There are a few theories about how the Chinese egg tart came into existence. One theory goes that the egg tart is Chinese take on the English custard tart. ‘Daan tat’ is the Chinese term for egg tart and comes from the Cantonese word for egg and the English word for tart. Another story says that the egg tart was born at a restaurant in Guangzhou in 1927. As the pastry became popular, imitations followed and it reached Hong Kong with immigrants from mainland China in the 40s and 50s. Some people believe that the Chinese egg tart was influenced by the Portuguese pastel de nata, which reached Hong Kong via Macau, which used to be a Portuguese colony. The two pastries have some similarities but the tops of Portuguese custard tarts are caramelised whereas those of the Chinese egg tarts are plain and smooth.