Get Ready to ‘Trick or Treat’ With a Host of Tasty Sweets

The act of eating is much more than just stuffing food into our faces. Sometimes, we eat with our eyes first. Other times, it’s the scent of food that attracts us.

When I walk into a bakery, it’s always the aroma of freshly baked bread that never fails to capture my attention and incite hunger pains.

This is the experience I, and many others on the island, have experienced throughout the years walking into Saint-Ger-main Bakery.

The bakery has been a staple in the Islands since its first location opened in Shirokiya in 1977.

Its newest location on the ocean side of Ala Moana Center, which opened in June, continues to serve customers with their favorite baked goods.

“We don’t put any preservatives, so it’s all natural,” says company spokesperson Norikazu Miyata.

With Halloween festivities quickly approaching, the bakery also has a selection of seasonal favorites.

For special Halloween-themed occasions, Saint-Germain has its Halloween Decorated Strawberry Shortcake ($33). Topped with whipped cream and icing in the shape of ghosts and a pumpkin, the cake’s decor also features chocolate-covered strawberries that have been turned into “spooky” creatures with candy eyes.

The bakery also offers decorated cakes with two other flavors: chantilly and rainbow.

There also is a selection of Halloween Decorated Cookies ($1.95-$4.85). Each butter sugar cookie is cut into various shapes, such as pumpkins, bats and even a haunted house, and is elaborately decorated. Creating them is an intensive process that takes nearly a week to achieve.

Of course, with nearly 250 items to choose from daily, Saint-Germain also offers its usual selection of baked goods.

The Croissant Donut ($3.50) is the bakery’s answer to the latest foodie craze, as it’s made with a dough similar to a croissant. After it is fried, custard is placed between two layers and it is topped with powdered sugar. This pastry can only be found at the bakery’s two Ala Moana Center locations right now, and each location only makes 100 a day.

“Basically, by lunch, we’re sold out of it,” says Miyata.

For something to bring home, the Danish Bread ($5.99) is one of the bakery’s newer items. Made with the same dough Saint-Germain uses to create its other Danish, the bread is flaky and buttery like a croissant. It’s a texture achieved by braiding the dough before placing it in a pan to bake.

“It’s like a soccer ball,” Miyata says of the dough before it is baked. Placing it in a square pan and covering it allows the bread to come to its eventual shape while being baked.

Each location only makes about 10 per day, and Miyata says it is very popular among customers.

The bakery prides itself on the freshness and quality of its ingredients, so there’s really no wrong decision you can make when selecting something to bite into.

Saint-Germain Bakery

Two locations at Ala Moana Center
1450 Ala Moana Blvd. (and various locations)
955-1711
Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m.
Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m.

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