The Best Little Bakeshop In America Is Right Here In Hawaii
By Megan Shute|Published June 02, 2017
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Megan Shute
Author
With more than 10 years of experience as a professional writer, Megan holds a degree in Mass Media from her home state of Minnesota. After college, she chose to trade in her winter boots for slippahs and moved to the beautiful island of Oahu, where she has been living for more than five years. She lives on the west side but is constantly taking mini-road trips across the island and visits the neighboring islands whenever she can getaway. She loves hiking, snorkeling, locally-grown coffee, and finding the best acai bowl on Oahu.
The Hawaiian Islands are famous for their unique food you won’t find anywhere else in the world: and while we absolutely adore loco mocos and Spam musubi as much as the next person, our pastries are seriously second to none. From Hawaiian sweetbread to the famous malasada, there’s little better than the baked goods you’ll find in Hawaii – especially if you head to Hawaii Island’s Punalu’u Bake Shop.
Located on Hawaii Island, halfway between Kailua-Kona and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in the small town of Na’alehu, Punalu’u is not only a welcome respite for weary travelers in need of a quick meal or snack, but it is a destination in and of itself.
Punalu’u Bake Shop serves up some of the best Ka’u coffee, Hawaiian sweetbread, anpans, several flavors of mouthwatering malasadas, and a variety of bakery treats, ice cream, sandwiches, plate lunches, and fresh salads.
Introduced to Hawaii in the 19th century by Portuguese workers in the sugarcane fields, sweetbread has become a favorite treat among locals and visitors alike. The sweet and moist sweetbread sold at this iconic bakeshop was adapted from a traditional family recipe, and was first prepared at a nearby resort restaurant in Punalu’u in the 1970s.
Don’t forget about the absolutely to-die-for malasadas. With flavors like lilikoi, mango and taro and fillings like apple and vanilla cream, we recommend you purchase at least a small box of malasadas - that’s six mouthwatering pastries - while visiting Punalu’u Bake Shop.
The bakeshop sits on a tropical estate, comprised of 4 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, and two charming gazebos from which to enjoy your treats before you get back on the road- either towards Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Punalu’u Black Sand Beach, South Point, or Kailua-Kona.
Punalu’u Bake Shop is located on Hawaii Route 11 in Naalehu and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Love malasadas but don’t have the ability to make the trek to the southern tip of Hawaii Island? Check out Leonard’s Bakery – who introduced Hawaii to the malasada in the 1950s – or any of these 11 bakeries.
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