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Penny’s Malasadas Waikiki: a box of six at Royal Hawaiian Center’s Pāʻina Food Court
Hot sugar malasadas, fried to order, at Building B Level 2. We opened a box of six: custard pull, berry jam, and ube.
NateUpdated October 2, 2026
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Penny’s Malasadas Waikiki is the hot-malasada counter inside Royal Hawaiian Center’s Pāʻina Lānai Food Court, Building B, Level 2, stall B-212. The shop started as a stationary truck in Lāʻie in 2018, added a second truck in ʻAiea, and this Waikiki counter is the brick-and-mortar. It is named for the owner’s late mother, Penny. The script on the sign is easy to misread as Peggy’s. The indexed name is Penny’s.
A box of six is the right order if you are walking Kalakaua and do not want to guess a filling. Plain sugar is the baseline. Filled malasadas are the reason to stop. On this visit the box had a pale custard that stretched, a dark berry jam, and a thick ube cream. Fillings rotate. Coconut, Nutella, original custard, and a daily special are the usual filled lineup, plus sugar and cinnamon sugar on the outside.
The visit
What was in the box: the custard is the lead photo — it pulls in one thick ribbon. The berry jam is glossy and dark. The ube is the local tell. They fry to order, so the shell is warm when it hits the box. Eat the filled ones before the cream sets. Seating is the shared Pāʻina tables.
How to order
How to order: counter at B-212; ask the special sugar and cream that day; phone (808) 744-0422; delivery apps exist but the counter is better hot. Hours on the Royal Hawaiian Center listing are 6 AM–9 PM.
Worth it: yes for a malasada in Waikiki without leaving Royal Hawaiian Center. Leonard’s is the older name on Kapahulu. Penny’s is the one already upstairs from Kalakaua, fried to order.
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