Cooking
Hawaii offers a variety of delectable sweet treats. A couple you have to try when you're here are haupia, a firm coconut pudding and malasadas, a Portuguese style doughnut. Portuguese recipes took hold in the islands because laborers from the Azores came to Hawaii to work the plantations in the late 1800's.
Perhaps doughnut isn't the best description because malasadas don't have holes. They are made from a yeast dough, fried and tossed in granulated sugar. The best ones are fluffy and light with a slightly tangy, yeasty flavor. They must be eaten when they are piping hot!
The most famous place to get them is Leonard's in Waikiki but there is also a Leonard's truck that can be found in various locations. Having heard about another place in Honolulu called Champion, I decided a taste test was in order.
While I was rooting for the underdog, I can definitively say, Leonard's really are the best. Champion's malasadas are a bit cheaper at 60¢ rather than 70¢ each, and have a more pronounced tangy flavor but the texture is not quite as good as the ones from Leonards. They are so light and airy! Supposedly the Champion recipe is from Macau, but the man who runs the place used to work at Leonard's so who knows where his recipe really came from.
Both places sells them plain, with cinnamon and filled but be a purist, simpler is better. Some claim the malasadas are best from the Punahou Carnival but I've never been here when the carnival is going on. Next time I'm in Kailua, I hope to try the malasadas from Agnes' Portuguese Bake Shop. Why try them all? Professional responsibility, you know.
More malasada links:
Punahou malasadas recipe
Rubbah Slippahs in Italy on malasadas
Leonard's in the Star Bulletin
Champion in the Honolulu Advertiser
- Helena's Hawaiian Food: Restaurant Review
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- You Hungry?: Restaurant Review Closed
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Cooking
Malasadas
Hawaii offers a variety of delectable sweet treats. A couple you have to try when you're here are haupia, a firm coconut pudding and malasadas, a Portuguese style doughnut. Portuguese recipes took hold in the islands because laborers from the Azores came to Hawaii to work the plantations in the late 1800's. Perhaps doughnut isn't the best description because malasadas don't have holes. They are made from a yeast dough, fried and tossed in granulated sugar. The best ones are fluffy and light with a slightly tangy, yeasty flavor. They must be eaten when they are piping hot!
The most famous place to get them is Leonard's in Waikiki but there is also a Leonard's truck that can be found in various locations. Having heard about another place in Honolulu called Champion, I decided a taste test was in order.
While I was rooting for the underdog, I can definitively say, Leonard's really are the best. Champion's malasadas are a bit cheaper at 60¢ rather than 70¢ each, and have a more pronounced tangy flavor but the texture is not quite as good as the ones from Leonards. They are so light and airy! Supposedly the Champion recipe is from Macau, but the man who runs the place used to work at Leonard's so who knows where his recipe really came from.
Both places sells them plain, with cinnamon and filled but be a purist, simpler is better. Some claim the malasadas are best from the Punahou Carnival but I've never been here when the carnival is going on. Next time I'm in Kailua, I hope to try the malasadas from Agnes' Portuguese Bake Shop. Why try them all? Professional responsibility, you know.
More malasada links:
Punahou malasadas recipe
Rubbah Slippahs in Italy on malasadas
Leonard's in the Star Bulletin
Champion in the Honolulu Advertiser
- Helena's Hawaiian Food: Restaurant Review
If you want to experience authentic native Hawaiian food, as opposed to the fusion of Hawaiian, Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese that is common today, you must eat at Helena's Hawaiian Food. I've been going to Helena's since 1977 and while...
- Cinnamon's Restaurant: Restaurant Review
Before I left for vacation I put out a call for restaurant recommendations. In the comments section I took particular notice of this entry: For a casual breakfast/brunch, check out Cinnamon's Restaurant in Kailua. I love the loco moco there. A few...
- You Hungry?: Restaurant Review Closed
One of the secrets to finding good food in Hawaii is to look in unconventional places. Stay away from the touristy areas and you may just find where the locals eat. While you might never consider eating in an industrial neighborhood, at a drive-in or...
- Ethel's Grill: Restaurant Review
Before my trip to Oahu this month I exchanged email with Reid of Ono Kine Grindz. Despite being super-busy with work, Reid graciously put together a list of restaurants for me to try during my week vacation. I am very grateful for his fantastic recommendations!...
- Cheese Shopping
I guess you'd say I'm on a cheese kick. It started with reading about the Annual Festival of Cheeses to be held at the newly remodeled Ferry Building put on by the American Cheese Society. And yes, there really is an American Cheese Society. There...