Malasadas and shave ice. 

I've searched many a place, and these simply can't be shipped or replicated. Shave ice won't make it past the security line. I've tried, and in case you are wondering, the TSA considers shave ice to be a liquid. And malasadas simply do not travel well or re-heat. So the only solution is to indulge when you can. 

Here's a 'new' shave ice place, even though it's been there for years.

Ice Garden
Othe top part of the Aiea Shopping Center. Go into the office-looking area.

99-080 Kauhale St.
Aiea, HI 96701

(808) 488-5154 
Cash only

Two very sweet-looking mama-sans run this closet of a place. Don't be fooled. These chicks are full of moxie. Go before they retire, and if you can, speak to the shorter one in Japanese. Or Chinese. Or Korean. She likes that. There is no cash register and all the orders are written down with a pencil on a scrap of paper. There are prices, but what you pay is what she calculates. Don't challenge her math skills because she's way sharper than you are. Don't argue with the "suggestions," it's not for you to decide. It sounds like it should be a horrific experience, but the place is quirky/charming and so worth it.

Flan/custard, mochi balls and azuki bean add-ons are just amazingly ono. I'm normally a shave ice purist (no solid mix-ins), but I will go back for the flan and mochi balls. Good consistency on the shave ice and the syrups a bit less sweet to balance out the add-ins. I still like Baldwin's or Waiola for just shave ice only, but this place is definitely in the shave ice rotation.

Mardi Gras in Hawaii--Chinatown and Malasadas
Mardi Gras was celebrated with a street fair of all manner of food booths. In Chinatown. Cajun food mixed in with local food (malasada hamburgers, shrimp tacos and BBQ chicken), soccer, bands and the traditional dancers, beads and general carousing.

More importantly, Tuesdays, and in particular Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) is Malasada Day. You just have to love a place where malasadas are the top story of the news cycle (see left). People (me included) were lined up for Mardi Gras malasadas and a few Catholic high schools had malasada fundraisers. As a marketing consultant, it's a brilliant campaign to eat a thoroughly indulgent food before Lent, but why not plate lunches or rice or gasp(!) shave ice? 

By default I'm giving up malasadas, shave ice, Zippy's and Grace's for Lent.

Eat Well. Be Well.

Malasadas.

The mere mention makes me swoon. When I'm in Hawaii, I'll take a box of fresh, warm, light and oh-so-fluffy Leonard's malasadas to my cranky Dad, who sneers and gruffly harrumphs, "Hmmph. I ate already." Two minutes later, he's got that happy/guilty "I swallowed a canary" sugar-caked grin on his face.

Not all malasadas are created equal. I've sampled Portuguese bakeries in Santa Clara and Rhode Island/Massachusetts and nothing comes close to fluffy awesome pastry confection of Leonard's. Even on the Big Island.

We've been wandering around the Big Island this vacation. For malasadas, the guidebooks tell you to go Tex Drive Inn in Honoka'a, about an hour from Kailua-Kona going toward Hilo via Waimea. But for an Oahu girl, this is not a malasada.  Gasp! And sorry to all the awesome Big Island folks and 912 Facebook friends of Tex. 

There are definite positives--the dough part of Tex malasadas have a nice, just-slightly-sweet flavor. The fillings--apple, Bavarian creme and guava in particular are very good. They have a Krispy-Kreme-style viewing area to watch them make these little pillows of pastry and the bathrooms are very clean. This is important on the long drive between Hilo and Kona.

But Tex malasadas are more like square jelly donuts. Tasty and sweet. With out-of-control, amazing fillings, but jelly donuts nonetheless. It was still worth the stop get a few to snack on for a long drive to or from Volcano. But I just can't think of them as malasadas.  

While we would stop at Tex next time we are driving through, my heart and taste buds belong to Leonard's.

Eat Well. Be Well.