Day 1 - Hawaii Kai, O’ahu - Nanding's Bakery

Getting up for a 7 AM flight is brutal. The squinting stumble to the Uber is unwilling, as you crawl through the peri-dawn chill. Slog through the TSA as they confiscate your bottle openers and limit your cosmetics for the common good, and fling yourself into your assigned seat so you can pass out promptly. The silver lining to your sleep deprivation is that napping shortens the ride.

Our landing is smooth, and we get the rare bonus of an airport pickup, a car full of friends who immediately understand we’re starving.

We fuel up at Nanding’s Bakery first, basking in the pastry smells and savoring the purple swirls of an Ube Ensaymada. The dough is all air, and the top is dusted with sugar and a summation of sweet potato and sweeter cream cheese.

A veggie Lumpia costs a mere dollar, and it’s a mini spring-roll cave of wonders. Shreds of simply-seasoned cabbage crunch within layers of paper-thin crispy wrapper.

I’m starting to get the swing of the island as we unwrap the third and final Glazed Custard Roll. This one shimmers like a silver dollar, and each bite is a little bath of custard and glaze.

A small back-lot bakery on an island full of back-lots. Even the malasadas weren’t this good. Well, I may not have loved Oahu food the first time around, but something tells me I just need to dig a little deeper this time.