I swear, there really is ice under all that.

1. Sweet Home Cafe
The name makes me think it will be Southern cuisine, but actually they serve Taiwanese hot pot. This is a pot of steaming broth that they place on a burner on your table. You choose and add veggies, meat, dumplings, and many more things (kind of like a fondu). As a bonus, at the end of the meal you receive a large bowl of Taiwanese shave ice for free. Yes, free! What makes this “Taiwanese” is that the focus is on the toppings rather than the ice and syrup. And, oh my goodness, they pile it on.

Ice
I know there was technically ice under there, but who cares.

Syrups
They don’t use them.

Ice Cream
None

Price/Size Optimization
Free. That’s pretty awesome.

Utensils
Big bowl and metal spoons.

Atmosphere
Because this place is so slammed with loyal customers, everyone is asked to finish their meal in 90 minutes. This means you might have to rush through the shave ice at the end. We didn’t have this problem though.

Service
Attentive and friendly

Bonus Features
Toppings, toppings, toppings! We had chocolate pudding, tapioca pearls, fruit jellies, and some white stuff.

I don't mind being cheesy if it's for shave ice.

2. Haleiwa General Store
Our friends Steve and Mary have been telling us this is their favorite shave ice on the island ever since we moved here. But because we normally hit up Aoki’s in this town, we hadn’t tried it until yesterday. Upon learning that it was our first time there, the one guy manning the shaving machine informed us of the reasons for their quality product. They change the blade frequently to ensure fine shavings, use Dave’s Ice Cream (a local company), and their syrups are made by a local couple.

Ice
Smooth

Syrups
Cane sugar based. I thought my 3 flavors tasted basically the same, sugary. Not the best.

Ice Cream
Dave’s vanilla ice cream. They give you a good amount in the cup.

Pile of shave ice ready to be served.

Price/Size Optimization
A little pricey. However they do give free snow caps (condensed milk topping) and li hing mui.

Utensils
They serve the shave ice straight in the catch cup, so you don’t pay extra for the holder. You also get a spoon-straw, which I hate, but also give you a regular spoon to make up for this deficiency.

Atmosphere
Good ‘ole North Shore. They have a couple tables outside with umbrellas that also makes it nice. This place isn’t crowded like Aoki’s and Matsumotu, so there is no waiting in line.

Service
Friendly and relaxed.

Bonus Features
Free snow caps and li hing. They also don’t mind giving you extra spoons.

A new favorite.

3. Jojo’s Shave Ice
This is the only shave ice place we went to on Kauai, but it was awesome. I’m not sure if it was just that I loved my combination, but it was really good. I’m not ranking these, but if I were it would be right at the top of all the places we’ve tried so far. I had the Haupia combo (Combo #4 on their menu): Mac Nut ice cream topped with coconut flakes, coconut shave ice, and coconut cream.

Ice
Smooth

Syrups
Full-bodied (can I steal that word?)

Ice Cream
In addition to vanilla, you also had macadamia nut as an option. A very tasty option as it turned out.

Price/Size Optimization
A little more expensive, as is everything on Kauai.

Utensils
Plastic spoons, and the loathed spoon-straw.

Atmosphere
This place is definitely hole-in-the-wall, but with the bright yellow sign it is also cheery. It is located in Waimea so is perfectly positioned to be a desirable post-Waimea-Canyon-hiking-trip stop.

Service
Friendly.

Bonus Features
You can get your own spoons and napkins so you aren’t jipped. It is also right next to the public library which has a free bathroom, a must for the potty training days.

I was first introduced to this Japanese tradition by my friends Karen and Adam Lauer. Karen’s family on the Big Island makes mochi in the traditional way (pounding the rice down to a paste, and then filling and shaping into a ball). It’s popular for Christmas and New Years, and Boys Day and Girls Day too. Clayton and I have had mochi before, both plain and filled with ice cream. We’ve had it as a topping, on frozen yogurt and snow ice. But we’ve never made it ourselves.

I decided that this year was the year. This year I was going to have mochi for New Years. I was originally going to buy some from Nisshodo Candy Store, but because the stuff is so popular in Hawaii right now I only got a busy signal when I called to reserve some. So I switched the plan and decided to try to make it myself. I opted for a version of mochi called “chi chi dango” because it is a non-filled dumpling version and, let’s be honest, has an awesome name. Of course, I’m cheating by buying the ingredients from the store instead of making the mochi fresh. But it’s a good start. I found a recipe online and decided to go for it.

The special ingredients you need are mochiko (glutinous rice flour) and katakuriko (potato starch). These are easy to find in our grocery stores, but may not be readily available on the mainland. I made the mochi on New Years Eve, let it cool completely overnight, then cut it today. I was shocked at how easy it was to make, and it’s really tasty too! Very sticky and soft. Yum!

For our church, it’s also Free Malasada Day. 12 years ago people at the church decided that instead of riding a float in the parade, they would make and give out TONS of malasadas. The parade goes directly by the church, and this was an easy way to do something nice for the community.

If you don’t know what a malasada is, let me explain. Clayton and I mistakenly thought, when we first moved here, that they were nothing more than just donuts. They are actually Portuguese donuts.  The difference is that malasadas are yeastier, chewier, sugar-coated, and piping hot. Our favorite non-traditional variety is custard-filled. Portuguese people came to Hawaii in 1878 to work in the plantation fields. Malasadas came with them, and Hawaii is a better place for it.

Folks at the church making malasadas (Clayton and Autumn discuss the dough in the background)

Click here to view the embedded video.

The parade was really fun, and really long. One of my favorite moments was when the Kahuku high school football players chanted their haka. For some reason my camera didn’t work when I tried to video it, but fortunately it’s online here with the whole story behind it. They just won the state championship, so everyone in the crowd was really excited. Another cool moment was seeing performers from the Christmas in Polynesia show do some dancing in the streets:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Autumn enjoyed the fire trucks, horses, puppets on a float, the other children sitting near her, and the free candy when Santa came through.

It began with a nice breakfast at the hotel restaurant: coffee, papaya, asian pear, fried potatoes, a little ham, and a roll sitting in rice pudding (actually very tasty).

For lunch we took advice on a place to get local food and ended up at Roco’s. The menu was all over the place (spaghetti to Hungarian goulash), so I asked the waitress what dish was local. She recommended the Samoan Oka. Having no idea what this was, Brad and I enthusiastically ordered two. Turns out it is a way that Samoans prepare raw fish, by marinating small pieces in coconut milk, lime juice, onion, and bell pepper. It was served cold topped with some kind of seaweed (“limu fofo”, in the local language), and a side of steamed taro. This is not a pregnant friendly dish (both raw fish and tuna), but I didn’t know that when I ordered so I ate heartily and didn’t look back. Normally I’m not a huge fan of taro, as it is basically a flavorless, pasty starch root. But the dish came with a wedge of lime and it turns out that slices of steamed taro are very good with fresh lime on top!

On the way back from lunch we stopped at Mari’s Mini Mart to take a look at the snacks. There were a lot of Australian and New Zealand snacks, such as UFOs (Burger Flavored chip rounds) and Corn bars from Indonesia. Brad got a bag of UFOs and I got Roasted corn and Tutti frutti corn bars for Autumn. The UFOs tasted basically like Fun-Yuns with more spices. The corn bars… we’ll have to wait till Autumn tries it to know!

Originally the dinner plan was to head to the fancy restaurant in the hotel for their 3-course lobster dinner (for $25). As we were walking to dinner we passed the regular hotel restaurant, which was having a seafood buffet with a live band playing for the same price. I thought this would be much more fun, so we ended up there instead. I’m really glad we deviated because we got some awesome local food at the buffet. You know it’s going to be awesome when you’re slightly afraid of what they are serving, and completely unsure if it is animal or vegetable. After loading up our first plates, Brad got the idea to just ask the waiter what some of the items were. Smart! So here we go. In addition to eating lobster, head-on shrimp, and white fish, we also ate marinated octopus, oysters in coconut milk, mini-samosas, sea urchin, palusami, and fausi.

The marinated octopus was tasty. I ate a little, then poked at it a bit and eventually saw tentacles. Normally I’m not a fan of octopus because it is quite rubbery, but this was tender and not bad! I still didn’t eat a lot of it, because come on, it’s octopus.

After having the Oka (raw tuna) for lunch I was unwilling to risk having sea urchin with dinner. This is too bad, as Brad informs me it is pretty rare to find. It was served raw, in its half shell. It was orange and had a pudding quality to it. I would have tried it, but alas, the fetus.

Palusami is a local dish made by wrapping coconut cream inside baby taro leaves and steaming it in an earth oven (see photo to the left). Let me just say, Wow! Very good. The whole time I ate it I was hoping it wasn’t meat. When I found out what it was, I ate another helping.

Fausi was served for dessert. This is chunks of taro in caramelized coconut cream. It tasted like very dense bread chunks in a fresh caramel sauce that had a smoky, campfire quality to it.

I hope to eat more local food while here, and seek out the palusami and fausi for another round!

We’re sad to report that it took us a year of living on Oahu before we ever tried this addictive frozen piece of heaven. Now we’re hooked. We’ve tried many places on the island to get an idea of our options. Some of these stores have become a Mecca and others were total bombs. We have listed here our rankings in order that you might benefit from our successes and avoid the shave ice hell of our mistakes.

Our rankings (to see our updated 2012 reviews click here):

8. Ice Gardens

The only reason we went here was because it was the closest shave ice to our old house near the airport. We only made that mistake once.

Mochi ball topping

Ice
Very crunchy

Syrups
If you get what you ordered (which is questionable because of language differences), then it is only okay. Syrups didn’t soak into the ice properly so we were left with patches of plain ice.

Ice Cream
Didn’t bother

Price/Size optimization
Size fits the price

Utensils
Styrofoam bowls and plastic spoons

Atmosphere
Inside a run-down mall. Limited seating in the hallway outside the store.

Service
Nice enough people, but the language barrier was a serious problem. Very slow moving.

Bonus Features
Abundant parking. Lots of topping options (mochi balls, custard, peanuts, azuki beans, etc.)

7. Rainbow Crack Seed

The only reason we go here is for the sheer convenience. It is within walking distance from our house.

Autumn waiting in line at Rainbow Crack Seed

Ice
Crunchy

Syrups
Generic flavors

Ice Cream
Very soft vanilla

Price/Size Optimization
Not generous portions, but fits the price.

Utensils
Cup with plastic spoon and straw

Atmosphere
Strip mall near our house in Kaneohe.

Service
Nice staff and quick order fulfillment.

Bonus Features
You can get crack seed, candy, and bubble tea all in the same store!

6. Island Snow

This may be the place President Obama goes, but we would rather cross the mountains into Honolulu than go here.

Island Snow: The Presidential Touch

Ice
Smooth, small shavings

Syrups
Good but nothing special

Ice Cream
We’ve never tried the ice cream here.

Price/Size Optimization
Not a good ratio. Small portions, large price.

Utensils
Paper cup, and the spoon straw, the bane of our existence.

Atmosphere
This is a surf store with a shave ice component. Bench seating outside.

Service
Nice teenagers

Bonus Features
Bragging rights: You can say you’ve eaten at the same shave ice store as the President.

5. Matsumoto’s

It might be the most famous North Shore shave ice, but we strongly recommend Aoki’s over Matsumoto’s for ice, flavors, and atmosphere. They are next door to each other, so make the wise choice.

Me and the long line of customers

Ice
Medium-sized shavings

Syrups
Homemade flavors. The Matsumoto mix of coconut, pineapple, and lemon was colorful but the pineapple syrup tasted off.

Ice Cream
Vanilla. Clayton felt like he got a large portion of ice cream, but I thought mine was normal.

Price/Size Optimization
Good amount of ice for the price.

Utensils
Wooden stick spoon and straw

Atmosphere
There is a circus feeling about this place because it is the most famous shave ice location on the island. This means that it is a giant swarming pool of tourists both inside and out. The line can be very, very long.

Service
Quick once you’ve made it to the counter to order

Bonus Features
An absurd number of T-shirt designs, and other kitschy souvenirs.

4. Kaka’ako Kool

Autumn's free Memorial Day shave ice

Ice
Small shavings

Syrups
Good, and they give you a good amount to really seep into the ice.

Ice Cream
Haupia ice cream as an option for only $0.50 extra.

Price/Size Optimization
Smaller portions, even smaller price. The small is a great deal for $2, and a large for $3.

Utensils
Wooden stick spoon and straw.

Atmosphere
Not in a beautiful area of town, but there is excellent outdoor seating in their shared space with the café next door.

Service
By far the best service of all the shave ice stores. They offered free shave ice all Memorial Day weekend, and were quick to fulfill three shave ice requests. In addition, they were talkative and interactive with us and our daughter, a trait that won us over.

3. Waiola

Two locations make this shave ice store convenient. They also have the most powdery soft ice of all.

Clayton and Amie at Waiola's window

Ice
Powdery

Syrups
Homemade syrups. We’ve enjoyed everything we’ve had although nothing stands out.

Ice Cream
Scooped vanilla is a little harder than other places which means it doesn’t integrate into the ice quite as well. Still tasty.

Price/Size Optimization
Smaller portions, same prices.

Utensils
Served in cups and bowls. Plastic spoon and straw.

Atmosphere
Their Waiola Street location is similar to a neighborhood convenience store. Not very pretty surroundings, but bench seating available. Their Waikiki location has several covered tables and exhibits a cleaner feeling.

Service
We have experienced the staff as slightly rushed and at times unhelpful, but they get you your order pretty quickly.

Bonus Features
Lilikoi cream topping. 2 store locations.

2. Aoki’s

Part of the reason we love this shave ice location is the North Shore atmosphere. It’s also the first place we ever tried shave ice.

Ice
Smooth

Syrups
We really like their menu of flavor combinations. It makes the many flavor options easier to tackle. Two of our favorites are the Local Mix and the Hale’iwa Mix. Syrups are homemade and we’ve never experienced an off-flavor in any of them.

Ice Cream
They offer 10 ice cream flavors, and although we always stick with vanilla it’s nice to know we have options.

Price/Size Optimization
Good amount of ice for the price.

Utensils
Plastic spoon and straw

Atmosphere

Mary and I are happy customers

Located in the North Shore town of Hale’iwa, this beach town is the perfect place to stop for an icy treat. The storefront is colorful and while there is almost always a line of tourists and locals, the wait is never long. You can either sit outside their shop at a few tables or stroll down the busy main road and window shop as you eat.

Service

Staff are friendly and quick to make orders.

Bonus Features
The T-shirts have the best design of all the other shave ice places.

1. Shimazu

Shimazu hands-down ranks #1 for us in the world of shave ice. Their sheer enormity (I’m pictured with a “small” here) and selection of specialty flavors can’t be beat.

Shimazu's: Where a small is bigger than your head

Ice
Creamy

Syrups
Because they make several of their own specialty flavors, they have the most unique syrup options of any place on the island. Check out any of their specialty flavors, especially those with the word “cream” in their title, such as Melon Bar Cream, Red Velvet Cream, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream. They also have the normal mango, pineapple, cherry, etc.  Unfortunately I would give the thumbs down to Lychee, as it was slightly bitter.

Ice Cream
Creamy vanilla

Price/size optimization
Serving is LARGE for the price. Relative to the other shave ice stores on Oahu, Shimazu’s small is a large, their large is an extra-large, and their extra-large is “galactic” (as Clayton says). We almost always split a large for $3.75. Occasionally we absolutely must have our own, in which case it is $3.

Utensils
Plastic spoon and straw

Atmosphere
The mom n’ pop store is located on a hot road adjacent to the freeway, with no shade and very limited outdoor seating and no parking of their own.

Service
The biggest drawback is that they never open at 11am, as posted. In fact, I have no idea when they ACTUALLY open. We have to go after noon to make sure the door is open. Park at the nearby grocery store and walk down, and expect a long line.

Bonus Features
Haupia topping. Fresh popcorn sold as well.