Portuguese

Yesterday, May 1st was the start of the ‘Food Hunt for Charity‘ drive, with proceeds benefiting the Lanakila Meals on Wheels program. So I decided after my usual Saturday morning shop at KCC Farmers’ Market, to stop by Leonard’s Bakery for some Malasadas, as that’s one of fifty dishes folks are asked to purchase (and eat!) as part of the ‘Food Hunt for Charity’ fundraiser.

I actually haven’t been TO Leonard’s Malasadas Bakery for some time, as we often get our Leonard’s Malasadas as “omiyage” (a gift) from vendors and associates of our company. So this was an “awakening” of sorts as to what they have that’s far and beyond their famous Portuguese “doughnut” we all know and love called Malasadas.

And what a selection! If you’re a sweets, pastries or dessert fan, Leonard’s Bakery is the place for you as you’ll soon see in this post. Enjoy!

It was a busy, busy Saturday morning.

This sign is absolutely true, as my order was definitely made-to-order and arrived in the box PIPING HOT! That alone already awards them 5 SPAM Musubi!

Da’ prices for da’ Malasadas…

Malasadas Puffs flavors of the month…

Here’s my piping-hot and fresh order of Malasadas Puffs, including Dobash (Chocolate), Haupia, Custard and Mango…

More on that later, I promise.

Now let’s check out what Leonard’s Bakery does BESIDES Malasadas!…

Whew! That’s a LOT of baked goods and pastries!

What would I choose? K, try wait, let me scroll back up and browse one more time….

K, k, I’d probably get an Eclair, Creme Puff and an Apple Fritter. That Portuguese Sausage-wrapped Pao Dolce sounds interesting as well for a savory option.

Here’s Leonard’s Bakery logo wear ‘n stuff…

If you can read Japanese, please translate this poster for us in a comment, onegaishimasu…

OK, now that we’re back to Leonard’s Malasadas, here’s what I got…

That would be two each of Leonard’s Malasadas Puffs filled with all four available flavors each: Custard, Dobash (chocolate), Haupia (coconut), and the flavor of the month, Mango.

As always, the cutaway view…

Leonard’s Malasadas Puffs: Custard, Dobash (chocolate), Haupia (coconut) and the flavor of the month, Mango

A closer look at each one, starting left to right with the custard…

Dobash (chocolate)…

Haupia (coconut)…

Mango…

Hey, hey, hey! Wait a minute, is this Mango Malasadas Puff sticking tongue at us? I think it is!…

Nice lip job. Not. And that my friends is the full extent of my Photoshop’n skillz, thank you very much. LOL!

OK, let’s sample ‘em, starting with wise-guy Mango Puff here…

Ono! Although if I didn’t know this was supposed to be Mango, I wouldn’t have known what to make of it. It’s just mildly fruity and creamy, while having a good balance of sweet without being overbearing. Very, very nice. 3 Spam Musubi.

Now the Dobash (chocolate)…

Well, “Dobash” may sound fancy and all that, but this essentially tastes like packaged Chocolate pudding. Which I actually really like, so I’m down with this one. Especially coming from me, who’s not really a chocolate person. I’ll give this 2 SPAM Musubi.

Next let’s sample Leonard’s Haupia Malasadas Puff…

Not bad, but weak in comparison to Kamehameha Bakery’s far superior Haupia Doughnut…

Primarily because, unlike Kamehameha Bakery’s haupia Doughnut, Leonard’s Haupia filling doesn’t have any grated coconut in it, so it comes off as being very artificial tasting and subtle as far as coconut is concerned. This makes the malasadas itself and its sugar coating overpower the filling’s flavor.

That said, I’ll have also confess here that while I’m half Portuguese, I’m not really a Malasadas fan, and prefer a good ‘ole American style doughnut like that used for Kamehameha Bakery’s awesome Haupia Doughnut, so I’m already a little biased in that regard.

All that said, I’ll give Leonard’s Haupia Malasadas Puff 1 SPAM Musubi.

Finally let’s sample their Custard Malasadas Puff…

Ding, ding, ding, in the left corner we have the winner by a knock-out, Leonard’s Custard Malasadas Puff. This is definitely what Leonard’s is good at. The custard is thick, rich and very flavorful; the most flavorful of them all for sure. I suppose you can think of it as, “why not just have deep-fried doughnut, when you can inject more fat inside it to make it taste even better”. lol

Which is what they basically do is take a regular Malasadas and inject them with various fillings.

So you know where I’m heading with that thought. Like, oh say, how about injecting them with melted CHEESE?!!! Sans the sugar coating of course. Or for more “This is why you’re fat.com” ideas, how about taking a Leonard’s Malasadas and use it as a Hamburger Bun? Someone did it before with Krispy Kreme’s Doughnut, so why not a Malasadas?!! Good Lord have mercy on us. lol

As mentioned earlier, this visit to Leonard’s Bakery was to participate in the Food Hunt for Charity drive to benefit the Lanakila Meals-on-Wheels project. …

Please visit LocoKineGrindz.com/foodhuntforcharity for more information.

Leonard’s Bakery
933 Kapahulu avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii  96816

Tel. (808) 737-5981
www.LeonardsHawaii.com

The Tasty Island rating:

(5) Superb. Worthy of repeat visits or purchases. (Broke Da’ Mout’!)
*Leonard’s Bakery is an icon in Hawaii and worthy of 5 SPAM Musubi. 10 SPAM Musubi. 100 SPAM Musubi!