Visit Maui: Pau Bakery

I always love going to bakeries, so when my Maui foodie friend, Julie, mentioned Pau Bakery, I made sure to stop by during my recent Maui trip. 

In addition to typical bakery offerings, like cinnamon rolls, cookies, and muffins, they offer locally-inspired treats, as well as a nice variety of empanadas and alfajores.  

Ham & Cheese Empanada

The empanadas are nicely sized and are quite filling.  I enjoyed the golden, crisp crust.  

Chocolate Chip Cookie

The cookie was good.  I've had better at places, but it was still a decent cookie.

Smoked Salmon Toast

My friend enjoyed the Smoked Salmon Toast (minus the sprouts).

Whether you're craving sweet or savory, check out Pau Bakery!

Pau Bakery
3636 Lower Honoapiilani Rd

Lahaina, HI 96761

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Visit Maui: Mala Ocean Tavern

While on Maui, I had dinner at Mala Ocean Tavern.  It was one of the numerous businesses that experienced damage from the Lahaina fires, but it has since re-opened and the business is thriving.  

The menu features much less Mediterranean-inspired dishes than before, as I experienced on my last visit during lunch, and focuses more on seafood, as the name would imply. 

Hood Canal Oyster Shooter

Crispy Brussels Sprouts

The Crispy Brussels Sprouts appetizer was a huge portion.  It was delicious, with a nice burnt honey shoyu glaze.

Seared Scallops

The scallops were fantastic, and I loved the accompanying Parmesan risotto. 

Pan Fried Mahi Mahi

The Pan Fried Mahi Mahi was accompanied by a black bean garlic ginger butter sauce.  It wasn't like the Chinese-style black bean sauce that I had expected, but it was still so flavorful, and the mahi was cooked perfectly.

It was super busy, and service was on the slower side, but the manager would check up on us whenever he noticed us waiting for our server.

Reservations highly recommended!

Mala Ocean Tavern
1307 Front St
Lahaina, HI 96761

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Visit Maui: Mala Tavern

On a recent visit to Maui, we decided to go to Mala Tavern for lunch.  We scored immediate reservations on OpenTable, as well as parking in a nearby lot, so it didn't take much effort for us to get a great oceanside meal.  

Mala Cristo

I love breakfast foods for all meals, so I ordered the Mala Cristo.  The Mala Cristo is essentially a Monte Cristo - ham and cheese sandwiched between Hawaiian sweet bread, dipped in an egg batter and fried, and dusted with powdered sugar.  I loved the sweet and savory flavors!

Lamb Pita

Calabrese Flatbread

Margherita Flatbread

Everyone enjoyed the food (the Lamb Pita had the most rave reviews), the service was friendly, and it was a nice, impromptu lunch spot!

Mala Tavern
1307 Front St

Lahaina, HI 96761

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Visit Maui: Maui Ku`ia Estate Chocolate

An impromptu stop at Maui Ku`ia Estate Chocolate resulted in one of the best desserts I've had in a very long time.  

Our group had some time to kill before an event, so we decided to visit the chocolate shop, and possibly taste some chocolates and buy some omiyage.

As luck would have it, Wednesday is Happy Hour ALL DAY, which means 50% off certain items.

One of those items is the brownie of the day! And even better - you can add ice cream!

Guava Brownie with Salted Caramel Ice Cream

I ordered Guava Brownies with Salted Caramel Ice Cream for everyone.  The brownies were so amazing!  They were warmed, soft, and luscious, and with just a hint of guava flavor.  The Salted Caramel Ice Cream gave it that extra dose of indulgence.

Also on Happy Hour special is the Tasting Chocolates.  Cat hosted all of us with a tasting, which included nine chocolates that you try at your pace.

We were all way too stuffed from lunch and the brownie, so we took most of the samples home with us to try later (one of us couldn't leave without tasting a chocolate while there.

There is a nice upstairs dining area where you can savor your chocolates (or brownies), and don't forget to pick up some omiyage on the way out!

Maui Ku`ia Estate Chocolate
78 Ulupono St Suite 1 Suite 1
Lahaina, HI 96761
(844) 844-5842

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Maui Day Trip Stop 8 - Leoda's

Although Nadia & I have both been to Leoda's before, it's hard to resist their pies, so we stopped in for a quick bite.

Hand Cut Fries

Turkey Pot Pie

Banana Cream Pie

The fries were addicting!

The Turkey Pot Pie consisted of in house roasted turkey, turkey gravy, carrot, onions, celery, and potato.  It was yummy!

I loved the pie too.  Banana Cream Pie is my favorite kind of pie, and Leoda's banana cream is absolutely delish.

Whether you're in the mood for something sweet or savory, stop at Leoda's!

Leoda's Kitchen & Pie Shop
820 Olawalu Village Road

Lahaina, HI 96761
(808) 662-3600

Mahalo to Island Air.

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Maui Day Trip Stop 7 - Breakwall Shave Ice

A visit to a neighbor island just wouldn't seem complete without stopping for shave ice, so Breakwall Shave Ice was on our itinerary.

But we didn't stop for just any shave ice - we made sure we were there for "adult" shave ice happy hour!

Pina Colada

Mai Tai

Since I love all things with rum, I went for the Mai Tai.  It was good, and I could really taste the rum, but my favorite part was the macadamia nut ice cream on the bottom (I really love ice cream)!

You have to eat the shave ice at the counter, and there was plenty of counter space, but it was quite a mess to eat!  The employees said they may have put too much rum, which made the shave ice easily collapse, so we were given cups to scoop the shave ice into since we were making a huge mess!

If you want a boozy treat, be sure to stop at Breakwall Shave Ice!


Breakwall Shave Ice
658 Front St #104

Lahaina, HI 96761

Mahalo to Island Air. 

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Visit Maui: Olowalu General Store

While heading back to the airport from our hotel in Lahaina, we decided to make a stop at Olowalu General Store to pick up some SPAM Musubis for lunch.

They offer a variety of musubis - regular, teriyaki, and even some with fried rice.

Teriyaki SPAM Musubi

SPAM Musubi

Yummy!

The musubis were still nice and hot by the time we got to the airport to eat them.

Olowalu General Store also offers shave ice, groceries, and lots of made in Hawaii items.

I couldn't resist picking up a few made in Maui chocolate bars.

Olowalu General Store is a great stop to pick up a quick bite, or for gifts to take home for friends and family!

Olowalu General Store
820 Olowalu Village Rd

Lahaina, HI 96761
(808) 667-2883

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