There are some foods that you eat because you’re hungry or because you’re craving them. Then there are foods you eat because you’re somewhere and you simply can’t leave without trying them. For me, a trip to Honolulu meant I needed to try a malasada from Leonard’s Bakery. In a previous post I shared that I was in Honolulu exploring areas around the beach determined to eat garlic shrimp. I got what I was looking to find as we landed on a great restaurant. After having such luck, I then hoped for a similar outcome when looking to visit Leonard’s Bakery and trying a malasada for the first time.
A malasada is a Portuguese doughnut without the center hole you would find in a traditional doughnut. Leonard’s describes theirs as generously sized balls of dough that are fried until golden brown on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. They’re then covered in sugar, creating the kind of pastry that makes a bit of a welcome mess with every bite. And honestly, I don’t mind it.
When it comes to the origin of the bakery, it all starts with Leonard Rego and his wife, Margaret. Their Portuguese family roots trace back to San Miguel Island, where Leonard’s grandparents had immigrated from Portugal to work in Hawaii’s sugarcane fields. Interestingly, malasadas weren’t originally supposed to become the star of the bakery. Leonard’s mother suggested making them for Shrove Tuesday, a Portuguese tradition. The bakers weren’t really convinced there would be much interest, but they made them anyway. To their surprise, customers loved them, and what started as a seemingly holiday tradition eventually became a year-round staple. Leonard’s began making malasadas continuously every day since then. What a great decision by Leonard’s mother.
Understanding the history and their decades of popularity means any visit to the bakery will most likely be met with a line. That was certainly the case when we arrived. Crowds of people stood in line waiting to order or to pick up their purchase and based on the patience of those around the scent coming out of the building, I could tell it would be worth it. Lucky for us, it only took about twenty minutes to get our order. The Malasada ($2.25) is substantial and just as the restaurant describes. It’s thick, fluffy on the inside, crisp enough on the outside and covered generously with sugar. It’s the kind of thing that looks simple until you take that first bite and realize there’s a lot more going on than you expected.
Leonard’s offers the original sugar-coated version as well as Malasada Puffs ($2.75), which are filled with flavors including custard, chocolate, haupia (coconut), macadamia nut, guava, and their flavor of the month which was ube. There are also different coatings, including cinnamon sugar and li hing. But for my first bite, the original was exactly where I started in order to get a baseline taste. It’s simple. It’s sweet. It’s warm, light and slightly crisp. Then I dove into the puff to find a favorite. The filled malasada comes with a generous amount of custard that can easily spill out and get all over the place if you’re not ready. Eat with caution, devour with ease.
Bite after bite, I found a favorite in the original, guava, and ube. And the best part was teh realization that this is the kind of food that reminds me why I love traveling through food in the first place.
You can learn something about a place through a restaurant, a recipe or even a doughnut and sometimes the simplest things carry the biggest stories. Leonard’s isn’t just selling a pastry. They’re selling a piece of Portuguese-Hawaiian history and telling the story of a family over the years, one sugar-covered bite at a time.
And yes, I would absolutely make room for another one.
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Address: 933 Kapahulu Ave, Honolulu, HI 96816
Phone: (808) 737-5591
Hours: Daily – 5:30 am to 7:00 pm
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