Tasting Oahu: Satisfying Your Sweet Tooth

You don't have to look very hard to satisfy your sweet tooth on Oahu, but the array of choices may overwhelm you. Never fear, I've done some of the sampling for you and present to you my incomplete list of some of my favorite sweet treats from around the island. The shave ice, smoothies and favorite baked treats that follow may induce hunger pains and an unexplained need for a plane ticket to Honolulu. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Shave Ice is an island classic. Mounds of ice shaved to a snow-like consistency are piled high and flavored with a variety of syrups. Natives to New Orleans or Baltimore might be thinking right now, "these sure look a lot like snoballs" and they're not far off. There are a lot of similarities between these two icy concoctions. Everyone has a favorite stand, including Oahu-born, President Obama, but it's not clear to me why you would limit yourself to just one. Each stand does things slightly differently and I encourage you to discover the subtleties of Hawaiian shave ice.

Aoki's Shave Ice on the North Shore provided me with my first shave ice experience and it did not disappoint. Tropical flavors like pineapple and mango were topped with a uniquely Hawaiian condiment, li hing powder. (See on map below.)

an aside on li hing

Just down the street from Aoki, is Matsumoto Shave Ice. I sampled li hing flavored shave ice with li hing powder, but standard flavors like strawberry, watermelon or root beer are also available. I tried a few and found it to be the most sweet of all the syrups I've found on Oahu. (See on map below.)

My favorite shave ice, however, has to go to Shimazu Store whose ordering instructions are sure to intimidate. Get over it (and follow them carefully) and you'll be treated to a mountain of snow with tasty syrups. Above is cola and strawberry topped with my favorite vice, li hing powder. Also worth noting, in Hawaii toppings are not always on top. While I haven't tried it, (yet!) getting ice cream or red azuki beans in the bottom is a common occurrence. (See on map below.)

It doesn't get much more Hawaiian than pineapple and fresh pineapple can be found at almost every meal. Stopping at a roadside stand on the North Shore for a bag of sliced pineapple is an outstanding roadtrip snack, but for me a trip to Oahu is not complete without a pineapple smoothie. Fresh pineapple combined with ice and blended is sometimes the only sweet treat I need.

(See on map below.)
One place to find it is tucked inside the food court of the International Marketplace in Waikiki. Just a few steps across the street from the Royal Hawaiian and past the jewelry stands, aloha shirts and sarongs, you can get a icy fruit concoction blended up for you, to order. And if pineapple is not your thing, you can choose from a variety of other tropical fruits to help you beat the Hawaiian heat.

First off, we love and I mean LOVE the KCC Farmer's Market and highly suggest that anyone who likes to eat to pay it a visit. It's an excellent place to snack and one of our favorite discoveries there was the Relax smoothie. Local pineapple and banana is paired with coconut, lemon verbena and kissed with local milk. I wish I could start every morning with this delicious treat. (See on map below.)

Bakeries on Oahu (and in Hawaii, in general) are things of wonder. There are an abundance of them with each having a specialty for which they are known. I'd guess you could spend your entire trip sampling baked goods, but these are three that are not to be missed.

Malasadas are Portuguese donuts that can be plain or filled with creams or jellies. You can find them in a lot of places, but on Oahu the place to try one is Leonard's Bakery. I tried both a li hing powder one, as well as a haupia (or coconut) filled. I preferred the filling-less one, as you can enjoy the light and fluffy texture of the dough. (See on map below.)

Don't let the line at Ted's Bakery deter you, there's a reason this bakery is packed at lunchtime. One of the reasons is their chocolate haupia pie. The chocolate and coconut in a flaky pie crust was so good that I neglected to take a picture. And that's saying a lot. I hear that you can find these pies in some local grocery stores, as well, so keep an eye out. (See on map below.)

Sticking with the chocolate theme, the coco puffs at Liliha Bakery are legendary. Puffed pastry filled with chocolate and topped with frosting will give you a sugar rush, but it's well worth it. If you're staying in Waikiki, pick up a few of these on your way to the North Shore.
(See on map below.)

The Hula Pie at Duke's Waikiki is an over-the-top thing of beauty. One google search and you'll also see that it's also the desert of choice for vacationing mainlanders. It's easy to see why. A cookie crust is filled with macadamia nut ice cream and topped with chocolate and macadamia nuts. The hula pie one of those desserts that you want to bring a friend (or two) to share or just eat the whole thing and leave the guilt at home.
(See on map below.)

As you can see, Oahu has a diverse selection of sweets and not just umbrella drinks and these few mentioned here just barely scratch the surface. I do caution, however, if you plan on trying them all in one visit, you might want to add a few hikes of Diamond Head to the itinerary.

View Oahu Sweets in a larger map