Portugal has plenty to answer for when it comes to the way Japan eats. Tempura, castella sponge cake and even bread — paõ in Portuguese, pan in Japanese — were all assimilated following the arrival of the first trading ships in the mid-16th century.
But there was one food that was never adopted at that time. And surprisingly so, since it is Portugal's iconic confection: pastel de nata. These delectable egg tarts, just big enough for two or three bites, were first made by the monks of the Jeronimós Monastery on the waterfront of Lisbon. From there they have spread around the world.
But not, until recently, to Tokyo. It was a situation that cried out to be rectified. And who better to do it than the city's best little Portuguese restaurant? In January, Cristiano's in the backstreets near Yoyogi-Hachiman Station, Shibuya Ward, opened a small artisan workshop a couple of blocks away, specializing in pastel de nata.
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