hawai'i: infamous coco puffs at liliha bakery

opened since 1950, liliha bakery has become an integral part of the oahu food scene. their infamous coco puffs even made a cameo on the cbs t.v. show, hawaii five-0, which fueled a resurgence of coco puff lovin' and skyrocketed these pastries into super puffy stardom.

although their puffs placed liliha on the dessert map for those living outside of the aloha state, it should also be noted that they offer more than just their coco puffs which can be seen here

and here

and here too.

but similar to the man in line in front of me who bought 16 boxes of coco puffs to place in his cooler before his flight back to seattle, i knew I HAD TO TRY these darling looking coco puffs for myself.

so i got four coco puffs for us to try. two chocolate ones, the regular coco puff, and the green tea coco puff. and just as quickly as i bought the puffs, they went *puff* in the air as we expertly knocked down each one in rapid succession, not once acknowledging our bulging guts.

because the lovely element about this coco puff was the salty chantilly icing on top which contrasted beautifully with the chocolate filling inside. a definite crowd pleaser as you will see once you do a little more research for yourself. as for me, my most favorite puff of all was not the original but rather the green tea one which offered strong matcha flavors that tempered the overall sweetness of the puff.

and before we left, we bought a box of original coco puffs to give to a relative we were going to meet up that night. and as we presented this box to her, the first thing she said was "ahh, you went everywhere didn't you. you go where the locals go..." which made me sigh happily inside because after a 6 hour plane ride across the pacific ocean, the last thing i wanted to do was eat where the locals won't touch with a ten foot pole. not to mention, these puffs were dang good, too.

Liliha Bakery
515 N. Kuakini St.
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 531-1651

lilihabakeryhawaii.com

price: $
verdict: tasty, try it!