Malasadas!

Addictive malasadas

Thanks to this delish post by Kat (and a comment by Rowena:)), I've been crazily craving malasadas - that addictive, hole-less sugary donut brought to Hawaii by the Portuguese in the 1800s.

Malasadas are crispy outside, gooey inside - so lovely when fresh.

In Hawaii, they're synonomous with old-school Leonard's Bakery.

Hawaii's malasadas - the Portuguese treat I couldn't find in Portugal

Embarrassingly, I visited Portugal so excited to eat malasadas (like going to Japan for sushi!) - but no one knew about it! A Lisbon resident explained maybe it was unique to Madeira Island. (He also said 'malasadas' meant 'badly-cooked' - so I went around Portugal asking for a badly-cooked thing to eat!)

(Images via TeamVision Virtual, jamesmargaret3rd, Hawaii Vacation Insider, Taste Odyssey and Road Food.)