This week, Kaua‘i Times turns its attention to the Westside’s premier bakery: Aloha Sweet Delites, located in Kaumakani. Originally founded as a grocery store in 1966, Aloha Sweet Delites has evolved into a sweet tooth’s dream — offering a multitude of
This week, Kaua‘i Times turns its attention to the Westside’s premier bakery: Aloha Sweet Delites, located in Kaumakani.
Originally founded as a grocery store in 1966, Aloha Sweet Delites has evolved into a sweet tooth’s dream — offering a multitude of traditional local pastries.
“The store was established in 1966,” said Clyde Nada, general manager of Aloha Sweet Delites. “My father, Jack Nada, started the business. It started as a food-service grocery market.”
Nada said his father opened the bakery in 1969. Some of the items offered back then are still offered today. “
We started off with hot lunches, manapuas and assorted pastries,” Nada said.
Exactly 42 years later, in the summer of 2011, the old Kaumakani store bakery rebranded into Aloha Sweet Delites. Although the name of the store has changed, its pastries are still top-notch and are some of the most delicious grinds you’ll find anywhere on the island.
“Our most popular items here are our ensaymadas, pandesals and baked manjus,” Nada said.
“It’s all homemade,” said Lota Nada, office manager of Aloha Sweet Delites.
If you’re unfamiliar with ensaymadas, pandesals and manjus, then you’re in for a treat. The ensaymada, $1.49 a piece, is a soft, baked pastry topped with a combination of butter and sugar. I’ve been eating this bugga since I was a child — for as long as I could remember — and it’s definitely still one of my favorite foods to snack on.
Next is the pandesal, $4.79 a bag — Aloha Sweet Delites most popular pastry. The pandesal was introduced to the Philippines by the Spanish in the 16th century. With the introduction of Filipino laborers to the islands during Hawai‘i’s sugar plantation era, the pandesal recipe hitched a ride from the Philippines to Hawai‘i and became a mainstay in bake shops statewide. The pandesal is a sweet and hearty dinner roll, which consists of flour, eggs, sugar, yeast and salt.
Another popular pastry sold at Aloha Sweet Delites is the manju. The manju is a traditional Japanese and Okinawan cake filled with azuki beans. Aloha Sweet Delites has two variations: crispy and baked, and it also comes in a variety of flavors. The manjus range from $.99 to $1.69 each.
The three onolicious pastries I just mentioned have been a part of Aloha Sweet Delites as long as I can remember, but with the changing times Clyde and Lota Nada are hoping some of their newer pastries will catch on with the crowd.
“The new items we’re trying to introduce are our fruit Danish — blueberry, strawberry and apple — and our French bread,” Clyde said. “Port Allen Bar and Grill has been using our French bread, so we’re excited about that. We also bake our cakes and pies daily.”
Clyde added that Aloha Sweet Delites has more than just pastries.
“We’re trying make more deli items,” Clyde said. “We’re making more sandwiches and bentos. In the morning we have our mini-bentos: lau lau, kalua pork, roast pork and adobo.”
Clyde said the mini bentos are priced at $4.99 and the regular bentos are priced at $7.50.
“In the regular bento we have fried chicken, hot dog, goteborg sausage, teri pork and rice,” Clyde said.
Clyde said he appreciates the community’s ongoing support.
“We’re thankful we can do business with locals and visitors,” Clyde said. “We value our community very much.”
Longevity is a testament to the success of this longtime bakery in Kaumakani, and I have a feeling that it will continue serving the island of Kaua‘i with delicious pastries and assorted foods for a long, long time.
Aloha Sweet Delites, located on 1-2550 Kaumuali‘i Highway in Kaumakani, is open Monday to Friday from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Saturday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wi-Fi is available. For more information call 335-3178 and visit www.alohasweetdelites.com.
