Hawai’i has a plethora of shave ice spots. However, if you’re a fan of more natural and/or less sweet options, your selection becomes quite a bit narrower. Thankfully, that’s changing, too. One of these newer options is a place called Chillest Shave Ice, which is a popup concept that has interesting flavors.
Natural shave ice places are really hit or miss. Some have vibrant, bright flavors, while others are more muted. Even then, most tend to offer the same flavors, which usually makes it really easy to pick favorites. Regular readers will know that of these, my current favorite is Kula Shave Ice, which is a Hilo-based all-natural shave ice maker that has an outpost in Kahuku on O’ahu.
However, as much as I love Kula Shave Ice, its location makes it more difficult to get to, especially with how much gas costs these days. So when I learned of a new spot called Chillest Shave Ice from some friends, it immediately went on my list. However, they’re a pop-up concept and I’ve been busy, so I haven’t been able to pay them a visit until recently.
Chillest Shave Ice Location
If you want to check these guys out, they have two regular locations – Fishcake in Kaka’ako on Saturdays from 10:30 am to 4 pm and Island Boy Shop in Kaimuki from 11 am to 4 pm. I went to the Fishcake location since I was already in the area, though this is probably the more difficult one, as there isn’t any on-site parking, and street parking is extremely difficult. Luckily, there’s ample parking in and around Ward Village, you just need to walk over to the shop.
It’s worth mentioning that Chillest sometimes pops up in different locations, particularly for special events. So, it’s a good idea to check out their Instagram profile before heading out, not only to confirm their location, but also their menu, which changes periodically.
Menu
Chillest Shave Ice has a three-tier menu including classic flavors, house flavors, and tea flavors. Classic flavors can be the traditional local artificial syrups, while house ones tend to be more natural. You can pick up to three flavors and can mix and match between the different tiers, though the price you pay is based on the flavor from the most expensive tier. For example, if you pick a tea flavor, you end up paying $7.00 for your bowl of shave ice.
What We Tried
For my order, I went with two house flavors and one tea, while Mrs. Island Miler chose one of each. Those flavors for me ended up being Matcha, Lilikoi, and Kinako Latte. If you didn’t know, kinako is roasted soy bean powder. Traditionally, kinako is used to dust warabi mochi, or mixed with sugar and used to coat fried mochi. Here, it’s mixed with milk for application on the shave ice. My other flavors were a natural lilikoi along with matcha from Daily Whisk in Kaimuki.
Matcha can be more astringent, but that isn’t the case here. Chillest Shave Ice adds sweetener to its matcha to make it just a tad sweet, which makes it somewhat dessert-like, but retains the character of the matcha. The kinako latte has a lovely nutty, almost savory quality to it, which is rounded out by the dairy. Lastly, the lilikoi has a lovely sweet-tart fruity quality to it. It’s not as assertive as Kula Shave Ice’s lilikoi, but it’s a close second. Bonus: when you eat it with the matcha, it’s almost like Daily Whisk’s matcha lilikoi soda.
Mrs. Island Miler’s order consisted of Japanese Grape, Strawberry Milk, and Matcha. Though the grape wasn’t a natural flavor, I still thought it was great, as it wasn’t overly sweet, and tastes like the best Japanese grape candies. The strawberry milk, on the other hand, had a lovely, creamy natural strawberry flavor. It’s worth noting that the strawberry milk is their signature flavor.
Chillest Shave Ice, Final Thoughts
I’m glad I finally got to check out Chillest Shave Ice. They’re awesome! In fact, they’re now tied with Kula for my top shave ice spot on the island. Their unique and well-balanced flavors are hard to beat, as is their more convenient location. Next time, I just need plan better so I can try Shima’s Noodles next time, too.
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