The chefs of Oahu have perfected all types of decadent desserts. There’s the traditional Japanese dessert of mochi, a sticky rice dough ball often filled with ice cream flavors like green tea, Kona coffee or plum wine. Be sure to look for lilikoi (passionfruit), which has a fleshy purple skin and has a soft and sweet interior, or guava, another common tropical fruit. There’s also haupia, a coconut milk concoction with a gelatin consistency. And if you’re lucky to find kulolo, you’ll need one for the table! Kulolo is a traditional Hawaiian pudding made from taro, coconut milk and brown sugar, traditionally cooked/steamed for hours in the imu or underground oven. The following are our favorite small dessert shops in Honolulu and Waikiki.
But wait, there’s more. We’re here to help demystify some of the unusual words you might see on menus like furikake, laulau and lilikoi — and explain which meat is being served and why. And possibly most importantly of all, provide the fun facts on the origins of local dishes.
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Feature Image: Pipeline Bakeshop & Creamery
609 Kailua Rd., Kailua
808.341.3912
This is such a delicious invention – bananas turned into dairy-free frozen yogurt! Banan uses only locally grown bananas with no added sugars and the result is simply divine. This place is so popular there are now multiple locations, each with slightly different hours, so check the website for the most up-to-date times.
1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu
808.944.4088
This landmark bakery is where locals and visitors go when only oven-fresh will do. Other places sell baked items that are delivered in trucks and sit in glass cases all day. Not Liliha Bakery. Since Day one, their commitment has been to keep customers happy with fresh cakes and pastries straight from the ovens.
Maiko, 2310 Kuhio Ave., Honolulu
808.369.8031
Imagine a dessert that makes you smarter, younger, thinner, healthier and more interesting (no, wait, that’s the dessert wine). Matcha Cafe has many locations on O‘ahu, so find the closest one and enjoy.
3632 Waialae Ave., Honolulu
808.738.8200
At Pipeline, everything is made from scratch, even the ice cream. Their malasadas are always made to order and served hot. They even pasteurize their own ice cream base in house, so they never serve any pre-made ice cream mixes. With some of the best desserts on the island, you’ll want to try more than one.
1234 Kona St., Honolulu and 4210 Waialae Ave, Honolulu
808.200.3978
Since 2018, Purvé has been serving fresh-to-order donuts with a sense of humor. “The Sunburnt Haole” is a lemon glaze donut topped with li hing mui, while “You’re Killing Me, Smalls” is a s’mores donut with chocolate, marshmallow and graham crackers.
Sugarlina is a little off the beaten path, but if you do find yourself in Aiea, be sure to stop by for the cupcakes and macarons.
1284 Kalani St., Honolulu
808.439.3224
UBAE is a family-owned shop snagged the award for Honolulu’s Best Ube Dessert in both 2019 and 2020 — their signature cheesecake features this Filipino favorite, the purple yam. Not in the mood for cheesecake? There’s also ube flan, ube crinkle cookies, ube cake, ube soft serve and an ube roll.
1145 Maunakea St., Honolulu
808.536.4929
Some say the best homemade ice cream on the island can be found at this Chinatown shop. Come see for yourself and let us know!
1113 Smith St, Honolulu
808.888.0608
James Beard Award-winning chef Robynne Maii and her restaurateur husband Chuck Bussler first found fame in Honolulu’s Chinatown with their bistro Fete before forming a culinary throuple (so to speak) with pastry chef Catherine Yang of New York’s Gigi Blue. The result is this bakery-by-day, wine-bar-by-night concept, also in Chinatown, serving crusty breads, sweet and savory pastries, ice creams and sorbets, cookies, and gourmandise (indulgent snacks for any time of day.) Locally sourced proteins include house-made corned brisket, kalua pig and ahi confit.
