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Scandinavian Shave Ice

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mlmeredith
mlmeredith
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
2
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2
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Your Trip Isn't Complete without One of These!

  • May 27, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by jochro from Lincoln, Rhode Island
Skip the ice cream, get the shave ice! But get the small!! The medium was HUGE. I'd also skip the lime, or get it with just 1 other flavor. I got three flavors, and the lime overpowered some of them.
Editor Pick

Shave Ice Delight

  • July 9, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by mlmeredith from St. Louis, Missouri
Shave Ice Delight

First things first, it’s shave ice not shaved ice. And more importantly, it’s a wonderful treat that can come in almost an infinite number of flavors and flavor combinations.

The shave ice that you find in the islands is similar to the New Orleans-style snow cones (and maybe they even use the same machine to make them, for all I know). But forget the traditional mainland snow cone that is more a collection of ice pellets than snow. This is the real deal braddah!

Three trips to the islands have given me a lot of opportunities to sample shave ice and I can’t say that I’ve had a bad one yet. Usually, you want to combine at least two flavors. And some locations will offer some special combinations that have withstood the test of time (I’m still salivating over the Banana Split combo at Jo Jo’s in Waimea on Kauai, but that’s the subject of a different journal and another review). And after you’ve sifted through all the choices and orchestrated the combination that will most please your palate for that moment in time, you’re then faced with the decision as to whether or not to have ice cream under the ice. And then, you need to decide if you want the topping of sweetened condensed milk or not. Trust me, if you’ve ever tried it you’ll understand why it’s so delicious.

So here we are in Kailua-Kona, strolling around and enjoying the weather and the shops, when I spy the Scandinavian Shave Ice establishment. Scandinavian? Isn’t shave ice supposed to be a Hawaiian kind of thing? Shave ice connoisseur that I am (not to mention a slave to curiosity) I had to try it out. Oh… my… god! What a treat!

Take a look at the accompanying photo and you’ll see me about to enjoy my medium sized banana and cinnamon. That set me back a whole $3.25! Add to that the fact that after taking the picture, we strolled across the street to watch some canoe races in the harbor and you have a near perfect way to spend some quality time. Oh... and while watching the races, we struck up a conversation with some locals and scored two restaurant recommendations for our next week on Kauai.

Scandinavian Shave Ice offers over 40 different flavors (some also available in sugar-free), and you can add ice cream or frozen yogurt to your treat. Hungry souls that want something a little more filling can also get a hot dog or smoothie, and Philistines that insist on just a soda can get that as well.

And the Scandinavian in the name? The woman behind the counter said that the owner came from Scandinavia originally. I’m glad he/she made the trip though, because this place served the best shave ice I had on the Big Island!

If you want to check out the list of flavors and get more information, click here to go to their website.

From journal Big Island Variety

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