Malasadas are popular in Hawaii due to their 19th-century introduction by Portuguese plantation…read morelaborers, becoming a staple treat. These fried, sugar-coated dough balls, often filled with custard or haupia, are beloved for their fluffy texture and association with tradition, especially "Malasada Day" (Fat Tuesday). And Leonard's Bakery malasadas are popular in Hawaii because they are served fresh, hot, and fluffy, establishing the Portuguese doughnut as a staple island treat since 1952. Founder Leonard Rego pioneered commercializing them, creating a cult following for the crisp-on-the-outside, doughy-on-the-inside treats. There's nothing like a nice, hot, and fresh malasada. At $2.20 each, there's just no point resisting. Twinsie "Auntie" Nadine C. dragged me here, told me where to take the Instagram shot, and the correct stance to tear into these pillowy fried dough balls. Yum.

Coming as we're intrigued looking at how many people we randomly bumped into, carrying their iconic…read morepink boxes. The line in front of the store was always super long but surprisingly moving super swift. The store didn't have sit-down space but a lot of people enjoyed their orders right in front of the store as it's indeed highly recommended to enjoy while warm. Their iconic items were surely the Malasadas, basically fried sugar-coated doughnut, which came in the option of unfilled (default) and filled. We got the ones filled with Chocolate and Macadamia Nut custard. They're lusciously fluffy with just right sweetness for the filling. Worth trying for the experience.

I love Pipeline Bakeshops Malasadas! I have been to several Malasada places in Hawaii but | love…read morethere's the best for the following reasons: 1. the size of the malasadas: some restaurants tend to make their Malasadas smaller and when places do this it ruins the overall texture and quality of it. The bigger the malasadas size the more airy and fluffy and more bread layers that will be inside. 2. their malasadas always taste fresh and the same quality each time. 3. their malasadas don't feel oily or heavy at all Overall I would highly recommend this place for their Malasadas! I'm so happy to have found them. I can back multiple times on my trip. They also have other desserts too that I have yet to try. They have ice cream, cakes, and other desserts Also tip: if you are ordering a malasada also order a coffee or a matcha drink to go with it. The cinnamon sugar from the malasada just matches so perfectly with a drink this restaurant is also a nice place for walking! There's lot of stores and restaurants to walk around! I'm trying to remember but I think there was a book off that was not too far from here! If you either drive or maybe walk. Service: staff was super helpful and friendly while I was there. I was having an issue with my online order because my phone was being glitchy and they were so nice in helping :) Also wanted to note their branding is so cute!! They even sell merch items too

Everyone knows to go to Leonard's for freshly made malasadas, and the constant crowds there attest…read moreto their quality and variety (review: https://yelp.to/jaduiZfQRq). However, there are many alternative malasada purveyors throughout Honolulu, so I depended on local vloggers to find the best ones. This one popped up often on YouTube, and as luck would have it, we were dining at The Pig & The Lady on the next block. How calorifically convenient. We took the opportunity to stop by for a pre-dinner snack since they closed at 6PM. It's a cute shop with multiple sweets including quite a selection of housemade ice cream and delectable mouthfuls called Cake Bombs (Photo 10). We decided we would be good and ordered one unfilled Malasada each. Dusted with various sugar flavors, they were just $2.65 a piece. I went for the Coffee, while Jamie chose the daily special, Cinnamon (Photo 6). They were soft and tasty, quite comparable to Leonard's albeit a tad smaller. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing since we had dinner ahead of us. However, we let temptation get the best of us and shared a $5.50 slice of the Ube Haupia Mac Nut Bar, a yummy combination of sweet potato and ube topped with haupia (coconut milk pudding) on a macadamia nut crust (Photo 9). Truth be told, it stole the show from the malasadas. FOOD - 4 stars... the malasadas were good, but that ube dessert was next level AMBIANCE - 4 stars...really a takeout operation with a lot of temptations SERVICE - 4 stars...very calm and orderly TOTAL - 4 stars...yet another spot for sweet Hawaiian decadence RELATED - Exploring Hawaii? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/U7YPblfoMP

Situated right off the parking lot before entering the Ala Moana food court. We skipped it at first…read morethen decided to try it after everyone was done eating inside. On the way back to the car we saw it again and decided to try the Strawberry Bingsu. Our party shared the bowl and loved it so much we decided to also try the Mango Bingsu. It was the perfect amount of fruits and sweetness to cool us down in the muggy afternoon weather. Good service. Clean dining area. Cute decor. Wish we had more time to try other desserts but we will definitely visit again when we're back in town!

It took us a little bit to find Jeju Bing! For anyone else looking, it is located very close to one…read moreof the Ala Moana food court entrances. Keep in mind that there isn't a restroom inside the shop itself, but since you're so close to the food court, you can just use the facilities there. We visited with a group of six, and we were happy to find that there was a plenty of space to accommodate all of us comfortably. We ordered the mango bingsoo, injeolmi bingsoo, some toast, and a mango smoothie. I sadly only got a picture of the mango bingsoo. Everything was yummy. The mango bingsoo was refreshing after a long and hot day outside. Service was pretty quick and efficient!

New flavor Strawberry White Chocolate and Hojicha Chocolate gelato was delicious. All of their…read moregelato options are great because I tried all of it. LOL It's no secret that I love this place and my friends also love it too. It's our fave place to hangout and chill. Noticed that at night closer to closing time they get flooded with people - do keep that in mind when coming here. Was lucky to snag a seat at the counter but it was packed! Please be patient with the help as well because most of the time it is just them trying to handle the huge barrage of people waiting in line as well as dine-in customers. Great experience nonetheless.

Walked in happy to try a new spot. No greeting. No acknowledgment. Nothing. Just dull pasty people…read morestanding around and some dude in a suit looking like he's lost. Three staff members present and not one offered so much as an aloha or hello. For a local, "Hawai'i based business", the complete absence of aloha was jarring. I came ready to try all kinds stuff, especially matcha, but only ended up only smelling it, because the energy in that room made it clear my presence as a Black man wasn't wanted or needed. If business is going so well that customer service is optional, congratulations. But for the rest of us who show up hoping to feel welcome for overspending on your match and ice cream, especially in a place that's supposed to represent the spirit of these islands -- this wasn't it. This is clearly one of those places that feel like they're too good to serve you if you're not meeting their aesthetic. Yeah, very Beverly Hills (attempt, but likely wouldn't do well there), kinda "clicky" like vibe, snooty, haughty seeming like vibe, maybe a lil tad bit stuck up, and for the tiny little portion and "big show" , I probably would have liked it somewhat, but also would have felt guilty for paying a fortune to be treated that way lol This place likely won't be around in a year, by the vibe I'd say it's slow times (wonder why). I know I will, happy to spend even more down the road- so many to choose from, trust me this place ain't unique in my experience. In these times, be kind to yourself, and love yourself enough to go where you're treated best, people.

This was the best shave ice I had while in Hawaii! I don't know how they make the shave ice so…read morefluffy and soft but the texture is incredible. I got the "Da Works" and it was amazing. I will 100% be back! They have a good amount of parking but not really any seating.

I've been going to Waiola's the past 20 yrs and have tried other shaved ice places but...This is…read morebest shaved ice in town! The consistency and finely shaved ice makes it my the best. My go to is the rainbow shaved ice with vanilla ice cream. It can get packed at times but parking is super easy, and rarely is it hard to find a spot. Lastly, they have super cute merch. I would put this on top of the list of shaved ice spots to visit when in town in Oahu!

This is me and my husband's go to bakery/coffee shop in Kakaako near Ward Theatres. We love their…read morebaked goods and ultra love their Banana Matcha! It is worth standing in the long line most especially in the weekends... We stood in line for about 25 minutes and it's okay. The only downside is the space, it is getting packed every time. Wish they could get a bigger location like SB where people can sit and hang. This also deserve another location maybe near town.

Such a cute bakery with so many fresh baked breads and pastries to choose from. They also have a…read morehuge made-to-order coffee and tea drink selection, which makes it the perfect little treat stop. I went during their Cinnamoroll collab and everything was adorable, from the cute packaging to the limited-time pastries, drinks, and merch. I tried the blueberry cold brew and loved that it wasn't overly sweet. Everything we tried was super soft, fresh, and delicious. My personal favorites from their everyday staples are the matcha mochi an pan and the French toast bread. Definitely a spot worth visiting!

I tried their brand new item the Tofu Black Sesame Frappe. Wow! It was so delicious! I also did not…read morefeel bad drinking it after running because it had so much protein from the tofu which is what it's made out of. The tofu on the bottom made it similar to a coffee jelly drink with tofu as well as the strong hints of black sesame throughout the drink. I highly recommend trying it if you want to drink something that doesn't make you feel guilty after! Also to note I felt so full after drinking this drink LOL! That Tofu packed on a lot of protein and kept me full felt really energized after as well! Their bubble waffle is forever my favorite with a perfect crunchy outer and fluffy inner. I only go here for bubble waffles. Ambiance is so clean, bright, and cute. It definitely reminds me of a cute cafe you'd find in Korea! Definitely stop by :) it's one of my favorite cafes to visit.

Cute place! Great service but takes a wee bit of time…read more Tofu dessert (strawberry) - super yummy! Tamago (Egg salad) sandwich - sorry, I was not impressed, esp since it was quite pricey for what i make at home. Thought it would be little different. Brown sugar boba milk tea - sweet! Good to take home and add more milk to make another drink. Heard Great things about this place, so will be back to try more items.

This is my favorite shave ice place! You can't go wrong with…read moreany of the flavors, and each one comes with fresh fruit and mochi balls! Inside is always clean and the decor is cute. They have parking in the back of the building. Service is always helpful and nice. I've been coming here even when they used to be by University Ave.

We decided to come here since the restaurant ran out of mud pie. I had the craving for mud pie so…read morewe gave this place a try. I can't really explain the taste. It's not ice cream and it's not really shaved ice. Hopefully you can see in the pictures what I'm trying to describe. Oh it's Taiwanese style "snow ice". Airy and creamy shaved ice. The mud pie was like coffee ice cream with pieces of chocolate blended in. It was accompanied with watermelon, grapes and mochi. The green tea had a condensed milk drizzle accompanied with grapes, cantaloupe and mochi. Our order came out quite quickly and we were fortunate to get a table. All the tables were taken with a line forming. This is even while it's raining outside. I'm not one really looking for ambiance. It's just filled with people chatting with each other in a full house. I enjoyed it but it's not the same as having a real mud pie. Craving satisfied but not fulfilled.

I like my dessert wrapped in carbs, which is why mochi is one of my favorite things. Especially…read morearound New Years and Kansas Yamato has some of the best mochi on island. You can find this mochi around the island at different supermarkets but it's best from the source on University Ave. You can't miss out on their peanut butter stuffed mochi. It's just such a classic. I also love their strawberry stuffed mochi- so ono!

Always wanted to go to their shop but since it's far from where we live, I didn't make it out…read morethere: We finally went to Kansai Yamato because my boyfriend wanted to try their fresh mango mochi. I've always been a fan of them since they were in the old 99 Ranch so I wasn't complaining about going there lol. We parked in the open lot on the left of the store. But you could also park in the parking inside. When we entered, it's a very small store that's hard to walk around if there's people in there with you. We got the fruit parfait cups, the fresh mango mochi, and the ones on the stick (which I forgot to take a pic of). The parfait cups were good with cream cheese, strawberries, and mochi. I didn't care for the mochi with the sweet soy sauce on it although I know that's what Japan is known for. And the fresh mango mochi was good. The only thing I didn't like was the Lima bean paste inside. I'm not a fan of that. I would recommend eating fast since it's fresh and the wetness of the mango can make the mochi soft and rip. I'm glad we got to try new items. Can't wait to go back and get their peanut butter mochi and other favs. The cashier that helped us was very nice and gave us a bag even though we said we didn't need one. If you love mochi, this place is for you!

Came here twice during my trip! Island vintage usually has…read morea decent line, but moves fairly quickly. Ordering is done by tablet and is card only. Their syrups are natural and some have a stronger taste than others. I'll always top mine with condensed milk and their soft homemade mochi. Also, the ice quality is great, super soft and immediately melts in your mouth. Recommended syrups: Passionfruit Lychee mint Guava

Even the weather wasn't that hot, I had to try this place out. Ordered Hawaiian Rainbow. Order was…read moredone through self serve touch pad but if you have any questions they will help you out. Shave ice was more like modern style. It was soft and smooth unlike the OG shave ice. I like both styles but I prefer this way a bit more since it's very easy to eat and flavor soaked up deeper. Highly recommended.