Madeleine’s Original Portuguese Egg Tart & Puff (WINNER!)
$1.30 per piece. 198 Tanjong Katong Rd., 6247-9363.
Hands down winner. A tale of two extremes, its crisp, buttery crust mingles well with a smooth and creamy filling. Fragrant at first whiff, it stays loyal to the original Portuguese pastel de nata.

Leung Sang Hong Kong Pastries
$1.00 per piece. 18 Sago St., 6221-1344.
This one confuses us with its thin, dry crust, leaving us unsure whether it was meant to be shortcrust or flaky. It maintains a hard, smooth exterior but is crumbly and messy once bitten into. We felt there wasn’t enough crust to balance the generous yet bland filling.

Rochor Original Beancurd
$1.40 per piece. 2 Short St., 6334-1138.
The crust is so good, you can eat it on its own. Baked to perfection, it crumbles nicely in our mouth. The filling, however, is disappointing. Pale and bland, it lacks texture, that egg-y flavor, and real oomph.

Tong Heng Confectionery
$1.40 per piece. 285 South Bridge Rd., 6223-0398.
This is one hard, shortcrusted tart. More of a pudding than a custard, it features an extremely sweet, rather dense filling, bordered by a crumbly, biscuit-like crust. Topped with a mustard yellow finish, it feels jelly-like to the touch.

KFC
$1.30 per piece. Islandwide, 6222-6111.
The flaky, crisp crust neatly borders the pale yellow center. With an evenly-caramelized coat, a bite into this melt-in-your-mouth custard leaves an addictive creamy aftertaste.

What’s an Egg Tart?
These pastries came from Hong Kong in the 1940s in cha chaan tengs, Chinese tea diners that serve affordable on-the-go dishes such as noodles, pasta and fried rice. There’s an eternal debate between connoisseurs that divides neatly into two camps: Shortcrust versus flaky pie crust. We bet Hong Kong nicked the little tarts from Macau’s Portuguese community as they look just like the pastel de nata there, around since the 1800s.