My 6 Favorite Bakeries on O‘ahu

Photo: Martha Cheng

To update my list of favorite bakeries, I set out to explore Honolulu’s newest ones, but in the process, fell back in love with some of our old ones. I shouldn’t have been surprised—nostalgia is my favorite ingredient, and in our rapidly shifting world, it’s totally trending right now. So here are some of the O‘ahu bakeries I’ve added back into my rotation.

SEE ALSO: My 9 Favorite Bakeries in Honolulu

Photo: Courtesy of Sing Cheong Yuan Bakery

Sing Cheong Yuan Bakery

My perfect dim sum bento at Sing Cheong consists of a few pieces of its super plump shrimp dumpling, pork hash, a lup cheong manapua, a slice of layer rice cake and an egg tart. In the mid-morning, most of it is fresh out of the steamer or oven and still warm. I often have aspirations of taking it to the park or beach, but usually I end up eating it immediately in my car and getting shoyu mustard everywhere.

1027 Maunakea St., Chinatown, (808) 531-6688, singcheongyuan.com, @singcheongyuanbakery

Photo: Courtesy of Big Time Bagels

Big Time Bagels

If we want to talk about a bakery renaissance, we should also mention the bagel blowup happening across the country and in Honolulu. I’m not an expert on New York style bagels; all I know is I like Big Time Bagel’s balance of chew and loft. Plus, with bagels like ‘ulu rosemary and fixings that include aku lox, ‘inamona and hazelnut spread, and smoked marlin cream cheese, Big Time feels like a true Hawai‘i bagel.

Farmers markets, @bigtimebagelshi

Photo: Martha Cheng

Epi-Ya

When Saint-Germain’s bakeries closed in 2018, some of its employees opened Epi-Ya about a year later. Epi-Ya is proof that sometimes the best of the new(er) is keeping a tradition alive. I come here regularly for a loaf of family bread, which I can request cut to my desired thickness (extra thick for dessert toast and thinner for sandwiches), and am usually also tempted to pick up an arabiki roll or butterflake roll … or an entire custard pie. The wobbly, just-set custard pie is second only to Lee’s.

1296 S. Beretania St., @epiyabakery

Fendu Boulangerie

Fendu’s croissants are light and crisp, and to me, the perfect size—the size I remember croissants being before Tartine Bakery in San Francisco super-sized them and other bakeries followed. They’re a few bites, ideal for a snack, or small enough for me to also get a lychee streusel danish, baked with almond cream. The classic pear and frangipane tart is also one of my favorite tarts in the city.

2752 Woodlawn Dr., Mānoa, (808) 988-4310, @fendu.boulangerie

Photo: Martha Cheng

Okayama Kobo

Do we really need another Japanese bakery? Maybe not, but then I’d be missing out on Okayama Kobo’s salt and butter roll, which I eat the way I used to eat Pillsbury crescent rolls as a kid—as in, one after the other, while still warm. What sets Okayama Kobo apart from the other Japanese bakeries is that the rolls are baked throughout the day, and there’s nothing better than fresh bread. It also means that the thin cookie crust on top of its melon pan (here, called Sunrise bread) is still crunchy. I’m often disappointed in melon pan around the island—the humidity tends to soften the crust, but not at Okayama Kobo.

310 Kamake‘e St., Kaka‘ako, okayamakobo.com/honolulu, @okayamakobohawaii

Photo: Martha Cheng

Pa‘ala‘a Kai Bakery

Does anyone actually get anything at Paalaa Kai other than the snow puffies? The way they sell out of them, it doesn’t seem like it. The snow puffies are simply puff pastry sandwiches of custard, showered with powdered sugar and squiggled with chocolate—the chocolate, while just a tiny drizzle, adds a bitterness that brings it all together. Eat these while the custard is still cold and the pastry crisp.

66-945 Kaukonahua Road, Waialua, pkbsweets.com, @pkbsweets

Former HONOLULU Magazine dining editor Martha Cheng is a frequent contributor to HONOLULU and Frolic Hawai‘i. @marthacheng