Sometimes the good things in life come in the form of warm cinnamon-covered pastries. That’s the conclusion I came to after tasting a pastéis de nata, a Portuguese custard tart, from Pastéis de Belém in Lisbon. Pastéis de Belém is located in Belém, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Lisbon and has been in existence since 1837. My dear friend Marianna (aka knower of all things wonderful in Lisbon) took us there last Sunday morning. The pastry shop itself was old fashioned and minimal. The bakery was situated in the back of the shop and connected to a large sitting area packed with people. A long line of eager customers curved out onto the sidewalk in the front. It seemed like the whole of Lisbon had gathered to sip coffee and chat with friends and relatives over platters of pastries. Sitting at a table inside looked like an impossible option so we took our place in line and patiently waited our turn to order. Luckily the line went by pretty quick. We walked away with a dozen delightfully packaged pastéis de natas and headed to a nearby park to enjoy our treats. The tarts were absolutely delicious. G happily devoured three in a row.
I don’t have much experience with baking, but I would like to try my hand at baking pastéis de natas once we move into our new apartment and have a proper oven. In the meantime I found a recipe online that sounds doable. Let me know if you have any recipe suggestions of your own.
The following day G and I took a ferry across the Tagus River to Ponte Finale, a small and lovely riverside restaurant overlooking Lisbon. The ferry dropped us off at the pier and we walked along a narrow path next to the river, passing endless abandoned warehouses before arriving to our destination. The sun was shining so we decided to sit outside to enjoy the weather. The food was fantastic. We stayed for a while after our meal, sipping Portuguese Vinho Verde wine while relishing the view.
