Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice

We knew that the one thing we had to try in Hawaii was shave ice. As we generally do when visiting somewhere new, the first thing we did was research TripAdvisor and Yelp to find tips on where to eat in Maui. To our surprise, the top ranking for the island wasn’t a fancy restaurant like Mama’s Fish House, but rather Ululani’s Shave Ice. Considering the number of shave ice establishments in Maui, we knew we had to check them out for ourselves.

If you are not familiar with shave ice, it is literally what it sounds like:  ice that is shaved from a block and then topped with flavored syrup. What makes it a completely decadent treat is when the ice is topped over a scoop of ice cream.

Ululani’s says it stands out by using pure cane sugar, purified filtered water, and flavors made from premium purees or extracts. They have countless flavors to choose from as well as several interesting toppings that range from homemade Azuki beans to fresh Mochi balls.

Needless to say, we were fairly overwhelmed by our choices and decided to go with a set combination of red velvet, root beer, and vanilla topped with a “snow cap”, all over a scoop of macadamia nut ice cream. A snow cap is a sweet cream mixture which makes the flavors meld together, and all in all, it was heavenly. We were fairly full from dinner so we ordered a mini size, which was perfect as it was still a substantial portion in our eyes.

From that point on, we definitely weren’t sure if any shave ice place could top Ululani’s. Not only was it excellent, but the staff was extremely helpful and friendly. The only one that was even comparable was the Wishing Well Shave Ice truck in Kauai, but we know we only scratched the surface in terms of shave ice delicacies throughout the islands of Hawaii.