Eat Me & Drink Me: Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice

By Kristin Hashimoto

Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice, photo by Kristin Hashimoto

Whether you call it shave ice, or ice shave, this cold treat with a multitude of flavor combinations, toppings and add-ons, has been a Hawaii staple since…well, what seems like forever. Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice satisfies sweet and cool cravings with homemade syrups, powdery ice with just enough crunch, and add-ons that will make you smile.

On any given day, but especially the tradewind-less, burning hot Maui days, one can spy a line from the local shave ice spot in Kahului. This little cubbyhole is replete with homemade tropical syrups, standard flavors, and customization options that leave a customer a little dizzy with the choices available.

Want adzuki beans? How about some mochi balls? Maybe you’d like to be snow-capped, or make your icy cold cone creamy with ice cream. Which flavors will you combine? With star fruit, watermelon, lychee, li-hing mui, kiwi, mango, passion-orange-guava, lilikoi, pineapple, coconut, blue vanilla, rootbeer, tiger’s blood, green apple and more, everyone will find some amazing combinations to go along with their oh-so-worth it brain freeze. Sugar-free flavors are also available.

With such large orbs of feathery-flaky ice, one might wonder if the center of the shave-ice will be a white powder disappointment. Well, these shave-ice experts take the time to poke little holes in the ice to ensure sweet flavor saturation to the very core.

Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice in Kahului, photo by Kristin Hashimoto

The snow-capped option adds a sweet and creamy milk to the top of the mound of shaved ice. For a Japanese twist, sweet beans are added inside the cone. Customers can also opt for tiny mochi balls (when available), which is made with sweet mochi rice that’s cooked and pounded smooth, then formed into a little larger than fingertip-sized balls.

For ever more decadence, add a scoop of Roselani’s macadamia nut, haupia, or vanilla ice cream inside the cone of shaved ice. The cold on cold, icy and cream combo is a textural and satisfyingly sweet end to a hot Maui day. A small cone costs $4.25 and a large is $5.25. Add-ons such as: ice cream, toppings, and adzuki are .50 to $1.00 each.

Ululani’s is located at 333, Dairy Road in Kahului, and is open from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily. Their two Front Street locations in Lahaina are open from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily. For more information visit http://ululanisshaveice.com.