart shells?! Thats how these incredible custard tarts were born.
The cafe pasties de belem, close to the monastery, still serves the original monastery recipe. The cafe sells over 10,000 tarts a day. I can see why. We ate several of these little custard tarts at the cafe and they were the best we had had in Portugal (and trust me, we had plenty!). You’ll never eat just one!
Portuguese Custard Tart Recipes
this recipe on algarvebuzz also tells you how to make your own shell.
thisrecipe for Portuguese custard tart is from one of my favorite blogs, rasa malaysia.
Top to bottom: Cafe a Brasileira in Chiado, Lisbon; coffee with milk; espresso; entrance of Cafe a Brasileira.
Cafe a Brasileira is over 100 years old and is Lisbon’s most famous coffee shop (it was poet Fernando Pessoas favorite haunt). When we went it was standing room only and I suspect thats how it always is. The interior is beautiful and the coffee was very good. A great place to get adequately caffeinated before you go off to sight see the hilly Bairro Alto neighborhood.
I think I’ve had a years worth of sweets and coffee on this trip.
Happy New Year!
Sala your pictures are mind blowing! Thanks for sharing and the virtual tour. Me hungry for some tart now:-D The orange trees look delicious.. seen these kind only in Phoenix. I love skipping on cobblestones.
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Oh Sala, What GORGEOUS pictures!!! The orange tree , laden with fruit.. calling out to be plucked!
The cracked window pane, the street, the espresso… what more can one want?? Oh I forgot the YUMMY desserts !
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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Sala, what fabulous images! You must share more of your trip with us :]
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The first picture is very beautiful… Portugese architecture always interested me!. Never seen an orange tree before!. It is so inviting!!. Expresso, pastries, paved streets, clearsky… god it sure sounds like heaven!.
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Great pics.. some of the buildings could have taken from mexico.. and Tasty, yummy treats.. nice explanation on where all the yoke comes from.. hope to see of those tarts with your twist..
keep rocking..
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Very pretty pics Sala, especially the orange tree one! We get similar yolk tarts here, the Chinese version, don’t know how they compare though.
Very sorry for not getting back to you on time with the Lisbon recos from my manager. He fell sick and was out of office for that whole week.
Happy new year
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Happy New Year buddy! Nice to see you back.
Pictures are just wonderful. Thanks for sharing to us.
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Stunning pics!
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Such vibrant, colourful photos! Itching to make those tarts now
Oh, and Happy New Year to you.
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I’ve never been to Portugal, but it sounds interesting.
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Beautiful colour photos! The coffee looks amazing.
Rose
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That looks like a wonderful trip — especially that pastry shop. Sweets and coffee is a great way to go!
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WOW excellent photos, visual treat and a very beautiful virtual tour of Portugal.
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Looks like you must have had a wonderful time! The custard tart looks incredible too.
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Thanx for visiting my blog..Beautiful pics and yummy treats…
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Happy New Year Sala. Your pictures are truly telling a story
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Such beautiful photos! My husband recently traveled to Portugal for business and I didn’t get to go! I can’t wait to read more about your trip. Happy New Year to you Sala!
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Happy new year to you too. Fabulous looking Portugal, how lucky. Visually beautiful post. Great job!
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HI
GREAT PICS….must be you had a great time there…what about vegetarian food there? easily available? Thinking going this summer…
Please visit my site if you can
http://joyofcooking.blogspot.com
Thanks
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Happy New Year to you:) Pictures are crisp, bright and beautiful:)
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Looking at these pictures bring back the wonderful memories, smells and taste of working in a Portugese Bakery in my hometown of Roselle, NJ. Pinho’s Bakery; they even have one in Portugal. Thank you for the pictures.
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If you’re ever considering a second career, it should be photography, your “eye” is outstanding!
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Those photos are ridiculously fantastic!!! Such vibrant colors: you should make a calendar with those images.
Glad you had a great time.
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thanks for the wonderful photo tour.
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What wonderful photos! And those pastries, oh wow!
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I have just discovered you via knifeforkspoon and so pleased I did. You have a lovely blog and fabulous photos. Really enjoyed reading about your trip to Portugal.
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Hi there! I´m Agata and I´m portuguese! I´m very glad you enjoyed your trip to Portugal! It is in fact a gorgeous country! Come more often, you are always welcome! Anyways I noticed you eated a Pastel de Belem…but Pastel de Belem and Pastel de Nata are not the same thing…very similar but not the same!
but both very yumiiiiii!!!!
http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past%C3%A9is_de_nata check out this link …
thank you
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Amazing pictures, thanks for sharing!
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We have amazing pastry indeed!
And “Pastéis de Belém” and “Brasileira” are such perfect examples… Glad you enjoyed it! 
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