Watanabe Bakery

20% off in the last few hours, off most everything baked that day, behind the counter. One-​day old things also packaged and discounted. Got a variety-​type sandwich on Japanese white bread, crusts cut off, and a 2-​pack of simple anpan, for under $ 5 total.
Good service. Adorbs animal breads. But if you’re reading this, you’ve heard of Watanabe Bakery and already know that.

I wish I could give 10 stars! After living in Japan for most of my adult life, I miss the bakeries really badly. Picked up an assortment of freshly baked treats this morning (curry pan, ham and cheese bread, sausage bread, etc) and was extremely pleased. Take a moment to go get some snacks everyone. Sooooo good.

This place gets 5 stars because I’m a sucker for cute things and I absolutely LOVE bread. I stumbled upon this place after randomly going to what I’m so used to calling its location, «99 Ranch Market» as I was looking for a place to snack on while I waited for an order to be done at another store. The bakery is located all the way towards the back by the seafood market area.
The first thing that caught my eyes were the cute animal shaped pastries. Immediately I got all of them which were about 5 animals: Elephant, Bear, Turtle, Dog and a Rabbit. I didn’t even care what flavors they were, I just wanted to get them. Although, the signs didn’t say what it was inside, you’d have to ask the workers personally what is in each one as they only put the description of the design. Truthfully, I bought them all for picture worthy purposes so I could post on Instagram and Unilocal.LOL!
Anyways, I did try at least 3 of them which was pretty good as they all were different flavored pastires. The choco bear was my favorite of the ones I tried. The turtle was azuki bean that was delish as well and the bunny was like an apple napple flavor which I didn’t care much for. It seems as if there were more bread than filling but I’m not a big fan of filling donuts so it was perfectly fine for me.
Service was quick, friendly and helpful. I didn’t even bother to look at the rest of the bakery selection as I was too excited for the ones that I already got. I’m not around this area too often, but when I do, I’ll be sure to stop by here again!

These are definitely one of the cutest pastries on the island, and it was only this year I’ve found out about them.
I can almost say that they’re too cute too eat, but… As it is hard for me to say, I do think they look better than they taste.
The pastries are quite big in size but have too little filling. So when eating them, I can’t help to think that there’s just too much bread, making it taste like it lacks flavor.
However, I’ve only tried the animal ones. I’ll be back to try the other pastries :)

Cutest pastries ever! I la la love the elephant, bunny, and turtle ones.
The bakery is in moanalua where 99 ranch used to be and there’s plenty of parking. It’s usually not that packed with mostly moanalua high schoolers hanging about.
They only accept cash, so make sure you bring! If you come after 4pm, they have a 2 pastries for $ 1.49 deal! So cheap, even if it isn’t warm and fresh.

Come after 4 pm for half off pastries!

This place ok, I thought there was just way to much dough in the pastries, I asked about their Rye Bread and the girl hands me a little (less than I oz.) roll, asked her where is the loaf, she told me only the Beretania Bakery makes it, so sad.

Cute and yummy pastries. Yes please!
Watanabe Bakery has a large assortment of super cute donuts, pastries, and other goodies. I dare you to come here and find nothing to eat. It’s just not possible! I have to get a box of different goodies each time I come here. You can’t leave with just one item.
My favorites are the apple bunny and the curry donuts. Oh my gosh curry donuts are where it’s at! If you have not tried one before or don’t know what I’m talking about, what are you waiting for? My husband likes the chocolate bear and the azuki bean turtle. The prices are very reasonable. If you are like me, you can probably make a meal out of donuts any day!
Stop in today and don’t forget to pick up a loaf of their super soft bread too! It’s great for sandwiches.

Dear Watanabe Bakery,
Can you please open earlier like a normal bakery? I need my donuts available by 7:30am to get to work on time. I want to share your yummy pastry treats with my co-​workers but you do not open early enough for me to stop by. I work with teachers and I know they would enjoy the cute animal donuts that you make. Oh and the long johns would be such a hit too!
I also want to share the potato salad sandwich with them. I told them it was really tasty. They looked at me like I was weird. «Potato salad sandwich– ewwww,» they said. If they only knew…
For now, I stop by after work for the occasional donut treat and loaf of bread or on the weekend to get my daughter a cute animal pastry. Too bad your hours don’t work for me to pick up a mother load for my co-​workers.
I love you, I love Japanese bakeries as a matter of fact. You are yummy in Hawaii but if your bakery was located in Japan you probably will have a 2 rating. But I know we don’t have bakeries as good as the ones in Japan so you get to be a 4 in Hawaii.
Your friend,
Angela R.
Unilocal 31 Day Challenge: #8/​31
The bakery that opens late…

The fact that this bakery is less than a driving minute away from my office is a HUGE plus. Sometimes I have to go and get something to take to customers’ offices, and this is an economical and amazing way to make them happy. I get tons of regular donuts and top off with a few of the cute animal ones. Big hit with office ladies and the construction men are just glad to have something with their coffee.
Mr. A: *nom nom nom*
Me: Aren’t the pastries cute???
Mr. A: What do you mean?
Me: They’re animals! You’re eating the BEAR!!!
Mr. A: Oh, yeah?
The hours are a bit of a bother for a bakery — I think they open at 9. If they opened a little earlier (say 7), I would have an easier time frequenting as I usually make my large purchases in the early morning. They also have fresh bread (the square Japanese kind) at a reasonable price.
If you’re in Moanalua 99, give it a try! It’s in the corner on the far right side.

This tiny bakery has some cute and tasty treats! We always get their curry donuts, the beef curry inside is really tasty! I remember trying the turtle pan at Don Quijote and pleasantly surprised how soft and delicious it was. They also have a turtle pan here and I was kind of sad it wasn’t as good as some place as random as Don Quijote but it was still good. It was just a little firmer. I’ve also tried the cinnamon donut which was just meh… just like a regular glazed donut with a little bit of cinnamon in the swirls. I also wish they had more of a selection, maybe I need to go earlier but I always only see them utilizing one of their display cases when they have two… Oh but after 4p I think they have their end of day sale! I think I need to try more things to taste the greatness that everyone else seems to taste…

ADDICTED: I’m here almost every day… well, every day that I’m off from work. Given that I cram all of my work into 3.5 days a week, you can find me at Watanabe bakery a lot-​lot. I can’t beat some of the retired ladies who are there waiting for their fresh bread every single morning. But if I could not work, I would be right there with them. :)
LAST MEAL: For my last meal on earth, I would only want one thing… a sandwich from Watanabe Bakery. For some reason, their sandwiches make me crave the very things on my DO NOT EAT (ever) list, which would be hard egg yolks, mayo, potato salad, and bread crust. I despise all of these things almost as much as raisin bread and peanut butter – yes, I have deeply embedded food issues. :(But when it comes to eating potato salad/​egg salad sandwiches on perfectly square Japanese white bread… I cannot help myself. I think they are perfect – particularly the potato salad filling – and I cannot explain why. Maybe it’s the smooth, fluffy, crunchy textures all married together. I have no clue. Maybe it’s the cucumber in the potato salad… or the dill in the non-​mayo-​ey egg salad. Doesn’t matter. Having Watanabe’s right across my favorite poke bowl (Take’s Fish Market) is just too good to be true.

These are three main reasons to stop by Watanabe Bakery:
1. Fluffy Azuki Animal Bread Buns
2. Square Japanese Bread
3. Convenience!
— The little animal bread buns are soooo cute. Our fellow Unilocalers are totally spot on when it comes to these – they are fluffy, not overly sweet, and the azuki filling is awesome! My favorite is the one shaped like a Panda but the Turtle comes in close second. The buns are less then $ 2 each. Oishii desu yo!
— I love square Japanese-​style bread! They bake it fresh every morning and they sell day old loaves at a discount that are awesome for toast. I buy a small wheat loaf for myself but the next time I stop by, I’m going to buy a fluffy, thicker cut white loaf to make HONEY TOAST!
— This location is way more convenient for those of us who live/​work in the Aiea/​Pearl City/​Halawa area. I feel that this location has pretty much the same stuff as the town one, just less because it’s a smaller store. You can eat lunch (at Mary’s Mediterranean Kitchen! Yum!) and buy fresh, fluffy bread, all in the same place!

Get the Azuki Bean Honu (Turtle) Bread.
Oishii! Way, way, WAY better than I expected of what looked like basically a whimsically-​shaped, yet otherwise plain olé’ bread bun. The bread turned out being sort of sweet on its own, while also being very delicate, fluffy and moist. FANTASTIC texture!
I’m not particularly an Azuki Bean fan, but in this case, the already slightly sweet, soft ‘n supple bread surrounding the also mildly sweet Azuki Bean paste made for a perfect marriage of the two.
Sugoi!

When I parked in the parking lot, all i smelled was the delicious bakery goodness. There was a lot of parking a little before 10am which was awesome. I always wanted bread in the shape of little animals. And my wish came true. They were about $ 1.75 each. I felt so bad for eating them but they were delicious. Will definitely come again for more

Every Saturday I come to Watanabe Bakery with my children after gymnastics. Actually this bakery is right next to their gymnastics studio and they beg with puppy dog whimpers and doe eyes for treats. When you have children no one ever tells you’re going to need to buy ear plugs. Ear plugs to stop the noise of incessant begging and crying for things that they MUST have!
But alas my children are sweet and for the most part very good kids so I usually give in and buy them twist donuts for $.89. Watanabe Bakery sells an assortment of donuts but what I love are their pastry animals. Bears, elephants and turtles shaped out of pastry and stuffed with chocolate. Completely adorable. If you’re a fan of Japanese bread, Watanabe Bakery also sells wonderful soft bread that is freshly baked every day. Worth begging for and there are no ear plugs necessary.
Unilocal 365 Challenge: #26/​365 (The Whining)

Bought some Choco-​santas for the kids and they were delicious! So cute and not too sweet. Always pass by for a doughnut. Yummy.

Melonpan turtle! Omg so cute and yummy! The first time I came here I didn’t see the turtles, but they had the apple filled bunnies and elephants which I bought for my son. What a fun afterschool treat for your kid!
The animal pastries ($ 1.85) look cute and they also taste so good. Light and fresh! They also have many other yummy breads and pastries.
This bakery makes the square Japanese bread that is sold in grocery stores across the island and i only put the two together when I saw the familiar bags on the counter today! I’ve been buying that delicious bread to make milk toast for years!
The best part is that they are reasonable so you don’t have to feel bad when you buy a dozen melonpan turtles! :)