Saturday, November 13, 2021

Malasada: 'It Brok Da Mout'

Today's Special

'Brok da mout' is a Hawaiian slang phrase meaning that whatever you ate was incredibly satisfying. 

You. The incredible baker.

You. The person with the happy chocolate chips.

You. The person waiting for a call back from The Great American Baking Show.

Please tell me. Do you know what a malasada is?

If negative, let your tummy be all ears. 

This scrumptious fried pastry, slightly more crispy and chewy than a doughnut but without a hole, will stop even Martha Stewart in her tracks and make her part ways with mere Krispy Kremes.


Sometimes called Portuguese fried dough, malasada is a fried confection made of small balls of yeast dough and coated with granulated sugar. 

If on Kapahulu Avenue you see the world billowing, cars skidding, and tightly-packed people lined up front and toward the corner street, you'd most surely have arrived at Leonard's, a Portuguese bakery that has beguiled customers with this sweet concoction. 

Like today.

Although it was only mid-morning, the place buzzed with life like a huge hallowed out tree colonized by a swarm of bees.

I felt like being hemmed in from all sides by everyone wearing the expectant expression appropriate to those marching forward to the promised land of a delectable treat.

Like them, I was imagining the excitement of choosing a filling. 

Hmm... will it be chocolate or banana cream? 

Perhaps one of the regionally popular haupia or guava flavors? I was picturing my delight in seeing a row of malasadas nestled between the folds of parchment paper and smelling the mingled perfumes of vanilla and lilikoi

I was also fancying the joy of adding an original creation like the malasada babies or Pao Doce pups.

As I partake of the sugary dessert, I just knew that I'd quickly devour it with abandon, finishing it off in a couple of hearty bites, and licking my lips.

Malasada, so darn good. Where have you been all my life? 

You brok da mout!



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