And now for the two most anticipated foods since our last visit to Hawaii: Poke and Malasadas!!!!!
First, the poke.
This is Christine’s order: wasabi ahi and miso tako (octopus).
Here is my order: Hawaiian style ahi and tako.
Poke is a traditional Hawaiian dish made of cubed pieces of raw fish, yellowfin tuna for ahi poke, that is marinated in various sauces, topped with other small ingredients and served on top of a bowl of rice. Some of the most common styles are shoyu (soy sauce), limu (with a special type of seaweed), miso, wasabi, or Hawaiian (with the li hing spice). Usually the fish has been coated in sesame oil and topped with some type of onion as well. Without a doubt, the fish must be fresh.
We ordered these poke bowls at Ono Seafood, but we had actually also had poke the night before from Costco. The picture below shows the array of styles we tried. Poke was one of the Hawaiian dishes I was most excited to have during our Hawaiian trip. The fresh fish covered with local delicious ingredients sitting atop a bowl of freshly made warm brown rice is just perfect.
After Ono Seafood, we drove about 5 minutes down the street to Leonard’s Bakery – home of the best malasadas.
Malasadas are Portugese doughnuts that are fried, rolled in sugar, and filled with your choice of creme filling. The usual choices are chocolate, regular creme, and coconut. Leonard’s also does seasonal flavors, and when we went it was guava. As much as I enjoyed that guava pastry at Ama Ama on our first morning in Hawaii, I knew the coconut creme was calling my name. Christine had chocolate, my mom had both chocolate and regular creme, and my dad had coconut.
I should have taken another picture of the creme oozing out of the center, but I’m pretty sure I ate my malasada so fast that it’s a miracle I took these pictures in the first place. Malasadas are yeast doughnuts, and they are just so perfectly light and chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside. When you finish one, your fingers are covered in sugar, and you probably ate the first one so fast that you immediately want another. Last time we were here two years ago, that’s what happened to me . . . and I gave in to the desire.