The first Portuguese custard tart shop in Hong Kong is set to open on Tuesday, with “everything it takes to succeed” in the neighbouring special administrative region, the head of the company told Lusa. The official grand opening is scheduled for 2 June, but the venue, located in the Central district of Hong Kong Island, will begin selling tarts a week earlier, revealed Fábio Pombo, General Manager of Manteigaria Asia Hong Kong. After several years as chef at the Club Lusitano, the largest institution for the Portuguese-descendant community in Hong Kong, Pombo was invited by the Grupo Portugália Restauração to launch Manteigaria – Fábrica de Pastéis de Nata in the former British colony.
However, the connection goes back a long way: “I used to live in Lisbon, in the building right next to the first Manteigaria in Chiado. When this opportunity came up, I barely thought twice.” Pombo explained that he was immediately highly motivated and enthusiastic to embrace the opportunity, noting it is the first time a Portuguese company with a Portuguese product is attempting to establish itself at this level in Hong Kong.
Tailoring a centenarian tradition to local tastes
Hong Kong already loves and idolises British-style egg tarts, but the businessman is confident that Portuguese custard tarts can carve out a space in a highly competitive market. On one hand, the pastry has a century-old tradition that is very difficult for anyone to recreate, particularly because it demands a technique that is not easy to master and requires a lot of practice and repetition. In fact, part of the 12-person team launching the Hong Kong location is currently being trained at Manteigaria shops in the neighbouring Chinese region of Macau, the businessman added.
Furthermore, unlike some of the pastries sold in Hong Kong that are not made fresh, the custard tarts will be baked on-site, with a fresh batch coming out of the oven every half hour. Pombo added that he believes they have great potential to be a success in Hong Kong, having chosen to follow the recipe already tested in Macau, which cuts the sugar content in half. From his experience as a chef there, the highest compliment that Cantonese people can pay to a dessert is that it is not too sweet.
High investment in a prime location
Manteigaria spent around 4 million Hong Kong dollars (440,000 euros) to open the venue in one of the most expensive cities in the world, the businessman revealed, an investment the company expects to recoup within two years. Pombo stressed that the first shop, situated right in the centre of a city with seven million inhabitants, aims to attract tourists as well as the local Chinese and expatriate professionals working in the surrounding offices.
However, the chef has already been on the ground for months scouting locations to open two additional shops by the end of the year, targeting Wanchai or Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island, and Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon, which are both popular tourist areas. According to official data, Hong Kong received 49.9 million visitors in 2025, up 12 per cent from the previous year. Pombo noted that it will be the first time that many of these tourists, particularly Asian tourists, will be able to experience a custard tart exactly as it is made in Portugal, representing the original and authentic pastel de nata.
Stepping stone to broader Asian markets
In February, the managing partner of Grupo Portugália Restauração in Macau, Diogo Vieira, told Lusa that following Hong Kong, Manteigaria’s expansion project will look into surrounding markets, including mainland China, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand. Fábio Pombo believes that Hong Kong can play an important role in testing how various Asian markets respond to the custard tart, which will also make it easier to leap into other geographies. Comparing it to the French croissant, the chef expressed his belief that the pastel de nata could, perhaps 10 or 20 years from now, become a global benchmark of Portuguese identity, as much as or even more so than Cristiano Ronaldo.