Hawaii Shave Ice – Fun Local Tradition

On the mainland they are called “snow cones,” in Puerto Rico “piragua” but here in Hawaii we know it as “shave ice.” This is one fun treat that is worth trying.

The tasty shave ice was brought to Hawaii in the 1880s by the Japanese immigrants who came to work on the sugar plantations. At that time, the treat was sold on Sundays, the only day off for plantation workers. They would take a block of ice and shave it and then drench it in sweet syrup. When the Japanese immigrants moved off the plantations and opened their own stores, shave ice went retail and became hugely popular.

Shave ice is still a local favorite. Similar to a snow cone, but instead of the ice being crushed, it is shaved making it finer almost the consistency of snow. The fun begins when you select one of over 40 exotic flavors of syrup like lychee, lilikoi and li hing mui. According to a source at Matsumoto Shave Ice, strawberry and the pretty tri-colored rainbow are their most popular flavors.

In addition to the numerous flavors you can also select toppings with your shave ice. Commonly, a scoop of vanilla ice cream is first added to the bottom of the cup. If you really want to get wild you can add the mochi balls (a Japanese rice cake) and azuki beans (a Japanese sweet bean).

For fewer than three dollars you can try a shave ice at Matsumoto Shave Ice and Aoki’s Shave Ice, both in Haleiwa, on the North Shore or Waiola Shave Ice in Honolulu also on Oahu or Jo Jo’s in Waimea on Kauai.

Posted by: Abby Lapointe on Mar 11, 2008