I honestly wanted this to flop. To me, seeing all these carbon-copied stalls all over the place felt like yet another soulless over-franchised over-hyped McDonald's run by kids who are hired to turn up for work punctually and fold paper boxes. Knowing the difference between egg tarts and creme brulee isn't important as long as they know how to count money.

And then I took the first bite. My mouth was saying something that my brain just couldn't register. I bid my time, safe with the knowledge that there is still a second piece in my bag, I took the ferry back and deliberately detoured to the Bakehouse at TST. Side-by-side, Stow vs. Michaud, I was now able to decipher what my mouth was trying to say earlier - sorry Greg, not even close.

To be fair, Bakehouse (seems to) specialise in bread - their pastry shell is really very delicious, savoury buttery with a daring high-heat nearly-burnt crisp texture. And the serving-staff (kids) are quite pleasant-looking with great smiles and friendly personalities. These are all key ingredients that add flavour to the overall experience of actually eating the egg tart.

Lord Stow doesn't have good looking staff. Lord Stow doesn't need to smile at you. Lord Stow doesn't care how your day went. Lord Stow just wants to know how many pieces you want, how you want to pay, and next please. The only key ingredient is your stupid tongue telling you that you just ate something fantastic but your brain is unable to register. Just like what happened to me earlier.

There's something really quite magical about the custard - it's about 2 grains of sugar too sweet for me, but the fragrant whiff of the egg and the light fluffiness of the custard reminds me of eating a very gentle tau fu fah (soya bean curd). Kudos to Lord Stow for perfecting their recipe that balances the smell, taste, and texture. This also proves that you don't need your staff to be good looking as long as they are hardworking and can follow your instructions.

While I genuinely prefer Bakehouse's pastry on its own, Lord Stow's pastry isn't bad at all - it's a commendable Breitling compared to an Omega - at these high levels we're just splitting hairs. It's more important that the pastry complements the custard, and this is where Lord Stow takes the cake, no pun intended.

I really do think this is one of the better Portuguese egg tarts I've had, if not the best. Unfortunately Margaret's is closed every Wed, so I didn't get the chance to compare.