“When will the Po Tart be ready?”
“In about five minutes”, the lady behind the counter replied. I was relieved that it was only five minutes, I was fearing that it would be much longer, and I would not be able to wait. I took the time to really look around at all the selections this time, since I was always in a hurry all the previous times I was there.
Po Tart is a Portuguese Egg Tart which consists of custard in a créme brûlée-like consistency caramelized in a puff pastry shell. The custard portion is much more softer, fluffier, and smoother than a regular Egg Tart.
“It is ready, how many would you like?
“Just one, I just have a craving for it, and I want to eat it right now”, I said to her in Chinese. I gathered that she thought I was going to buy quite a few since I had waited so patiently.
Boy, was I glad that I waited – the Po Tart could not have been any more more fresh. The gal had to go into the kitchen to get one for me. It literally came right out from the oven. It was super, intensely hot, I almost burned my tongue with the first bite. I had to keep blowing at it continuously in order to get it to be less than burning temperature so that I could put it in my mouth. Only one word can describe it – perfection. Being that the Po Tart was still so scaldingly hot, the texture of the custard was extraordinarily creamy, delicate and jiggly. With the prick of the plastic fork, the tart was starting to fall apart. The puff pastry crust was incredibly light and airy, and complemented the custard flawlessly.
The other favorite here is the Coffee Milk Powder Bun. The moist, yet faintingly crusty, ever so slight crunchy topping has the strongest and best coffee flavor out of all the various coffee buns that I have tasted so far. The milk powder filling has a hint of savory and sweet taste, and a fine granular, gritty texture that I personally find very addictive together with the softness of the bread.
The purple Taro Pastry is worth mentioning. The not-so-sweet, dense taro filling is wrapped inside layers of ultra-thin marbled pastry dough. It is a heavier type of pastry that I definitely cannot finish the entire in one sitting.
Jim’s has a special, for $2, one can choose from either the coffee, or hot chocolate and a choice of Egg Tart, Po Tart, or Pineapple Bun. Too bad I don’t live closer.
Jim’s Bakery: 400 S. Atlantic Blvd. Monterey Park, CA 91754 Phone: 626-573-5757
