FOOD OF THE DAY: Pastel de Belém from Portugal

Story about how we almost fought with people for food

I always loved to travel and see new things and new situations all around the world.

I enjoy Lisbon and Portugal very much. People are amazing and welcoming all over the country.
They have an interesting cuisine, starting with surpising seafood and finishing with delicious desserts.
This time we got our apartment at Almada.
It is on the other side of the river; about a 15 minutes ferry ride from downtown Lisbon.

We got to the city centre fast and started our usual "get lost in the city" program.
After a few hours of churches, museums and shopping, we had a great great lunch and were ready for the dessert. Of course, we immediately thought about Pastel de Belém. You can read more about its history here!

Own picture, with the orange juice freshly pressed

But you have to be careful, where you eat these amazing treats as the taste and freshness is nowhere near the original patisserie.
So instead of ordering it at the restaurant, we asked for the bill and left to catch a tram, that would take us to the confectionery.

Internet picture, but these bad boys look the same still.

We got to the original location pretty fast, thanks to the great public transport in Lisbon.

I remembered that the place was always crowded and full of people.
However, I was not prepared for what happened next.
We entered the place through the front door and ran into a looong line as soon as we got in. Okay, that is okay: it was the typical time of day, when we should have expected it. To make things even cooler, we saw that there was police in the confectionery, to keep the hungry people peaceful. I also discovered that the place became even larger.
So many people were waiting in the line, that it looked like something we could see infront of a club.
All waiting, just for a bite. It was even gated.

They also had an open kitchen; own video

So we were waiting for a short time: about 5 minutes, when one of the police officers inside decided to take us behind the gates and sit us down extra. It was a very nice gesture, as he saw us with kids and them being tired and sleepy.
Whether it was right or not; it was a decision he made and we respected it so much :D
We were just about to sit down, when 2 guys from the line started yelling things at us in a language I could not understand and they were just about to jump the gate for whatever reason, when the police officer stepped up to them and started talking very politely, calming them down.
We got the goodies pretty fast. It was perfect as usual, we could not complain.

It is crazy what sweets can bring out of people. :)

If you are in Lisbon make sure to visit the original location:

Rua de Belém nº 84 a 92
1300 – 085 Lisboa
Portugal

Stay tuned in for my upcoming posts! A proper introduction is on the way from me too.