The Road to Hana is the crown jewel of scenic drives in Hawaii.
It’s a 64.4 mile long highway running between Kahului and Hana in Maui, but this isn’t just any highway. The Road to Hana has 620 curves and 59 bridges that take you through lush jungle, past serene waterfalls, and along jagged coastline. Pull over to explore lava tubes, stroll along a beach, swim in a fresh water stream, and don’t miss all the fresh fruit stands with everything from pineapple to mango.
Or if you’re like me, pull over to the little ditches on the side of the road to let the locales in Tundras whiz past you after 7 minutes of navigating hairpin turns at 5mph. I’ve notoriously come in last at every Go-Karting track I’ve ever attempted, if that gives you any indicator of how I tackled the Road to Hana….
Luckily, there’s a sweet sweet reward for avoiding a collision off of mile market 16: Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread.
Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread is a food stand on the Ke’anae Peninsula that serves up sandwiches, drinks, snacks, and their famous banana bread. Sandy Hueu started baking up her banana bread in 1893, and the family came together to open up Aunty Sandy’s Bread Bread in 2003 because it was just so darn good. The stall is far from a hidden gem, especially after Gordan Ramsay sang it’s praises on an episode of Uncharted (watch HERE!) But it certainly lives up to the hype.
The bread has a soft, cake-like texture that toes the line of gooey thanks to the ample amount of banana. I appreciate that it’s not too sweet, which gives the subtle banana flavor room to shine. There are no bells and whistles with various chocolate, nut, cream cheese add-ins, proving that simple is often best.
But what really makes Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread special is the fact that each loaf is served fresh and warm.
I can hear you thinking, “But Katie… most baked goods taste good if they are fresh…“
Which is the point! The whole business is based on serving the banana bread warm. Would it be good a few hours later? It was just so darn delicious that we couldn’t save some for later, and the whole loaf was gone in 10 minutes.
(There’s a spot in NYC called Pop-Up Bagels that serves fresh, warm bagels. There’s debate over if they are good cold. But like Aunty Sandy’s, the point is that they are warm. Read my review HERE.)
The Road to Hana isn’t for the faint of heart.
But Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread is the perfect stop for resting and recovering along the way.
Plus, each loaf is just under $10! A value compared to other banana bread slices you’ll see along the way.
