7-Eleven
As soon as you land in Honolulu, get a spam musubi! I’m partial to the Deluxe with spam, egg, and furikake but the original is good too! According to Hawaiian folklore, just don’t bring it over the Pali 😉
Leonard’s Bakery
Leonard’s Bakery is famous for their mouthwatering malasadas. Malasadas are Portuguese doughnuts that you can get rolled in sugar, cinnamon sugar, or li hing (dried plum powder). You can also get the doughnuts filled with custard, chocolate, haupia (coconut), or monthly flavors like guava. Leonard’s makes the doughnuts to order so they’re always hot and fluffy. I like the custard malasadas rolled in sugar but you can’t go wrong with whatever combination strikes your fancy. I think I briefly blacked out from sheer happiness while inhaling my first one which is my way of saying that this is one of my favorite places in Honolulu.
Koa Pancake House
Yessss. A big part of why I love Hawaii are the beautiful beaches, sickeningly gorgeous sunsets, soft white sand, etc., etc. But the other, possibly even bigger part of why I love Hawaii, are the endless stacks of macadamia nut pancakes with dreamy coconut syrup. Koa is cheap, the pancakes are loaded with huge pieces of macadamia nuts, and they keep the coconut syrup flowing. The last time I was in Hawaii, I ate here 3 times (O_O)
Saint-Germain Bakery
Run to Shirokiya Japan Village Walk at Ala Moana as soon as you get the chance! It is a veritable food wonderland. There are bento boxes, ramen, udon, curry, pizza, steak, and yakitori to name a few.
While you’re at Shirokiya, stop by Saint-Germain Bakery for delightful Japanese baked goods. I am a red bean bun fiend and their anpan was one of the best that I’ve had. Their azuki beans are imported from Hokkaido and gave a wonderful delicate flavor to the anpan. The bread is perfectly sweet and soft.
