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!

As the “chilly” winter island weather continues to be conducive for body and soul warming comfort foods, this time I had da’ “onos” (craving) for Portuguese Bean Soup.

Yeah, all you mainland folks who just read that are probably ROFL’ing at just the thought of me saying Hawaii’s weather is EVER “chilly”. This, when temperatures in Honolulu are currently in the low 80s in the day and 60s at night, while readers just on this blog alone have reported recent temperatures in San Francisco in the 20s and Montana in the SUB-20s! B-B-BRRRRRRR!

Well hey, making the most of whatever it is we consider “winter” here in Hawaii, I’m taking advantage of it at the dining table with another Zippy’s favorite, their Portuguese Bean Soup. This being hot off the heels of my recent post on their also excellent cold weather dish, the Zip Min.

While I gotta’ admit I can make a mighty fine pot of Portuguese Bean Soup myself, when it comes to what you can get from a restaurant, Zippy’s example of the dish is as good as it gets, and best of all, I don’t have to cook! Their Portuguese Bean Soup is EXCELLENT in my opinion, and I’m sure one of their best selling dishes, regardless of the weather outside.

It has just the right amount of thickness, almost on the verge of being considered a stew, yet thin enough to slurp every last drop off your spoon. Best part is this hearty soup is loaded with plenty of the good stuff…

In that photo where I transferred the Zippy’s PBS into a porcelain saimin bowl, you can see spooned up slices of Portuguese Sausage, Macaroni, Kidney Beans and diced potato. There’s also sliced celery and cabbage in it. Floating at the surface is a chunk of super-tender and savory good smoked ham hock meat, which is the true GOLD in the bowl, where depending on your luck in how the cook ladled your order, sometimes there’s huge chunks of it. Yum-num-num-num.

Speaking of smoked ham hocks, you can really taste that as the main essence of the soup broth, which is what truly defines a great bowl of PBS. The tomato sauce part of the broth is also well-balanced and in perfect harmony with the flavor imparted by the smoked ham hocks. There’s also a little spicy bite to it, like they add either tobasco or ceyenne pepper. It’s very subtle, but there.

Deviating for a moment, Notice in the first photo that by default they serve it with Diamond Soda Crackers, which is my number one favorite cracker. I always keep a big Costco-sized box in my pantry. I like these individually-wrapped ones even better, as they’re a little more crispy than the ones in the bulk-sized box bag…

Gotta’ say though, the Sky Flakes Crackers imported from the Philippines give Diamond Soda Crackers a run for the money. Good stuff. Both make EXCELLENT soup crackers.

With that, when eating soup, I like to roughly crumble up the soda cracker then sprinkle it on the surface of the soup like this…

I do this one cracker at a time so that it stays crispy as I grab each spoonful of soup along with some of the crumbled crackers. After I finish one cracker’s worth, then I crumble another cracker, and another cracker, right down to the last drop of soup. So ono like that.

Some of you folks might like doing it this way, where  you place the thick soup and its goodies ON the cracker….

That works too, but I like the crumbled-cracker-in-the-bowl method better, as the broken edges allows it to partially soak up the broth, giving the cracker this wonderful dual soggy-meets-crunchy texture.

Bet you never thought the simplest of things in life such as eating soup could get so deep in thought, did you?  Or, I’m just weird like that. lol

If crackers aren’t your thing, Zippy’s dine-in restaurant offers a Portuguese Bean Soup Meal, which includes a side dish of two scoops rice and one scoop mac’ salad…

You can also substitute crackers for rice at the takeout counter, which they place the rice under the soup, just like the chili rice bowl.

Zippy’s also sells their Portuguese Bean Soup in the freezer section at the grocery store, alongside their famous chili. Like the batches served at all their restaurants, these, along with many of their other menu items are centrally prepared at Zippy’s processing plant in Waipio, next door to their restaurant.

What? Zippy’s Portuguese Bean Soup
Where did you buy it and how much did it cost? Nimitz Zippy’s, $3.25 for large take0ut bowl.
Big Shaka to: In contention of winning Hawaii’s Best Portuguese Bean Soup from a Restaurant award. Generous helping of goodies, including Portuguese Sausage, smoked hamhock meat, tender kidney beans, diced potatoes, celery and cabbage. Nice and thick viscosity. Nailed it on the broth flavor.
No shaka to: Spilling soup on my shirt. Arctic blasts.
SPAM Musubi rating: 5

…while it sounds promising on paper, didn’t really work as much as we had hoped in taste.

Notice the slightly tinted pink color mixed within the granulated sugar?

There’s barely the flavor of Li Hing Mui (Chinese preserved plum), even though the powder is generously dusted on it.  All you taste is the sugar (thank goodness). Whatever tangy, complex accents that was afforded by the Li Hing powder didn’t compliment the otherwise stellar deep-fried, sweetened mini-bread-ball delight that Leonard’s is famous for at all.

Still, Leonard’s Malasadas could probably be covered with motor oil and still taste great, thanks to its consistently wonderful, glutenous-meets-puffy texture inside…

We’ll just reserve Li Hing powder for acidic fruits and other culinary applications, while we continue enjoying Leonard’s Malasadas dusted with granulated sugar and injected with pudding ‘n custard. Yum!

Mahalo to Diner A for sharing it.

The Tasty Island rating:

(1) Average.

Pop an extra blood pressure and/or statin pill, because it’s that time again to review yet another brand of island style Portuguese Sausage. This time from the valley isle of Maui, we have Ah Fook’s No-Ka-Oi Brand Portuguese Sausage.

I picked these up directly from Ah Fook’s Supermarket in Kahului…

…which I believe is the only place you can get them. I didn’t see them in any of the Maui Foodland or Star Market locations.

As you see, they have both HOT and MILD. Here’s how they look uncooked out of the package…

Ah Fook’s No-Ka-Oi Brand Portuguese Sausage: Hot on the left, mild on the right

I notice the neighbor island manufacturers make their sausages in this U-shape rack-hanging style, while most of the Oahu manufacturers make their sausages in a straight tube shape. See my infamous Great Portuguese Sausage Shootout to see what I’m talking about.

Here they are uncooked and sliced so you can see the marbling…

Ah Fook’s No-Ka-Oi Brand Portuguese Sausage: Hot on the left, mild on the right

Fry ‘em up in a little bit of oil and serve…

Ah Fook’s No-Ka-Oi Brand Portuguese Sausage: Hot on the left, mild on the right, with an Ume Nori Musubi and a slice of Maui’s Uradomo Farms Spiced Takuan

An Ume Nori Musubi works perfectly as an accompaniment to the salty, spicy, meaty sausage. Notice I also include my usual Takuan, which matches beautifully with the Portuguese Sausage – a trick I learned from the mama sans at the late Tropic Fish & Vegatable Center in Ward Farmers Market.

First let’s try the mild…

Ah Fook’s No-Ka-Oi Brand Mild Portuguese Sausage

Considerably salty in a good way. Although the ingredients list sugar in it, I couldn’t quite detect any sweet going on. At least, not nearly as much as my other favorite, Purity brand. Certainly smokey, but not overpowering. Kinda’ “beefy” even though there’s no beef in it, probaby due to the smoke accent. The pork seems to be more in whole chunks than ground up. Plenty of fat marbling for that all-important flavor punch. The casing also seems natural, not the collagen stuff, although I’m not sure, as it doesn’t specify on the ingredients listing.

To sum it up, it tastes more like home-made Portuguese Sausage; da’ ‘kine your uncle with the smoke house on the Big Island would send you every Christmas as a gift. It has that kind of backyard style flavor.

Do I like it? I LOVE IT. Easily at the top, sharing that spot with my other favorite, Purity, and Franks from the Big Island. Solid 5 SPAM Musubi for Ah Fook’s Mild Portuguese Sausage.

Now let’s sample da’ HOT ones…

Ah Fook’s No-Ka-Oi Brand Hot Portuguese Sausage

Ooh man, it’s certainly HOT. Although not quite “Hurry! Get me a glass of water NOW!” hot,  it’s definitely got some kick. Other than that, it has all the same attributes I described of the mild version. Which means this one also gets a solid 5 SPAM Musubi rating.

So next time you visit Maui, make sure to stop by Ah Fook’s Supermarket in Kahului and pick up a few packages of their No-Ka-Oi Brand Portuguese Sausage to bring home. In the now crowded arena of island style Portuguese Sausages , theirs is “no ka oi” (number one best) indeed!

What? Ah Fook’s No-Ka-Oi Brand Hot and Mild Portuguese Sausage
Where did you buy it and how much did it cost? Ah Fook’s Supermarket in Kahului, Maui. $2.49 per 7 oz. package
Big Shaka to: Perfect blend of salt and other seasonings. Perfect accent of smoke flavor. Perfect amount of pork fat marbling. Solid chunks of seasoned pork. Casing has a pleasing, natural texture.  AMAZING with Maui’s Uradomo Farms’ Takuan.
No shaka to: Currently not available at Oahu retailers (to the best of my knowledge)
The Tasty Island rating: 5 SPAM Musubi

Related links:
• The Great Portuguese Sausage Shootout – The Tasty Island

P.S. While I was at it, I tried making Kinpira Gobo with Portuguese Sausage from Jean Hee’s most excellent local cook book series titled ‘Best of the Best Hawaii Recipes’.

Here’s how it turned out….

Kinpira Gobo with Portuguese Sausage, featuring Ah Fook’s No-Ka-Oi Brand, served with Takuan and an Ume Nori Musubi

Here’s the recipe:

Kinpira Gobo with Portuguese Sausage
• 1/2 pound gobo, scraped clean, slivered and soaked in water
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp dried shrimp, minced
• 1/2 cup Portuguese sausage, cubed
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• dash pepper

Heat oil and saute shrimp. Drain gobo and add shrimp; stir-fry 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients and continue cooking over medium heat until sauce is absorbed.

Variation: Slivered carrots may be added for color.

So I followed this recipe to the “T” (except I used the frozen packaged, precut Gobo and Carrots) and it turned out pretty good, but I think it calls for too much shoyu (1/4 cup), as it was kinda’ salty and over-marinaded with that flavor. At least with the Yamasa brand shoyu I used. If you make this, I’d recommend using less shoyu – like say about 1/8 cup – or perhaps using a more mild shoyu like Aloha’s low sodium stuff. Other than that, the Portuguese Sausage certainly brings plenty of complimentary flavor to the Kinpira Gobo party, as does the subtle accent of the minced dried shrimp (Opai).

I made it again this year to the 2009 Portuguese Festa, which took place yesterday, September 19, 2009. Albeit I arrived very late in the afternoon, so most of the food booths had already closed down. The only Portuguese grindz remaining were the Portuguese Bean Soup tent, Portuguese Sausage Hot Dog tent, Agnes Portuguese Bake Shop Malassadas tent and a purveyor of pickled foods inside.

It was way too hot for soup or hot dogs, so I decided just to have a sample of Agnes’ Malassadas, as I’ve never tried theirs before; only Leonard’s and Champion.

Like Andagi at the Okinawan Festival, at the Portuguese Festa, Agnes Portuguese Bake Shop cooks their Malassadas by bulk in this giant propane burner Wok…

Malassadas by Agnes Portguese Bake Shop

Here they are piping hot ‘n fresh out of the fryer, when they must be immediately coated with the granulated sugar…

There you have it…

Agnes Portuguese Bake Shop Malassada served at the 2009 Portuguese Festa

Let’s have a bite…

How is it? I’d say Agnes’ Malassada is more glutenous and less “airy” (more dense) than Leonard’s and Champion, which of those two, are difficult to tell apart IMO. Agnes’ Malassada is very similar both in flavor and texture to the one Punahou Carnival sells. Both Punahou and Agnes’ Malassada dough recipe must look very similar by the numbers. How would I rate it? Easy 4 SPAM Musubi for taste, albeit overpriced at $1 each, which seems high considering how small each one is. They should be more like 60 cents or 75 cents each max. Of course, like most cultural festivals, this is a fundraiser, so higher prices are expected right across the board.

Then you have their spelling with two “SS” instead of one: Malassada; not Malasada. They say the proper spelling is with two S’s. OK, fine then. I might change my name to Pommai. lol

I also picked up a couple packages of boiled Lupini Beans, which the Portuguese call Tremocas…

Tremocas (Lupini Beans)

It’s difficult to explain what Tremocas taste like. Think tender Kidney bean meets boiled peanut and that sort of is how they taste. Not exactly, but you get the picture.

I also got a container of pickled garlic…

Pickled Garlic

Now this I really dig! Pickled Garlic? Who woulda’ thought?! It’s FANTASTIC! Of course very healthy as well. If you have recipe for pickled garlic, please share. I want to learn how to make my own. This one is very simple, tasting like just vinegar, salt and water, yet it’s absolutely ONO. Love it.

Guess who else was there during my visit? The “Supah’ Podogee” himself, FRANK DELIMA!….

“Pawdagee Head Quadas” king Frank DeLima at the 2009 Portuguese Festa at Ala Moana McCoy Pavillion

The same Portuguese ethnic displays from last year’s festival were on display again this year, along with a multi-ethnic geneology tracing room with experts on hand to help anyone interested in finding their roots in Portugal. My cousin who is a government professor in Washington DC already did that footwork for our family.

I’ll make sure to arrive earlier at next year’s Festa so I don’t miss out on all the other Portuguese grindz. Good stuff.

One of the reasons I got there late was that I spent about 40 minutes outside on Magic Island (in Ala Moana Beach Park) trying to get a glimpse of the Thunderbirds airshow that was also taking place at the time I was there. While they remained mostly over the Hickam/Airport area, I was still able to capture a few cool jet trail shots. Here they are…

Thunderbirds over Hickam AFB, Ala Moana beach (on a clear sunny day) in foreground

Hokua and Nauru condominium towers in foreground

Thunderbirds over Hickam AFB – Saturday, September 19, 2009

The Thunderbirds will also be performing today, Sunday, September 20, 2009 at 3pm at Hickam AFB.

See you there!

P.S. A new restaurant will be opening in 2010 called Taste of Portugal Restaurant Hawaiii, featuring classic Portuguese cusine. Some of the featured dishes include:
• Portuguese Bean Soup
• Famous Codfish Dishes
• Carne de Porco Alentejana (Portuguese Pork & Clams)
• Cozido a Portuguesa (traditional boiled meat & cabbage dish)
• Other Brazillian and Portuguese dishes

For more information, visit their website here:
www.TasteofPortugalHi.com

One of our vendors brought us a box of Champion Malasadas the other day, continuing the seemingly daily onslaught of potentially ruining my MTV music video-worthy girlish figure. lol (Does MTV even have music videos any  more?) For whatever reason, normally we see Leonard’s Malasadas land on our office snack table more often than any other, and it’s been a while since I’ve had malasadas from Champion, yet I do remember them as being EXCELLENT, and this time was just as that.

The box from Champion that arrived at our office was piping hot…

which is really the only way to fully enjoy a malasada in all its glory. With that, these had that signature airy, glutenous texture on the inside….

with a slightly chewy, slighty crunchy crust, punching it all out with an evenly-dusted coating of granulated white sugar…

It also wasn’t oily ‘n greasy at all, thank goodness. In fact, it was so airy and light, you’d just as well assume they were baked, not deep-fried, as is how they’re made.

Checking out our good friends over at WOWGrinds.com, I see they already did a blind taste test back in December of last year, putting Leonard’s, Agnes’ and Champion into the ring. The results out of 7 blind taste test judges resulted with Leonard’s in 1st place, Agnes 2nd, and Champion 3rd.

Hmmm, interesting. In and by itself, Champion Malasada is a champion in my book, and worthy of a 5 SPAM Musubi rating. Until I get the other two main competitors to try side-by-side (and still piping hot) along with it, I stand by that.

Now I’m off to doing my Pilates workout watching archived Britney Spears music videos. lol

Related links:
• www.ChampionMalasadas.com
• Leonard’s Bakery
• Agnes’ Portuguese Bake Shop
• Leonard’s Malasadas – The Tasty Island
• Honolulu Portugese Festa ’08 – The Tasty Island

The Portuguese Festa (prounounced “FESH-tah”; a.ka. festival) took place today, Saturday,  September 20, 2008 in the McCoy Pavillion at Ala Moana Beach Park from 9am to 5pm.

This was my first time attending this event (shame yeah?), yet I’m sure glad I made it this year! I found this experience very, very enlightening and interesting in tracing my roots.

As you might know, I’m half Portuguese, with my late and great father being pure Portuguese, while my mother is Hawaiian, German and English, in that order of quantity.

Being in the blood, it’s due time I be here.

The folks working at today’s event were friendly and just fantastic, with plenty of knowledge about our Portuguese culture. I really felt like I was around one big extended ohana and right at home.

If you missed it, don’t fret, I got you covered. Following is a pictorial walk-through of today’s festivities. Enjoy!…

Like the Greek Festival, there’s a $3 donation/entry fee at the door.

Ani’s Portuguese Sweet Breads and other baked specialties….

Hawaii Lieutenant Governor James “Duke” Aiona serves up Portuguese Bean Soup to the people…

Duke – a former first circuit court judge – is Portuguese, Chinese and Hawaiian. That’s a common ethnic mixture in Hawaii. In person, he’s a very friendly, down-to-earth guy.

I also got a picture with Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle, who made a round at the event. The picture came out blurry though, as the person with her taking the photo didn’t hold the shutter on my camera to activate the auto focus. Oh well.

This is the Vinha D’ Alhos…

Looks and has the texture like Kalua Pig, but WAY different in flavor.

Portuguese style chicken with a roll, beans, pickled onion and pepper…

Cod Stew (the master batch cooking in a wok on a propane burner)…

A Portuguese Hot Dog, made with a jumbo hot dog-sized Portuguese Sausage and Portuguese Sweet Bread Bun…

One of the workers there raved about this, saying it was so ono. I just wasn’t in the mood for that kinda’ “heft” on this hot sunny day (ya’ know?), so didn’t try it.

I’m getting flashbacks from my “Great Portuguese Sausage Shootout” entry here (lol)…

Tostinhos…

Chow Chow…

Also for sale were these delicious boiled and salted Lupini beans, which are called Tremocas (c is pronounced as ‘s’) by the Portuguese. They’re similar in texture to boiled peanuts, except more “legume-like”, flavor-wise – like a cross between a kidney bean and a peanut…

Tremocas, a.k.a. Lupini beans

Portuguese cook books for sale ($10 each)…

I’m diggin’ this shirt!…

I’m guessing Vin D’ Alhos is what was served in this particular dishware…

My father had a massive Portuguese flag, which my sister now has it.

A  traditional Portuguese table setting…

The dance group in traditional Portuguese dress…

Turns out that image-stabilized 12x optical zoom on my new Sony (gently used) DSC-H5 works out quite well! I was standing from the backside of the pond in the courtyard taking the photos. Nice.

The crowd enjoying the day…

Back to the displays and goods for sale…

As you might know, the Ukulele was introduced to Hawaii by the Portuguese. The beautiful instruments on display here today are from KoALOHA Ukulele Company.

The “Pineapple” Uke’…

Get a load of this one!…

That would be a great one to display at a Tiki Bar.

Highly detailed fretboard inlay…

I like their headstock design as well.

Gettin’ jiggy wit’ it…

The Portuguese (such as Magellan) were some of the greatest sailors in the world…

Portuguese men like sailing, while Portuguese women enjoy doll making…

Wow, Barbie and Ken ain’t got nothin’ on them! They’re kinda’ creepy-lookin’ though, huh? lol

A majority of the population in Portugal are Roman Catholic…

FATIMA

Hand-crafted dishware imported from Portugal…

The rooster is the symbol of Portugal, and it’s prevalent everywhere you look at the Portuguese Festa. I’ll explain the story behind it later and add into this entry…

The following items for sale at the Festa today are more Japanese, yet you might find them interesting to see…

That just about wraps things up. I really enjoyed it, and will be back for next year’s Festa for sure!

Final note, I’m really happy with the photos coming out of my new/used Sony DSC-H5. The flash metering is well-controlled, preventing over-exposure in just about all the shots I took using it. Also, I hardly need to post-process most of the photos, as the color accuracy and sharpness look spot-on straight off the memory card. Most of all, that 12x optical zoom and image stabilization has already proved to be a valued feature. Very nice!

Luxury condos tower over Ala Moana Beach Park: Hokua Tower (left), Nauru Tower (center – the half-round one) and Hawa Iki Tower (right)…

Ala Moana Beach…

If you’re wondering how I discovered Bunmeido of Hawaii, the truth is, although this place has been here for decades, only in the last week have I heard about it via, of all people, a New York-based television producer interested in taping a segment for one of their shows at Bunmeido, which I’ll share more about later when the time is appropriate. Anyway, this TV producer requested if I could go and check the place out for them. Of course, no problem, so I did just that this past Sunday, early at about 9am.

Before I continue, I’ll need to come forward and say I’m really not a cake fan. Call me unsophisticated or whatever else, but I’m just not into the sweetened bread-like form that most cakes are based on, much prefering the fresh, cool and moist fruit and custard-based fillings and crisp, baked crust offered by PIE. Still, all the Yelp user postings gave highly favorable reviews of the Castilla sponge cake here, so that was all-the-more encouraging in paying a visit to try it out.

Bunmeido of Hawaii is a small bakery located on the Makai side of South King Street, just past McCully, tucked between several other businesses who share the ground floor of a low-rise walk-up office building. It’s a one-man show here, owned and operated by Akira Sugiyama, who you can tell is a hard-working and humble man.

He’s there from early morning, 7 a days a week preparing, baking and wrapping the various treats displayed in the shop’s front display case. Speaking of which, he’s also the sales person and cashier. Hey, when you want the job done right, sometimes you gotta’ do it (all) yourself!

There were Raspberry roll cakes, various mochi, cookies and the items I bought to try as shown here today.

First let’s look at the Mikasayama…

Mikasayama – “Red Bean Jam Pancake Sandwich”

Let’s open it up and and cut one in half see what’s inside…

Mikasayama, net weight 3-1/4 oz.

The pancake has a spongy, airy texture and sweetness similar to sponge cake, having you wonder if it’s the same recipe as the Castilla, in comparing the ingredients, it’s different. As the name suggests, the sweet Azuki “Red” bean filling is made into Jam form, with a good balance between sweet and robust. Overall it complimented the pancake shell nicely.

Next we have the Apple Turnover…

Bunmeido Apple Turnover, net weight 2 oz.

Let’s open it up and see what’s in it…

I liked this better than the Mikasayama, prefering the gelatinous texture and chunky, tender apple filling over the more Jam-like Azuki Bean. I’m not particularly an Azuki Bean fan either, which further explains my preference for the apples. Again, the same “pancake” (Castella?) batter is used, being soft, spongey and slightly sweet. That said, this certainly was an interesting twist in comparison to the classic apple turnover, which of course uses a flaky, baked crust. Cake lovers rejoice!

According to Akira san, you can also get the Bunmeido Mikasayama and Apple Turnovers at Shirokiya in Ala Moana Center. Forgot to ask if they also carry the Castilla.

Finally, speaking of rejoice, here’s where cake lovers everywhere might do just that after trying the Castilla Honey Cake…

Bunmeido of Hawaii Honey Castella sponge cake カステラ, net weight 10 oz.

The size of the box reads:

Bunmeido Castella
King of Cakes

In Delicate Natural Honey Flavor.

Castilla is made exclusively from choice ingredients. No substitutional agents are used.

Castella is famed throughout the world for its rich nutritious flavor and quality. You will be amazed with Castella’s delicate texture and smooth crust.

It’s a favorite dessert with everyone, wherever you go!

In Japan, it’s referred to as “Kasutera”, obviously being an accented iteration of “Castella” – the latter of which is pronounced “Cas-tee-ya”. It’s said that Castella found its way to Japan via Portuguese Merchants (my peeps!) back in the 16th Century, with the name evolving from the Portuguese Pão de Castela, which translates to “Bread of Castile”.

Anyway, getting back to the Honey Castilla we have here, as always, the Japanese tradition of quality and attention to detail reflects all the way down to the packaging. Looking at the box, you’d just as well assume a bottle of $1000 perfume were in there.

Let’s open it and see what we got…

Detail, detail, detail. Even the inner wax paper wrapper is folded and taped-down meticulously, while making sure that it’s sealed properly. According to the box, the ingredients are sugar, eggs, wheat, flour, honey and corn syrup.

Once again, unwrapped, it looks like this…

It measures 7-1/2″ long x 2-3/8″ wide x 2″ thick.

Let’s cut a few slices to try out!…

Looking at that, are you thinking what I’m thinking?  Coffee!  So I ran to the kitchen and fired up the pot, making myself a hot cup o’ joe to go with it.

How is it? It has that familiar light and airy sponge cake texture, while being soft and moist, with a sort of sweeter, slightly sticky browned, yet still soft crust. That sticky crust is where you can distinguish the honey flavor. While even if this were the best Sponge Cake on planet earth, it still hasn’t turned me into a cake convert. Yet for those who are into sponge cake, I can see them going through leaps and bounds to get their hands on the Honey Castilla at Bunmeido. Sure was great with my cup of blended Kona Coffee, gotta’ say that!

The Honey Castilla cakes are boxed in varying sizes from small to large. I forgot to write down or make a mental note of the exact prices for each item here, but my receipt total came out to $7.25 for the Castilla sponge cake (I think was medium size), and 2 each of the Mikasayama and Apple Turnover (5 items total), so the prices are very reasonable, especially considering the quality and level of craftsmanship he puts into each and every item on the shelf.

Here’s the shop front…

Bunmeido of Hawaii
2065 S King St Ste 109
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 949-0555

Business Hours:
Monday – Saturday 8am to 5pm
Sunday 8am to 12pm

Related Links:
• A Sweet Slice of History – Hana Hou! The Hawaiian Airlines Magazine
• Bunmeido of Hawaii – Yelp user reviews (there’s a photo of Akira san on that site)
• Oyatsu and kasutera (castella), a Japanese sponge cake – A pictorial cooking demo’

When reader Debbie-chan left a comment mentioning seeing a Kalua Pork Puff at Beard Papa, I just had to settle my curiosity about it. So I stopped by Foodland Ala Moana on my way home from work today and picked one up. I also picked up their new Breakfast Puff to try out. Finally, returning to the tune of sweet, I picked up another new menu item in the form of a Strawberry Shortcake Puff.

The last chain restaurant I recall applying Kalua Pig into new and creative menu ideas was Taco Bell with their Kalua Pork Soft Taco, Kalua Pork Quesadilla and Kalua Pork Stuft Burrito; most of which turned out to be quite good.

Now here we have Beard Papa, attempting to diversify their highly regarded, fresh baked choux pastry, going above and beyond their foundational cream puffs, in an effort to lure those seeking a more hearty meal.

First let’s look at the Breakfast Puff…

Beard Papa’s new Breakfast Puff, $3.50

Beard Papa’s marketing description for it goes like this: “A savory combination of cheese, egg and your choice of bacon or Portuguese sausage in our signature shell.”

Let’s take a peek inside and see what we got…

My apology for the over-exposed shot. I rushed the photo shoot.

What they do is take their choux pastry – the same one they use for all the other cream puffs – and cut in half to make a “bun” out of it. The base part of the choux cream is really thin, but thankfully with this one, the egg – which is that thick yellow (looks white due overexposure) part on the second layer – helps keep everything else firmly supported.

On top of the beaten, formed poached egg are several thick pieces of Portuguese sausage, and on that is a slice of melted American Cheese, then capped off by the  choux pastry “bun” top. There was also a slight scattering of green onions between the egg and the sausage. If you don’t care for Portuguese Sausage, you can also opt for bacon (or none of the above for that matter).

How was it? Very good. Due to the airiness of the choux pastry, It’s similar to a croissant breakfast sandwich, just not as flaky, but it still has that nice texture contrast, along with that tasty baked outter shell. I couldn’t pinpoint the brand of Portuguese Sausage, but it was on the hot and spicy side. The formed poached egg had a generic, mass-produced shape, but thankfully in taste it was flavorful and fresh tasting, not frozen (although it might have been). At $3.50 each, it’s not the best breakfast sandwich value in town, yet still worth a try. As with all other items at BP, the quality of the choux pastry part of its sum is the selling point.

Next we have the Barbecue Kalua Pork Puff with Pineapple Coleslaw…

Beard  Papa’s new  Barbecue Kalua Pork Puff with Pineapple Coleslaw, $3.95 each (or $7.50 for two)

Beard Papa’s marketing description for this one goes like this: “Just like the Southern favorite, our version of the barbecue pulled pork sandwich with a Hawaiian twist!”

Let’s take a peek into this one…

This one is made by filling the choux pastry “bun” with a layer of “Kalua” Pork, then topped by a heap of Pineapple Coleslaw.

How was this one? Pretty good. Different for sure. The Pineapple Coleslaw was perhaps the best part about it. Cool, fresh, with plenty of grated carrots and cabbage, accented by a few chunks of pineapple here and there. Very nice.

The kalua pork was moist and smokey, and went really well with the slaw. My only complaint was that the “Kalua” pork had barbecue sauce mixed into it. Wassup wit’ ‘dat? While it wasn’t dominant, it was there, taking the term “Kalua” right out of the pork. They should just be honest and call this a pulled pork sandwich. In essence that’s really what it is. Of course they want to “Hawaiianize” it by adding the Pineapple and using the term “Kalua” for the pork, which is fine with me, but you’ll see when/if you try one what I mean.

As mentioned earlier about the breakfast sandwich, the choux pastry “bun” base is thin, where in this case, the moist Kalua Pork soaks right into it, causing it to practically fall out from underneath as you attempt to grab the sandwich and bite into it. At least, such was the case within the 30 minute window of me buying it, driving home, taking photos, then sampling it.  What they might wanna’ consider is to try putting a slice of lettuce between the pork and the “bun” bottom to create a moisture barrier.  Somethin’ like that.

With the Barbecue Kalua Pork Puff with Pineapple Coleslaw coming in at $3.95 each, it’s a toss-up on value. The ingredients and quality is there, but taste is what matters most and that’s for you to decide whether you’d keep this on your “regular” list. For me, glad I tried it.

Size-wise , these are more like “sliders”, and you’d probably need at least two to fill you up if you’re really hungry.

I’m really glad I thought “long term” and got the Strawberry Shortcake Puff as a little dessert, as it ended up being a perfect way to finish the trial of the other two savory items…

Beard Papa’s new Strawberry Shortcake Puff, $2.65

The marketing description for this one goes like this: “Fresh strawberries floating in a whipped cream base.”

Cross cut view…

This photo perfectly illustrates how “airy” these choux pastries are, with that whipped cream and strawberry “shortcake” filling taking up every void of it’s interior. See how thin the choux pastry is on the bottom? That’s how it is in the savory sandwiches as well, which is why I pointed out that little “issue” with the Kalua pork causing it to get soggy on the bottom.

How is this one? Oishii desu! Of course different than their vanilla custard, as the filling here is made with sweetened whipped cream. Light, yet still decadent. Inside of the whipped cream were generous chunks of fresh, cold strawberries. That’s what I really liked about this one: the filling was cool. I think it’s worth $2.65. I’d certainly buy this again. The strawberries with the choux pastry is a winner. Perhaps I’m biased on that opinion due to my affection for Kachan’s totally amazing Choux Creme with the strawberry and Kiwi fruit in it.

As is usual of most Japanese products, quality and attention to detail is the name of the game at Beard Papa, right down to how they pack the goods…

These were packed nicer than that, with those “cute” little paper wrappers and all.
I kinda’ took ‘em a part for unknown reasons. Perhaps it was too cute for my liking.  lol

We will remember…

Beard Papa is located at select Foodland Supermarkets around the island. The items I got today were from the beautifully-renovated location in Ala Moana…

According to Beard Papa’s Hawaii website (which is currenty DOWN! ARGGHHH!), they also have a new Pita Sandwich, but that’s only available at the Waikiki locations, IIRC. Looks pretty good.

Well, at least you know now, in case wanna’ try something new, Beard Papa’s got a few things to consider checkin’ out.

Related links:
• BeardPapaHawaii.com
• Beard Papa’s Cream Puff

Top to bottom (or back to front): Ume Musubi, Pickled Cucumber, Maui’s Uradomo Farm’s Takuan (ichiban!), Kim Chee Sausage, Pastele Sausage and Chorizo Sausage

In spirit of the popular Portuguese Sausage Shootout, here’s a further spin on ethnic variety in the form of Kim Chee, Pastele and Chorizo Sausages! Who woulda’ thought? Yes, give a butcher some casings, ground meat and a bunch of ethnic flavorings and things like this do happen as we see here!

You can’t help but think to yourself when seeing something like this on the store shelves, “I wonder how those taste? Does the flavor actually resemble what it’s labeled as?” Well, those questions certainly crossed my mind, so nothing else to do but throw them in the cart and give ‘em a spin!

These three sausages are all made by Kukui Sausage Company in Honolulu, Hawaii. Here is each one in detail…

Kim Chee Sausage
8oz.
Ingredients: Pork, Water, Salt, Vinegar, Flavorings, Paprika, Sodium Nitrite, Chili Powder, Cabbage, Garlic, Scallion, Sugar, Fish Sauce, MSG

Pastele Sausage
8oz.
Ingredients: Pork, Bananas, Salt, Black Pepper, Tomato Paste, Achote Oil, Spices, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Nitrite

Chorizo Sausage
8oz.
Ingredients: Pork, Vinegar, Parika, Garlic, Chili Powder, Black Pepper, Spices, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Nitrite

As you can see, these are all pork-based sausages, and from there the flavor components completely take a different course.

Hawaii’s culinary scene is no stranger to these three flavors due to the contributions of our fellow Korean (Kim Chee), Puerto Rican (Pastele) and overall Latino (Chorizo) folks.

So how do they taste? First of all, notice that I accompany these rather heavy-hearted foods with my trusty Ume Musubi, Takuan and pickled cucumber. These help buffer the palate and also bring balance to an otherwise oily affair.

Right down to it, the Kim Chee and the Pastele both taste as advertised. The Kim Chee sausage taste like Kim Chee-flavored pork and the Pastele Sausage tastes like a “porky” pastele. That really is the best and only way I can explain it.

With the Kim Chee sausage, there’s actual slices of cabbage mixed in it, so the texture further reinforces and convinces you what it’s supposed to be. I would recommend they make this one a little more spicy-hot; not too hot, but more than what it is so that you really are convinced this IS Kim Chee sausage. Still, that flavor is there and you know it upon first bite.

Here you can see a slice of Kim Chee cabbage in the sausage…

I can see cutting this into cubes and adding it to the classic Kim Chee Fried Rice.

In truth, I didn’t like the Chorizo Sausage at all. It lacked quality in flavor, tasting mostly like a spicy porky “something”. Worst of all, it falls apart as it cooks, turning into basically a sauteed ground pork with a strangely-spiced flavor profile. There’s no way this even comes close to that good stuff in the green can.

My favorite, and certainly the one shining with the most character and most true to it’s labeled name is the Pastele Sausage. While I won’t say you can taste the bananas in it, there’s something about that ingredient that gives this sausage its signature flavor. It’s really hard for me to describe this, but it’s really good and taste, well, like Pastele Sausage! Shouldn’t it?

You can sort of see the complexity involved in this cross section of the Pastele Sausage…

This is certainly one you must pick and try if you like the flavor of Peurto Rican style Pasteles.

Any of these three would be a welcome addition to an ethnically-charged fried rice.

1st place: Pastele Sausage
2nd place: Kim Chee Sausage
3rd place: Chorizo Sausage

Once again, I highly recommend the Pastele Sausage if you like pasteles. This hits home.

Kukui Sausage Company
Honolulu, Hawaii 96819
(808) 841-8843

P.S. I’ve added Frank’s Foods (Hilo), Redondos (duh!) and Kukui brand Portuguese Sausage to “The Great Portuguese Sausage Shootout” entry.

Portuguese Sausage Shootout

The following recipe is my rendition, with references from Auntie Lynn and Reid over at Ono ‘Kine Grindz. Mahalo!

Portuguese Bean Soup
Serves approx. 10-12

Ingredients:
3 Smoked Ham Hocks (these are usually available in the meat freezer section. Make sure they’re SMOKED)
1 Large Portuguese Sausage (any brand), cut into bite-size pieces (I used MUCH more than 1 for this batch, since that’s how much I had)
1 bag of dry kidney beans
1-2 cups (uncooked) macaroni (add more or less at your discretion)
2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
1 white round onion, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bunch cilantro, chopped (save some extra unchopped for garnish)
2 bay leaves
1 six oz. can Tomato Paste (this will help to slightly thicken it)
1 fourteen oz. can Stewed Tomatoes
1 fourteen oz. can chicken stock
Salt and Pepper
Water
5 quart (or larger) pot or dutch oven
*Options: You can also add chopped celery and/or cabbage. I didn’t because there was no room for it. You can also substitute canned Kidney Beans for the uncooked type used here.

The most important part of this soup is the ham hock soup stock base it’s started with. This provides the dish with its “porky”, slightly smoky signature.

Ham Hocks & Cilantro (Chinese Parlsey)

Begin by placing the 3 ham hocks, 1 bay leaf and the chopped cilantro in the pot, then add the can of chicken stock and just just enough water to cover the ham hocks. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer for approximately 2-1/2 hours, covered to prevent evaporation. Note that this is a stock-making process, so you don’t put all the ingredients in from the start, as they’ll obviously over-cook and become mush.

This will give you time to prepare the uncooked kidney beans. First wash and rinse them in a collander, then place in a pot of water, bring to boil for about 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and let them sit in the heated water for about an hour, check for tenderness (bite-test one), then drain the now ready-to-use beans in the collander.

The uncooked kidney beans as they’re first placed in the pot with water

Prepare the cut-up Portuguese Sausage by frying them until slightly browned, then place on paper towel to drain oil…

After over 2 hours of simmering, the ham hock stock will look like this…

PBS stock made with ham hocks, cilantro, bay leaf, chicken stock and water

Notice the rich brown color and the porky aroma! Fish out the now-tender ham hocks and place them on a cutting board, let them cool, then remove the meat from bone with a fork and knife and discard the bone…

Tender, fully cooked ham hocks with meat removed

Now you begin throwing everything else into the pot. Add the ham hock meat, kidney beans, Portuguese Sausage, uncooked macaroni, potatoes, chopped onions, carrots, crushed garlic, the other bay leaf and stewed tomatoes (don’t add the tomato paste yet), then add enough water to cover, and let it simmer for about another hour, stirring occasionally.

The finished pot of Portuguese Bean Soup

Finish it by stirring in the tomato paste by spoonfuls until the soup reaches the desired thickness and taste. Some like it more “tomato-ey” than others. Up to you. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste, then ring the bell for dinner and enjoy!

Garnish each bowl with a sprig of Cilantro and serve with your favorite bread and butter (personally I like Safeway’s French Bread with plenty of margarine spread on it) or soda crackers.

Hot on the heels of the Portuguese Sausage Shootout comes another popular island favorite from the Portuguese, the Malasada. I work in an office where folks love to share food, and yesterday was no exception as one of our accountants brought us a box of Leonard’s Malasadas from their wagon located in Waikele Shopping Center.

Malasadas are essentially a doughnut shaped as shown (no hole in it), about the size of a racket ball, deep fried until GBD and dusted with a light coat of granulated sugar. Leonard’s also offers filled versions with custard, chocolate or Haupia (coconut cream). They’re 60 cents each or cheaper if purchased in larger quantities.

I haven’t had Malasadas for a while; the last time being from Champion Malasadas (Beretania st.), a formidable contender to Leonard’s. Well this batch was consistent to what I always remember Leonard’s to be… fluffy, slightly spongee, slightly chewy, with a nice change in texture from the deep-fried outer crust, complimented, but not overdone by the granulated sugar finish. What’s most important is that they’re not greasy, which is a testament that they have good management over proper oil temperature. Just a slight “slick” on the crust that helps the sugar stick to them and also provides a sort of buttery finish in texture if you will. They might even have some secret ingredient that helps prevent oil from penetrating into the dough as it cooks.

Reheating or eating them cold just isn’t an option. Just like anything else that’s deep-fried, Malasadas are something you MUST eat while it’s piping hot straight from the bakery or wagon.

I’m having evil thoughts about this. How about making a Malasada Dog? lol Heck, they did it with Andagi (Okinawan donuts), so why not the Malasada? O.K., one day after my arteries take a break perhaps I’ll try that.

This Leonard’s logo sticker they put on each box is a whimsical, yet accurate illustration of what their famous red and white striped Malasada wagon looks like…

They also have a bakery home base located on Kapahulu Avenue that’s been there for decades.

While their may be a few contenders out there, the first name that comes to mind when you mention Malasadas is Leonard’s… a household name in Hawaii that continues to this day with excellence.

www.LeonardsHawaii.com

Rating by Raveable

Being half Portuguese, it’s fitting that I do a thorough job of covering one of Hawaii’s favorite ethnic foods, the Portuguese Sausage. Hawaii’s manufacturers mostly stick by a similar recipe that is unique to the islands, setting ours apart from those found on the mainland… or possibly even in Portugal.

The most popular way to eat it is for breakfast as simply Portuguese Sausage, Eggs and Rice. Comfort food at its best. Most Hawaii restaurants that serve breakfast have Portuguese sausage as an option to bacon, breakfast links or ham, including national chains such as McDonald’s and iHop.

What inspired me to have a Portuguese Sausage shootout is the wide selection of locally-made brands and varieties that fill our supermarket shelves today, commonly taking up to 4 feet of meat department refrigerator shelf space.

So let the battle begin!…

The players (top to bottom):

• Redondo’s Lisboa Portuguese Brand Sausage, 10 oz., $1.99 (sale price) from Don Quijote.
  Ingredients: Pork, water, salt, flavorings, sugar, sodium phosphate, monosodium glutamate, oleo-resin of parika, sodiumerythorbate, sodium nitrite, packed in collagen casing.
• Uncle Louie’s Fully Cooked Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage Stick, package of 3 at 48 oz. (3 lbs.) total, $10 from Costco.
  Ingredients: Pork, water, salt, non-fat dry milk, paprika, vinegar, garlic, chili pepper, spice, sweetener (sucralose), sodium nitrite.
• Gouvea’s Portuguese Brand Sausage (Linguica). 10 oz., $1.99 from Don Quijote.
  Ingredients: Pork, water, salt, spices, garlic, paprika, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite.
• Rego’s Purity of Hawaii Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage. 10 oz., $1.99 from Marukai Market Place.
  Ingredients: Pork, water, nonfat dry milk, salt, vinegar, sugar, flavorings, paprika, sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite, oleoresin of paprika, packed in collagen casing.
• Aloha Brand Portuguese Brand Sausage Hawaiian Style (distributed by Gouvea’s Inc.). 5 oz., $1.29 from Don Quijote.
  Ingredients: Pork, water, salt, dextrose, spices, hydrolyzed wheat protien, paprika, sodium phosphate, garlic, spice extractives, natural flavorings, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite and collagen casing.
• Pacific Sausage Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage (Linguica), 5 oz., 99 cents from Don Quijote.
  Ingredients: Pork, water, salt, vinegar, sugar, flavoring, spices, garlic, paprika, sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate, dextrose, sodium nitrite, sodium citrate.
• Hawaiian Sausage Company Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage (distributed by Rego’s Purity Food Co., Inc.), 5 oz., 99 cents from Marukai Market Place.
  Ingredients: Pork, water, nonfat dry milk, salt, vinegar, flavorings, paprika, sodium phosphate, smoke flavoring, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite, oleoresin of paprika, packed in collagen casing.
• Gouvea’s Portuguese Brand Sausage Made with Pork and Chicken, 5 oz., $1.29 from Don Quijote.
  Ingredients: Pork, mechanically separated chicken, water, salt, spices, garlic, paprika, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite and collagen casing.
• Redondo’s Mo’ono Sweet Hot Portuguese Brand Sausage, 5 oz., 99 cents from Marukai Market Place.
  Ingredients: Pork, water, soy sauce, sugar, salt, flavorings, sodium phosphate, monosodium glutamate, oleoresin of paprika, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite, packed in collagen casing.
• Frank’s Foods Portuguese Brand Sausage (from Hilo), 12 oz., $2.49 (on sale) from Ward Marukai.
  Ingredients: Pork, beef, dextrose, salt, soy protein concentrate, paprika, sodium phosphate, flavorings, hydrolyzed soy protein, garlic powder, msg, smoke flavoring, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite.
• Kukui Sausage Co, Inc. Portuguese Brand Sausage, 8 oz., $1.99 (on sale) from Ward Marukai..
  Ingredients: Pork, water, salt, sugar, flavorings, paprika, sodium phosphate, sodium nitrite, chili powder, sodium erythorbate.

With (now) 11 players on the “field”, I had to be careful in properly identifying each one for an accurate comparison. While they’re each slightly varied in color and size, for the most part, they all share the same DNA, so labeling was the only way to do it…

As you can see, they all have distinguishable marbeling; some more pronounced than others…

The newest player on the field is Uncle Louie’s, made in Kahului, Maui and available in a bulk pack of 3 HUGE (I mean HUGE) 1 pound sausages at Costco. On a side note to Costco, they also sell Redondo’s Portuguese Sausage in preformed “Spam Musubi” rectangular shapes. How cool is that!

Portuguese Sausage tastes best pan-fried for serving…

I cut 4 slices from each brand, about 3/8″ thick at a bias (diagonally) to provide more surface area.

The only way to give this shootout a fare shake was to accompany the taste test with its true companion, eggs and rice!…

Post edit additions, top to bottom (back to front): Ume Musubi, pickled cucumber, takuan (palate buffers), Frank’s Foods (Hilo), Redondo’s and Kukui brand Portuguese Sausage (uncooked left and cooked right)

Yes, call me crazy. I felt that way attempting to properly plate, sort and label this spread. But tell me that doesn’t look good! Notice I added a couple slices of Takuan, a Japanese picked turnip. I learned this from the mama sans at Tropic Fish and Vegetable market, who makes their Portuguese Sausage, eggs and rice breakfast bento with this. It adds balance, harmony and helps buffer the palate. Try it with Takuan. The best!

The results!..

1. Frank’s Foods Portuguese Brand Sausage:
   Pork, beefy, smoky and tight; not too fatty or greasy. You haven’t had local style Portuguese Sausage until you’ve had Franks!
   
2. Rego’s Purity of Hawaii Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage:
   Slightly sweet twang; mild spices; porky; soft casing; well-balanced overall.
   
3. Hawaiian Sausage Company Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage (distributed by Rego’s Purity Food Co., Inc.):
   Smokey!, mildly spicy, porky & moist. Even with the added smoke component, this one was also very well balanced and packed with flavor.
   
4. Redondo’s Mo’ono Sweet Hot Portuguese Brand Sausage:
   Tender; porky; moist; hot but spice influence is mild.
   
5. Gouvea’s Portuguese Brand Sausage (Linguica):
   Spicy, somewhat salty, semi-beefy, semi-porky (are those real terms?), pronounced marbeling, overall great flavor.
   
6. Redondo’s Lisboa Portuguese Brand Sausage:
   Redondo’s is great, but Gouvea’s slightly beefy profile gives it just a little more character than Redondo’s. Still, this is good, and even in 6th place, it’s something I’ll put in the shopping cart on an impulse buy.
   
7. Pacific Sausage Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage (Linguica)
   This reminds me of a stepped-down Purity in flavor profile. Stepped down enough to rank about here.
   
8. Uncle Louie’s Fully Cooked Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage Stick:
   Significant Paprika flavor; pronounced marbeling gave it a really “fatty” character, for better or worse; somewhat salty; doesn’t taste porky, more beefy.
   
9. Aloha Brand Portuguese Brand Sausage Hawaiian Style (distributed by Gouvea’s Inc.):
   More zesty; paprika too noticeable, yet still good; doesn’t taste like “traditional” Portuguease sausage.
   
10. Kukui Sausage Co, Inc. Portuguese Brand Sausage:
    Decent, but lacks character. It’ s just OK, still slightly better than the last place contender as follows.
    
11. Gouvea’s Portuguese Brand Sausage Made with Pork and Chicken:
    Subtle flavor, not much marbleization.
    

Post edit: Frank’s Foods from Hilo is my favorite! The beef and the smoke flavoring, combined with the texture, which is tight and not to fatty make this one stand out. And allthough there’s beef in it, which is out of the norm from the rest of the pack, it still screams loud and proud, “I’m the best Portuguese Sausage!”

Rego’s Purity of Hawaii Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage was my overall favorite. With that, it’s still a close contender for first place, but I’ll hand that to Franks. The Purity won a blind taste test by four members in our household. I wouldn’t kick any one of these brands off the table, but if I could only choose one, Franks would be first, then Rego’s Purity. As for Purity, flavorful balance is the best way to describe it. It also caramelized nicely due its sugar component. My next choice also comes from Rego’s with their Hawaiian Sausage Company variety. The added smokiness really serves it well, and goes GREAT with those sunny-side up eggs. Excellent.

Whew. Let me tell you, that was alot of work. It wasn’t easy to try that much Portuguese Sausage in one sitting. After that, I didn’t eat for the rest of the day. That’s how full I was! The spices really give an aftertaste doesn’t go away for a long time. lol But it’s all good.

Next time you go grocery shopping, pick up a few brands of Portuguese Sausage and compare them yourself. You might find nuances in each that I couldn’t find, or a flavor preference that best suits you. Then after that, go on a diet for the rest of the week. I’m going vegetarian for the next 5 days after this. My blood is still boiling. lol

P.S.

Gouvea also makes this “Hot Dog”…

Gouvea’s Portuguese Brand Hot Dogs

It may look like a hot dog on the outside, but bite into it and you know what? It’s pretty much a miniature Portuguese Sausage! Same paprika, vinegar, and garlic flavor, sans the chili pepper. Very porky, including the marbelized fat in it. It’s really ono!

Gouvea’s Portuguese Brand Hot Dog, boiled and sliced in half

Next time I gotta’ try it in a hot dog bun. Maybe with just ketchup and chopped onions.

I also tried Redondo’s Arabiki Sausage…

Redondo’s ARABIKI course gournd sausage made with pork (Mo’ono selection), $2.99 from Marukai.

Per the instructions on the package, I boiled them for about 3 minutes…

They’re sort small, but they really pack flavor! Smokey, slightly sweet and savory in a shoyu-kind-of way, and moist inside. But the most important feature of these little babies is that SNAPPY CRUNCH of the casing. Nice! I’m not sure how I’d incorporate this in a recipe, but just alone as a pupu works for me. Pick some up and try.. I bet you’ll like it.