Shave Ice on Oahu's North Shore
Matsumoto's in Haleiwa is a Hawaiian Vacation Tradition
Mar 19, 2009
If you visit the Hawaiian Islands , you have to visit Matsumoto Shave Ice on Oahu's North shore.
The place opened in 1951 as a simple grocery store, and there are still a few grocery items you can purchase, but slowly the Matsumoto family lost control of the grocery business after they added the snow cones in the 1960s.
And remember that it is shave ice, not shaveD with a D.
How to Order Shave Ice On Oahu's North Shore
If you remember the Soup Nazi episodes from Seinfeld, you’ll understand how important it is to get your order process right. If you don’t, you won’t get yelled at, but you certainly look like a tourist, an outside, and someone who slows down the whole process.
Signs are posted in several languages tell you how to order. DO NOT start out saying what flavor you want. That’s the sign of true novice and you’ll be frowned at, or at the least, someone in line will be rolling their eyes at you.
- First, tell how many shave ice you want, meaning how many you are paying for, how many in your party.
- Then whether it is to be a large or small. Large is really big. Start out small, seriously.
- Then, this is the important part: do you want it with ice cream or with beans? That’s what makes a shave ice so different. The beans are frozen red beans or azuki beans. They are kind of fun and sweet when they are frozen.
- All of this information is told to the first order taker in line. Then you move down the line and choose your flavor.
Shave Ice Flavors
Strawberry, Pineapple, Lemon, Coconut, Banana, Vanilla, Root Beer, Grape, Lime, Lilikoi (Passion fruit), Orange, Honeydew, Melon, Mango, Raspberry, Watermelon, Bubblegum, Cotton Candy, Pinacolada, Banana Cream, Lihing Mui, Lychee, Cherry, Green Apple, Guava, Tangerine, Green tea, Fruits Punch, Melona, Peach, Creamsicle, Strawberry Cream, Coconut Cream, Mizore
Tips for Fast Service
- Go early in the afternoon to avoid the longest lines. By early evening, the line snakes out of the store and down Kamehameha Highway.
- Spend 25-cents to get the plastic cup to hold your shave ice, particularly if you have children. Otherwise, the shave ice is going to melt all over you really fast and you’ll have a big mess.
- Visit the website in advance to get an understanding of how the process goes. It’s not that complicated really, but you’re in Hawaii, so you have to be cool in all you do.
- Going early also allows for more time to shop the T-shirts, hats, shorts and other trinkets that promote Matsumoto’s. It’s one of the best souvenir shirts in any traveler’s collection.
Another fun experience on Oahu's North Shore is the surfboard art studio of Ron Artis.
 |
 |
 |
