Go Visit Hawaii readers know that one of the best ways to save money on their Hawaii vacation is to skip the hotel’s fancy breakfast buffet and find a good local spot for good food and a slice of local culture. Well, in Honolulu, Leonard’s Bakery is a great place to observe the wonderful melting pot that Hawaii is and to grab a delicious breakfast bite.
This restaurant is well known for its malasadas and pao-doce which are pastries that Portuguese immigrants introduced to Hawaii. Malasadas are like sugary doughnuts with fruit or cream fillings. Pao-doce were rolls with savory fillings like ham, bacon, and cheese. We had to sample one of each all in the name of good research of course. Andy and I are happy to report that both are very good. We tried tried the coconut, guava, custard and chocolate filled malasadas and the ham and cream cheese pao-doce. The malasadas cost $0.90 each and the pao-doce cost $2.75 each.
Leonard’s Bakery is located at 933 Kapahulu Avenue in Honolulu. (See this link for a Google Map.) For those staying in Waikiki, it’s a bit of a long walk which may not be a bad idea considering the calories you’ll want to consume. Most likely you’ll want to drive or take TheBus. The bakery does have a parking area, but it is small. If you want to eat here, there’s benches in front of the store. It’s a neat little spot to people watch and observe Honolulu waking up.
Have you tried Leonard’s Bakery? What did you have? Did you like it?
Sheila Beal
13 comments
Hearing about malasadas from Leonard’s made me miss Hawaii even more! We moved to the East Coast from Oahu about a year and a half ago and I miss number of things including these tasty treats. If you’re on the Windward side and want a malasada, Leonard’s has a truck setup in the Windward Mall parking lot on the weekends (they even make them fresh for you). Great way to start the weekend.
Aloha Alicia and thanks for your first time comment! I have a plan. Let’s petition Leonard’s Bakery to set up some of those trucks here on the East Coast. 😉
You know, I never even KNEW about the savory fillings till I read your blog! And I live here in Honolulu! I usually go straight in and order the sweet maladasdas, in some combination of plain & filled, without even looking at anything in the case. Shows to go ya how creatures of habit tend to miss out on things!
Aloha Melissa and thanks for your first time comment! Yay!
That’s pretty funny that you hadn’t noticed the savory fillings for the pao-doce. When Andy first moved to the US from the UK, he noticed things that I had never noticed before. Sometimes, it’s fascinating to see where we live from different eyes.
Mmmmmmmm… Malasadas… 🙂
Hey Dave – I thought I heard a stomach growling….must have been yours….then mine chimed right in. 🙂
BTW – The Malasadas are served “Hot”. Many people just call them “Hot Malasadas” because that’s how they are almost always served.
Mmmmmm… Nothing like a nice, Hot, Malasada. I’m getting hungry again.
My favorite! To-die-for malasadas! I’ve loved them since I was about 7 or 8. Yes, they’ve been around that long. They used to have a striped lunch wagon that would frequent the Gem’s store in Waipahu. I would always beg my mom on the way home.
Still love them, there are a lot of copy cats out there but nobody does it like Leonard’s. I just like them plain — without the fillings. They’ve started to add fillings now but I’m a purest! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! I think I need to go to Kapahulu tonight! 🙂
I unfortunately didn’t get to have any malasadas while on Oahu. But if you ever get to Maui, try the Komoda Bakery in Makawao, possibly on your way back down from viewing the sunrise at Mt Haleakala. They have some very good malasadas, cream puffs, stick donuts, and they make a pretty good cake, too. I can’t wait till I go back and can get some of my newly found favorite foods.:)
@ Evelyn – good to know that Leonard’s Bakery is considered the best from a local resident’s perspective. Did you end up getting a malasada yesterday?
@ Joanne – thanks for the Maui bakery recommendation! Sounds like my kinda place. 🙂
No, I’m still trying to work on Mom’s house. Sigh. BUT, I will confirm for Joanne that Komoda’s is very much a favorite — even on Oahu!
My husband’s daughter lives on Maui and she always brings him some of their cream puffs. Of course he does ask her for them, all the time. He wants those cream puffs and Uncle Louie’s Portuguese Sausage. 🙂
Since I’m not one for things with fillings I’ll still stick with Leonard’s malasadas. I’m so stubborn. 🙂
Ah, hot malasadas! . . . on an early evening in Waipahu
on that hill that Gem’s built their second store, the heat of the day leaving the parking lot, and a soft breeze wafting in from the north. a memory five thousand miles away, and nearly forty years in passing. brings a tear.