Malasada appears as a signature dish in 1 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Malasada · Honolulu
Portuguese-style yeasted dough fried golden and rolled in sugar. Dense, eggy, slightly crisped at the edges. Hawaii's canonical doughnut, eaten warm from the fryer at counters that have lined up since 1952.
Madeiran Portuguese plantation workers brought the malasada to Hawaii in the 1880s. They were originally a Shrove Tuesday tradition to use up sugar and lard before Lent. Leonard's Bakery in Kapahulu, opened 1952 by Frank Leonard Rego Sr., made them year-round and is now the canonical Hawaii malasada. The Leonard's Malasadamobile lunch trucks now park across Hawaii Kai and the East Side. Modern fillings include haupia coconut cream, lilikoi passionfruit, dobash chocolate and macadamia custard.
Where to eat in Honolulu:
- Leonard's Bakery
- Leonard's Malasadamobile