Actually Mrs. Chandavkl and I both are scratching our heads as to why the lines at Golden Gate Bakery remain so long years after the original chef died several years ago and took the recipe with him. The current version seems more like a Western custard pie than an egg tart. If there is a secret to getting the tarts at Golden Gate Bakery, it’s to get there when they open. I have a routine in SF where I go to work downtown but stay in Chinatown and do a mile walking commute every morning, passing Golden Gate Bakery. For the longest time, I would pass the bakery, and not seeing any line, assume that the egg tarts weren’t ready yet. However, as it turns out, as long as they are open, they have egg tarts.
We were in Lisbon a couple of months ago and had the Belem natas. Indescribably delicious.