The next time your sweet tooth has a hankering for doughnuts, forget Krispy Kreme. Instead, head to Leonard’s Bakery and order the malasadas – deep-fried balls of delicious dough topped with a generous sprinkling of sugar. Hard on the outside and soft on the inside, malasadas are the original doughnut holes. Only better.
They’re not just better because they taste so darn good, either. It’s because, like all good food, the folks at Leonard’s Bakery make their malasadas with love and, crucially, an eye toward tradition.
In 1962, the bakery’s founders – the husband-and-wife team of Leonard and Margaret Rego – started making and serving malasadas as they’ve been for centuries in Portugal: on Shrove Tuesday as a final treat for Catholics before Lent began.
But the malasadas were such a hit with locals that soon Leonard and Margaret were making them year-round. In the process, the Regos created another tradition – this one uniquely Hawaiian.
Now run by their son, Leonard Jr., Leonard’s Bakery has grown into a full-service sweets and bread shop, serving everything from pies to breads such as pao doce. Stop by the Honolulu location and prepare to be gripped by malasadas madness:
933 Kapahulu Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816 (map)
HOURS:
5:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. Sun – Thurs
5:30 a.m. – 11 p.m. Fri & Sat
CONTACT:
808-737-5591
808-737-5537
bakery@leonardshawaii.com
