Waiola Shave Ice

There’s nothing more refreshing to quench your thirst on a hot Hawaiian day than a shave ice (not snow cones or shaved ice as the say on the mainland). And, if you only have one chance to get a local shave ice, you gotta go with Wailoa. Why is Waiola better than the numerous other shave ice shops out there? Well, first, there’s over 35 flavors of syrup to choose from. They make the syrup in house, so no one else can get their crazy flavors like pina colada, passion fruit, li hing honey, passion orange guava, coffee, and sour apple. There’s something for everybody here. Second, the toppings. Wailoa offers a number of excellent toppings or add-ons, their top sellers including condensed milk, mochi balls, and ice cream. But the real reason why Wailoas is number one is simply, the ice. Oh, how I wish I could get my hands on their ice shaving machine! The ice is super fine, soft, and melt in your mouth delicious – no ice chunks sold here. Here’s a couple of Wailoa’s specialty bowls, which start at $2.50 and cost 50 cents for each add on.

Azuki Bowl: Milk syrup with azuki beans (sweet red beans) and mochi balls


Rainbow Ice cream bowl: Rainbow shave ice with ice cream inside and condensed milk topping

There’s not really any recipe that I can share here, but Waiola does sell some of their more popular flavors of syrup by the bottle so you can make shave ice at home if you so desire. But, honestly, it’s all about the ice, and no shave ice machine that you buy at Target is going to come close to the quality at Waiola. Cause at Waiola, the ice is finer, the choices are wider, and the flavors are bolder than anywhere else, I promise.

Waiola Shave Ice

2135 Waiola Ave
Honolulu, HI 96805

(808) 949-2269