When I saw the label on this item, I knew I had to try it and post a review. It is explicitly named "Savoury Macadamia Tart" by Taiwanese patisserie Shang Shin Select. Usually tarts involving nuts are sweet.
But check out some of the more interesting items on the ingredients list (image further below): chilli sauce (sunflower seeds, kidney melon, peanut, white sesame, dried chilli, Sichuan pepper, prickly ash Sichuan pepper, almond flakes, canola oil, sesame oil, chilli oil, etc), maple syrup, chilli powder and maltose, among other ingredients. And of course macadamia nuts. It sounds more like condiments for a soup. The green/dark bits are pumpkin seeds.
And it turned out to be love all the way. Possibly one of my favourite tarts ever because of how hearty, flavourful and complex it is. Better than many soups actually.
It tasted like a cross between Asian chilli chips or snacks, and chicken-flavoured seasonings such as for instant noodles. I did not see any chicken on the ingredients list, however, but I suspect that somewhat more mellow and nutty (or malty) taste came from the maltose sugar used, which brought a fullness to the overall taste. And I believe the maple syrup would have brought some complex darkness to the mix, mimicking the broth taste. I am also surprised that there was no soy sauce on the ingredients list that I noticed... it's probably also the maltose that mimicked the malty notes of soy sauce.
Indeed, it reminded me a bit of the Southeast Asian Heong Piah, which is a basic Chinese pastry with a sticky sweet-savoury maltose filling. That one is flavoured with shallots for the fragrance, however. Nonetheless, this macadamia tart was slightly sticky as well, with some candied bits sticking to my teeth after biting, and I think the maltose flavour was very similar.
It was certainly spicy, but it is mild by my Asian standards.
And I wonder what the kidney melon added. Perhaps it is supposed to taste more floral like melon-flavoured pineapple filling, but I did not notice it under all the spice, chilli, sugar and salt.
The tart crust did not have butter, but it nonetheless had a very nice flour taste. They probably used one of the more flavourful seed oils for the crust.
The whole tart was filled with nuts all the way too. This means you get more nutty value, unlike other tarts where they fill it with pastry. The only downside is that it is quite hard overall in terms of texture, and hence difficult to bite into. Macadamia is also one of the harder nuts around too. Because of how hard it is, this is not something you can eat with a fork or knife. It's also larger than a mouthful, so you'll pretty much need to just bite into it.
This image shows the packaging. It came in a box, with about 5 pieces, but I didn't take a picture of that.
Finally, here's the ingredients list for reference. (Click the image to enlarge.)
I wasn't able to get a clear shot due to the lighting unfortunately.
Discover other interesting tarts and unusual savoury combinations
- Okinawan Sweet Potato Tart
- Sweet Potato and Chestnut Tarts by Foucher Paris
- Savoury Japan-style Cookies - Miso and Karai (or Spicy) by Flor Patisserie
- Savoury ice cream: Japanese Red Snow Crab Ice Cream by Tomoda Sailing
- Savoury ice cream: Japanese Soy Sauce Ice Cream by Kamada Shoyu
- Savoury tea: Mongolian Milk Tea
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