I thought I'd write a few posts about some of our local foods. A friend sent me a forwarded mail with some of the history of the foods I grew up with in Hawaii so I did some additional research and thought I'd give my opinion.
Malasadas! (This photo is from Wikipedia.)
When I was growing up these decadent pastries were not filled with chocolate, guava syrup, custard, etc. that you can find them stuffed with today.
Malasadas are deep fried, unhealthy, coated with sugar, unhealthy, and really delicious!
This yummy bite of heaven was brought to Hawaii around 1878 by Portuguese plantation workers from Madeira and Azores islands.
In 1953 Leonard Rego opened Leonard's Bakery on Oahu. Rego began selling the malasadas on Shrove Tuesday, the day before the start of Lent using his grandmother's recipe.
At that time only Leonard's sold them. You can now find different variations of it around the Hawaiian islands. We tried a large, square one in Honokaa's Tex Drive-In last year and they were wonderful!
Were they better than Leonard's? I don't know. I'd have to fly back to the Big Island and try another one for a taste test.
When I was growing up these decadent pastries were not filled with chocolate, guava syrup, custard, etc. that you can find them stuffed with today.
Malasadas are deep fried, unhealthy, coated with sugar, unhealthy, and really delicious!
This yummy bite of heaven was brought to Hawaii around 1878 by Portuguese plantation workers from Madeira and Azores islands.
In 1953 Leonard Rego opened Leonard's Bakery on Oahu. Rego began selling the malasadas on Shrove Tuesday, the day before the start of Lent using his grandmother's recipe.
At that time only Leonard's sold them. You can now find different variations of it around the Hawaiian islands. We tried a large, square one in Honokaa's Tex Drive-In last year and they were wonderful!
Were they better than Leonard's? I don't know. I'd have to fly back to the Big Island and try another one for a taste test.
I love Leonard's Malasada's. Unhealthy has never tasted so good. I like the original ones .
ReplyDeleteYou reminded me of something I ate in Peru when I was there long ago: churros, which look very similar to these. I loved them but that was long ago, and I stay away from concentrated sugar things now. But I would if I could! :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, those are served as a dessert here in the Portuguese restaurants. G is especially fond of them.
ReplyDeleteoh wow yum!!
ReplyDeleteLeonard's and Tex's are amazing. Miss them both. I prefer mine not filled with anything, except their own gummy, gooey, warm wonderfulness. :)
ReplyDeleteI like malasadas and see nothing wrong with them. A little fat and sugar make me happy.
ReplyDeleteI love the mango or lilikoi malasadas at Tex, but thankfully it's a 30 minute drive to Honoka'a from our house, so it's an occasional treat and not another bad habit!
ReplyDeleteI think your two "unhealthy's" cancel each other. There is also the alterntive of breaking them open to let the unhealthy stuff drift away.
ReplyDeleteWould LOVE to try one!
ReplyDeleteHey, Kay. You can also educate us about the Okinawan version of the doughnut, which is the andagi. I love malasadas AND andagi both! Yummy stuff -- good for the spirit and palate, but not so good for the waistline and the parts below!!
ReplyDeleteMy son-in-law absolutely loves andagi. Whenever they're in Hawaii, that's pretty much the first thing he looks forward to having. His favorite is from the Andagi Man at Don Quijote.
Deletelooks delicious....
ReplyDeleteLeonard's malasadas are the bomb when you eat them hot and fresh. Totally unhealthy but good for the soul.
ReplyDeleteI hardly leave my little community so Tex on the Big Island would be a real adventure!
If you are in Kalihi, try Kamehameha Bakery's purple malasadas. OMG - they are misshaped blobs of either taro or purple sweet potato (a little healthy?) and they taste good even when they are not hot. They ALWAYS run out, so the best bet is to order them by phone for pickup. Original store on School Street just Diamond Head of Waiakamilo (parking just before the intersection on Waiakamilo) or their newest branch in the City Square on Kalani Street across from Young's Market (ono lau lau).
Healthy, hunh? Well then... I must try some. Then again I have this strange feeling a friend of ours brought some over for us a time ago and it WAS yuuuum!
DeleteUnfair...so totally unfair. I do so miss those! It was one of the few things I could afford as a graduate student when I lived there.
ReplyDeleteNever had one, but they look deliciously decadent.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like what we call jambusters with jelly,custard or chocolate filling. Yes, they are super good.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of them before
ReplyDeleteHow could you go wrong - fried dough filled with sweet stuff and coated with sugar. Works for me!
ReplyDeleteMy, my, my, Kay. What a delicious post, it's so yummily scrumptious I'm hungry now. As you know, it doesn't take much to make me hungry. I LOVE to eat. I had not heard of Malasadas before reading about them here. Thanks for introducing them to me. Unhealthy is fine with me.
ReplyDeleteVery good idea for a post!
ReplyDeleteALOHA
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=
I love Tex' s malasadas. We don't go up that way much any more,though,since the improvements on the Saddle Road that make that route our preference for driving over to Kona.
ReplyDeletelooks yummy. Love from Poland
ReplyDeleteWe had the Tex's malasadas...we stopped by the place last year on the way to Hiro. We thought they are very nice though, Ted's (in Northshore) malasadas are also yummy!
ReplyDeleteConsidering the poopy diet I am on,I can only look and drool.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you were pre-diabetic, Kay. I'm sure I am, but I'm having some bad days. sigh.
ReplyDelete