The sweetest comeback by Hostess is well underway. First Twinkies and cupcakes began showing up on shelves. Now, other Hostess treats like Ho Hos are appearing.
And don’t forget, as part of this sweetest comeback in the history of ever is the return of the Cinnamon Roll.
Say what?! I didn’t even know Hostess offered this bakery classic. I think Hostess could have left the cinnamon roll off the comeback list, and they would be okay.
And probably so have you, especially if you’re a long time fan of Saint-Germain Bakery.
Long time Hawaii bakery, Saint-Germain, has followed the course of the cronut, introducing their aptly named Croissant Donut. But here’s the catch. Only 100 of these are prepared daily, and you can only get them at the new Makai location on the ground level of Ala Moana. You got that? Only 100 available at the Makai Saint-Germain (next to See’s Candies). So in order to indulge in the Croissant Donut, you have to get there early (opens at 7am on the weekdays), wend your way through the messed up Ala Moana parking, and battle the influx of senior citizens.
On a Friday morning while in the Ala Moana area, I took a chance and stopped by the Makai location. I got lucky. There was still a tray of both the plain and cream croissant donuts at 9am.
I grabbed a few upon which the perusing seniors started the dialog.
“You tried those yet?”
“They supposed to be good.”
“They’re a big thing from New York.”
“How they taste?”
“My son went to New York, and I told him to bring me back one.”
Anyways, you get the idea of how it went as I stood in line waiting to make my first ever purchase of Croissant Donuts.
I’ve had these before – that’s the singular thought in my head after my first taste. Now that’s not necessarily a bad thought but just somewhat anti-climatic. True, I don’t know what an authentic cronut tastes like, but I do know the pastries of Saint-Germain, and the Croissant Donut fit their flavor profile.
Over the years, have you ever tried the regular donuts from Saint-Germain? How about their long skinny donuts that are lined with apple, custard, or chocolate? Yeah, those. Now imagine taking that long donut and encircling it. Then take two of these circles and stack them. There’s your Croissant Donut. Want a cream variant? Use cream to bond the two donuts together. Again, the Croissant Donuts are not bad since the Saint-Germain donuts are good and flakey anyways, but this variation isn’t distinctively unique either.
So as always, I encourage you to form your own opinion based on your own tastes and preferences. Head on over to Saint-Germain Bakery, and try a Croissant Donut and let me know what you think.
The ramen burger is a perfect example of a collaboration of cultures – the American beef patty meets Asian noodles. Sounds simple enough that both you or I could recreate this collabo at home. Just don’t do it.
Confess. You’ve thought about it. Cook a few packages of Sapporo Ichiban and sizzle up some May’s beef patties, and marvel at your own homemade ramen burger. Or even better, prepare real ramen noodles, form them into bun shapes, and make your own hamburger patties.
But upon your first bite, you’ll realize it’s just not that simple. While you can mimic the appearance of the noodle bun around a burger, you can’t replicate the taste of the ramen burger. It’s best to leave that to the experts.
Whatever it is, don’t try to make your own ramen burger at home without being ready to infuse it with some flavor and soul. And while going to New York to sample the real ramen burger is out of the picture, you can get a ramen burger locally from Tanaka Saimin. I hear it’s quite tasty.
Another foodie fad from the East Coast like the cronut, the ramen burger “traveled” to Hawaii much faster than the donut hybrid. So far, Tanaka’s is the first location I know of that serves this Asian American combination.
Thanks for the tip, Hammer! And we’re still missing you on Hawaii radio waves.
On a recent trip to Ala Moana, I made my rounds then headed to Aroma Caffe for a caffeine pick-me-up. With a location in the center court area, this cafe is typically empty which makes for short waits. Let’s be honest, the Starbucks end caps in Macy’s and Sears are just way too crowded and your drink takes forever. I never got into the Honolulu Coffee Company even with their convenient locations. So Aroma Caffe was perfect – good location, short waits, decent prices, and I personally liked my espresso drinks.
But on this day, the location was vacant with no trace of the colorful Italian themed kiosk. Maybe they relocated in the mall due to all the construction? I couldn’t find their relocation using Foursquare or Yelp so instead I headed to my backup coffee spot, the eBar at Nordstrom’s.
Looking online, Aroma’s site still lists Ala Moana, but Ala Moana’s web site does not show them as a vendor. On Facebook, there are pictures of a new storefront with no location given, but on Yelp, a recent review places Aroma at the Ilikai Hotel. Aw bummers, looks like I lost my coffee oasis in Ala Moana. 🙁 Thanks for the memories, Aroma Caffe.
Officially, you’re not going to find a true cronut in Hawaii but cronut-inspired treats have popped up in Hawaii. Where can you find these cronut derivatives? Here’s a growing list.
Croissada at the Pacific Beach Hotel. Described as “a delicate blend of a croissant and malasada filled with a Polynesian vanilla Bavarian cream.”
BUTTerNUT from Regal Bakery, but you can call them BUTTNUTs.
Croissada from Halekulani. Available at Sunday brunch in a mini version.
Croissant Donuts or is it Donut Croissants from Saint-Germain’s Bakery. Available with or without cream but only at the Ala Moana Makai location.
CroDough Hawaii is mobile to satiate your cronut craving in your neighborhood.
Yes, donut croissants are available at Safeway locations, going for four for $6 (with Club card membership). They are called Dou’ssants.
Leave a comment if you know of or find any other cronut-like creation.
Here are some of the foodie pics taken when vacationing in Fresno, Vancouver, Alaska, and on-board the Disney Wonder. Sorry, I didn’t add any descriptions of the pics. I’ll let the food speak for themselves. Do I need to say that I didn’t go hungry with this vacation diet?
The best food while at sea was at Palo (not surprising). Go for the dishes your server says isn’t available elsewhere on ship. You also need to try Palo both for dinner and for brunch. These are two different experiences with very different menus and styles.
Zefferelli’s in Vancouver was a completely lucky find. Late in the day while on Robson Street, our group couldn’t decide what to eat. Adults wanted Thai or Asian while the kids wanted spaghetti. The kids won out so we headed to the closest Italian place which happened to be the second-floor Zefferelli’s. Wow. Here’s my abbreviated Yelp review I drafted on my iPhone. In general though, Vancouver is a great place to sample different cuisines. There’s so much to pick from, all within walking distance. Biggest challenge for a large group is the small size of many restaurants.
I was not disappointed with the sit down meals we had on the Wonder. The menu featured a large variety, but some dishes really sang. The soups were surprisingly good and always save space for dessert. Our server would always exclaim “calorie time!” when he came to take our dessert orders. I’m not sure why, but asparagus had no effect on me during the cruise, and trust me, I tried by ordering several dishes with asparagus.
In Juneau, seek out Tracy’s King Crab Shack and soak it all in. Located right on the docks, this literal shack serves the biggest, freshest crab product you’ll probably ever find (I think I’ll post pics in a separate post).
Now, I’m getting hungry…
Of course while on a Disney Cruise Line tour, you expect to see Disney garbed passengers. After a short while, you see the same shirts and designs again and again and again. How do you show off your Disney fandom but also be just a little bit different? Wear Disney themed shirts from Crazy Shirts.
The shirts themselves are high quality as all Crazy Shirts are, but the designs are more distinctive than stuff you see everywhere else. I rocked my Perry shirts, both in black and white during the cruise and people noticed. I had one crew member ask about the shirt and tell me about her (platonic) platypus love. Okay then.
But really, seeing the artistic Disney designs by Crazy Shirts is refreshing and breaks the monotony you’ll see on the ship.
This tip probably applies beyond the Disney Cruise Lines, but it’s worth saying. When eating in a buffet setup like at the Beach Blanket Buffet onboard the Disney Wonder, don’t take or eat the food that’s on the front edge of the serving trays.
I personally witnessed one too many kids poking, prodding, taking, and putting back food that’s in front. Yes, that food frontline could be abused (though of no fault to the cruise line), so grab the food in back. And parents, please remind your kids that if you touch it, you take it (and don’t put it back). In this case, I think wasting food is a better alternative than the potential spread of germs on ship.
Now, if you happen to be dining at Palo where no kids are allowed, then you don’t have to worry as much. But I did see a diner drop a dessert on the ground and wondered what she’d do with it. Luckily I already had my desserts. 😉
Ramen fried to a shape of hamburger buns along with a juicy burger. Add in secret sauce, and that is the ramen burger.
By now, you’ve surely heard of the craze for cronuts. But being New York based, getting an authentic cronut is simply too hard in the islands. I had a remote chance of sampling Canada’s frissant during vacation but too much to do in too little time. So here in the islands, there were two cronut contenders, the cream-filled croissada from the Pacific Beach Hotel and the suggestively named BUTTerNUT from Regal Bakery.
I planned to make a side trip for some Buttnuts, but lo and behold, a pack of croissadas came my way! No, not those croissadas from Pacific Beach Hotel but instead from the Sunday brunch at the Halekulani. Yes, this posh hotel serves their own version of the croissant-malasada hybrid. And they are tasty, like a malasada on the outside but on the inside, layered and flakey like a croissant. The Halekulani croissadas are tiny sized to complement, not outshine the brunch menu. I’m not sure if these are available at other Halekulani dining locations or at other times, but if you happen to brunch there, you must bite into a croissada for me.
Need comfort food while waiting for tropical storm Flossie to arrive? It’s not too late to partake of the buttnut, Hawaii’s answer to the popular cronut. Well, okay, the real name from Regal Bakery is BUTTerNUT, so it seems like “buttnut” is the intended moniker.
Available in bavarian cream, green tea, and POG, the buttnut isn’t in the same class as THE cronut and probably not on par with the frissant. Personally, I’d rather try out the croissada before demanding a buttnut. But then again, the buttnut is available here and now in the 808 state.
