Lord Stowe...RIP

In October 2005, I had the pleasure of taking my Uncle and his wife on a quick tour of Macau.  We  tried to take them to the off-the-path places we like to see in Macau.  One of those places, was a trip to Coloane Village and Lord Stow's bakery for a few 'nata's.'  Nata's are an egg custard tart...slightly brown on top and then sprinkled with cinnamon.  These tarts are available all over Macau...and even in China...but they are the BEST at Lord Stow's. 

While visiting on this trip, Tai-Tai was asking for the cinnamon to put on top...and none other than the Lord himself helped her out.  It was a memorable day for Tai-Tai.  I just remember enjoying the nata's and sharing with family the wonders of Macau.

On our recent trip to HK, we took a side trip to Macau on the ferry.  I found a Macau Talk magazine (December 06/Janurary 07 edition) on board the ship and opened it up to read an article about Andrew Stow (I apologize, there is no internet version of this article, so I reprint a couple of short bits here, written by Anabela Maia De Pablos)...

Andrew Stow died from an asthma attack in Coloane Village on October 25th (2006), at the age of 51.  In all of Macau's different communities, he will be missed, and remembered as a man of integrity, a happy, caring person, a great human being.

OMG!  Lord Stow had passed.  Words escape me at a time like this.  Tai-Tai, being the foodie that she is, helps me associate each place we visit with some sort of food.  Thailand is mango sticky rice...Malaysia is laksa...Vietnam is pho...China is dim sum...and Macau is always Lord Stow's.

Stevo's tai-tai had introduced us to Lord Stow's back in 1996, when we first visited Macau. His bakery is situated in a sleepy little village, Coloane Village; a non-descript place.  Just a hole in the wall, actually.  But, it produced, without a doubt, the signature food of Macau.

'Lord Stow' decided to sell a new product in his bakery; the egg tart.  With his pharmaceutical background, and seeing the great potential for the egg tart in Asia, he decided to invent his own version of the traditional Portuguese recipe by combining the techniques used to make English custard tarts with his own secret twist.

The 'secret twist' worked.  His egg-tarts were legendary...and people came from all over to sample his treats.  Coloane Village is not an easy place to get to in Macau...taxi's are rare in the area...but, those that make the trek and try a nata are blessed with one of the best tasting treats in the world.  I think my Uncle learned that on their visit...as we do every time we go. 

RIP Andrew...I sincerely hope your life lives on in your recipe and your bakery.