Best Shaved Ice

[tripletsmama]

We are headed to Aulani next week! One day we will be driving to the North Shore. Is there anywhere en route that has great shave ice? Anywhere closer to the resort that is a great place to try? We are very excited to try this treat!

 

[njpyro]

In Haliewa, a town in the north shore, there are two places. Aoki's or Masimoto's. Equally as good, i go to whoever has a shorter line. In July, when I was there last, aoki's had up a sign that they are moving ( across the street).

 

[amym2]

Actually the shave ice AT Aulani is excellent. Make sure you get the snowcap (sweetened condensed milk topping). At Matsumoto's on the North Shore you can get beans (cooked and sweetened) under your shave ice. I haven't tried it, but I know some people love it. I can't remember if you can get ice cream under the shave ice as well, but that's my favorite way (we had it like that on Kauai) because I'm not a big fan of icy foods.

 

[Janet Hill]

IMO Shave Ice is all about the texture of the ice (should be very smooth and velvety like). The shave ice at Aulani is little refrozen chunklets that resemble a cheap snow cone.

Definitely go offsite. Good ones on North Shore.

 

[deedisneydream97]

I agree that the shave ice at the resort is very good, had it our first trip. This second trip we just had, we did try Matsumoto's on the north shore. Loved the ice cream on the bottom, but did not care for the beans at all (they were like kidney beans). We opted for the extra 30 cents for the plastic thingie to catch the drips, as we were walking nearly a mile to get back to where we had parked the car for our Giovanni's shrimp truck fix. The line at Matsumoto's was long....about 15 minutes. I can't really say if the shave ice itself was better or not. There are alot of fun shops and places to eat in that area (aside from the shrimp truck)

If you are going to be up that way, I would recommend doing both! Lunch and dessert. The garlic shrimp is amazing. Giovanni's can be hard to find...make sure to go to the correct truck, there are a few parked in this gulley area.

http://matsumotoshaveice.com/

http://giovannisshrimptruck.com/

Have fun.

 

[kmcrosby]

I agree with deedisneydream97. We were at Aulani for Thanksgiving and had shave ice at Matsumoto's as well as Giovanni's shrimp truck. The 30 cent plastic cups are a life saver. Originally didn't order it, but glad we changed our mind. It kept us from making a huge mess in the rental car, plus my DD's though they were genious. There's a huge difference in the quality of the ice at Matsumoto's and the resort. We had Matsumoto's first and the one at the resort was good, but didn't live up to Matsumoto's. The fineness of the ice holds the flavoring in and doesn't go straight to the bottom of the cup like a snow cone. The resort also had fewer flavor choices, but both had ice cream and the snowcap, and I believe the resort was about $1 less than Matsumoto's. Either way, it's not to missed.

 

[ImDMous]

Like everyone else already said, Matsumoto's is the bomb!

 

[wiigirl]

IMO Shave Ice is all about the texture of the ice (should be very smooth and velvety like). The shave ice at Aulani is little refrozen chunklets that resemble a cheap snow cone.

Definitely go offsite. Good ones on North Shore.

ditto

 

[njpyro]

I agree that the shave ice at the resort is very good, had it our first trip. This second trip we just had, we did try Matsumoto's on the north shore. Loved the ice cream on the bottom, but did not care for the beans at all (they were like kidney beans). We opted for the extra 30 cents for the plastic thingie to catch the drips, as we were walking nearly a mile to get back to where we had parked the car for our Giovanni's shrimp truck fix. The line at Matsumoto's was long....about 15 minutes. I can't really say if the shave ice itself was better or not. There are alot of fun shops and places to eat in that area (aside from the shrimp truck)

If you are going to be up that way, I would recommend doing both! Lunch and dessert. The garlic shrimp is amazing. Giovanni's can be hard to find...make sure to go to the correct truck, there are a few parked in this gulley area.

http://matsumotoshaveice.com/

http://giovannisshrimptruck.com/

Have fun.

Giovanni's is by far, my favorite meal on the planet. No exaggeration.

 

[tripletsmama]

Awesome recommendations, thanks so much!! I have written them all down. Will concierge be able to give us directions? Or I guess I could just put it in my phone.

Also, does Giovanni's offer anything other than shrimp? I have some picky eaters! Maybe we could just get them something from somewhere else.

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

Aokis or matsumotos equally good (just find the main drag in haleiwa). If you actually want shrimp, yes Giovanni's is good but we like big wave better

If you are looking for a cheap fast but amazing place to eat (with kid food too) try grass skirt grill. We go every time! Plate lunches great as well as their fresh catch burgers. But they have hot dogs and hamburgers too for kids. last 2 trips we've gone (march '13 & April '13) it was cash only so plan ahead. This is within walking distance to shaved ice places

 

[Janet Hill]

Also, does Giovanni's offer anything other than shrimp? I have some picky eaters! Maybe we could just get them something from somewhere else.

Not the place for picky eaters. They have hotdogs that are slathered with garlic. Hawaiian's love their garlic.

Very picky son would not eat here but we enjoyed it.

As a reminder Giovanni's and many of the local type places take cash only.

 

[tripletsmama]

Not the place for picky eaters. They have hotdogs that are slathered with garlic. Hawaiian's love their garlic. Very picky son would not eat here but we enjoyed it. As a reminder Giovanni's and many of the local type places take cash only.

Are there other food trucks in walking distance or would we have to find a sit down restaurant for the picky eaters?

Grass Skirt Grill has been added to my list if we can't get the kids to eat from food trucks! Hopefully DH and I can share something from Giovanni's and then have a more substantial dinner somewhere more kid friendly.

 

[njpyro]

My dad doesn't do shrimp, so he picks up subway from haleiwa and brings it to Giovanni's. In the same parking lot, they also sell local roasted corn.

 

[deedisneydream97]

Grass skirt was on our list but didn't get there. Will have to plan another trip. Giovanni's is not a good place for those with bug phobias either. There are flies everywhere....but at least not the biting kind. One family we saw took refuge in their car to eat.

That "strip" does have numerous places to eat, including some chains. It was extremely busy with alot of traffic.....but that was during the super high surf so lots of tourists AND locals.

Getting back to shave ice....across the street from Masamoto's there is a church....and you can park there (for free I think) if you are going to Masamoto's (maybe only during the week, not sure).

 

[deedisneydream97]

Oh...and the conceriage (sp) has alot of preprinted directions for a number of places (Diamond Head, the quickest way to get to Safeway & Target, the airport). Not sure about north shore places though.

 

[amym2]

If you don't have it already, I recommend the Oahu Revealed book (blue cover). It includes maps with lots of North Shore stops and reviews.

We ate at the Giovanni's farther east from Haleiwa, and around it there were a few other food trucks. DS liked Giovanni's, but DD thought it was gross. We ended up stopping at Taco Bell for her (she was almost 10 and this was her first time having Taco Bell ever and she's now hooked... great).