The doughnut with no hole and no rivals
A malasada is a Portuguese fried dough ball, crisp outside, pillow-soft inside, rolled in sugar and eaten dangerously hot. Portuguese plantation workers from Madeira and the Azores brought the recipe to Hawaii in the late 1800s, and in 1952 Leonard do Rego started selling them from his family bakery. Hawaii has never recovered.
Today Leonard's is arguably the most famous bakery in the islands, its pink-and-white boxes a fixture at every local gathering. Purists take theirs plain with sugar; the adventurous go for haupia (coconut cream), custard or the cinnamon-sugar li hing twist.
Your malasada is on us
Book this tour directly for a Sunday through Wednesday departure and your first malasada is complimentary, one of four free perks that come with direct booking. You get about 25 minutes here, which sounds generous until you smell the fryers.
Consider ordering a second one anyway. Everyone does. The bakery also sells boxes to take back to the hotel, which is a decision your future self will thank you for at breakfast.
Eat it hot, over the box, with no shame. That is the only correct malasada technique.
What you'll experience here
- A free malasada with Sunday to Wednesday direct bookings
- Malasadas fried to order and rolled in sugar
- Filled varieties: haupia, custard and seasonal specials
- The 70-year story of a plantation-era recipe
This is stop 3 of 9 on the Oahu Circle Island Tour itinerary. The full loop covers 120 miles of coastline in 9.5 hours for $59, with free pickup from Waikiki, free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure, and four free perks on Sunday to Wednesday direct bookings.