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Ailana Shave Ice
Categories: Food Desserts Food Shaved Ice Food Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Desserts, Shaved Ice, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
Waikiki Shopping Plaza2250 Kalakaua Ave
Honolulu, HI 96815
Neighborhood: Waikiki
(808) 349-9827
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 10 am - 9 pm
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Garage, Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
54 reviews for Ailana Shave Ice
Review Highlights
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"...the flavors we tried, the strawberry milk was my favorite." In 7 reviews -
"It's topped with azuki beans, condensed milk and homemade..." In 4 reviews -
"My cousin got the Uji Kintoki." In 3 reviews
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54 reviews in English
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Review from Eila S.
San Jose, CA
5/25/2012 1 Check-in Here
We tried the shaved ice at both Matsumoto's and Ailana's. I have to say that Ailana is definitely better. Their syrup isn't as generic tasting and their portions are much larger. The guy working at the counter was definitely backed up on orders but was super apologetic. The taste was worth the wait. Not only the taste is better than Matsumoto's but you don't have to sit outside in the rain on a dirty park bench.
I definitely suggest the Kintoki Green Tea with ice cream in the middle. The mochi was the perfect touch! -
Review from Dexter C.
San Francisco, CA
5/18/2012
So everyone says you have to go to Matsumoto's, which we did, but quite honestly this is the BEST.
Matsumoto's uses the flavored syrups, but Ailana's uses fresh ingredients. Tropical Trio is the bomb! And talk about portion size, it's a monster! Their ice is delicate and powdery like a fresh snowfall.
While their shaved ice is to die for, I am docking one star because it took some time for us to get our treats after we had ordered. The 2 times we came here, they only had one worker.
But wow, is their shaved ice good! -
Review from linda c.
5/1/2012 1 Check-in Here
Matsumoto's has NOTHING on this place.
This is the best shave ice on the island. Seriously. My shave ice was monstrous - a work of art. I can't wait to go back and try more of the flavors on my next trip. I had the tropical one - sooo good!! -
Review from Mimi V.
The shave ice here is amazing! Especially the green tea kintoki shave ice!!
The kintoki shave ice consist of green tea shave ice with red bean, fresh mochi and ice cream inside. It was so deliicious that i couldn't stop thinking about it and had to come back the next day!
I also tried the tropical shave ice here and thought it was okay. I highly recommend the kintoki shave ice!
The service was very nice and friendly. -
Review from Jennifer R.
Pearl City, HI
5/23/2012
The flavors of Ailana's shave ice are home made and delicious! You can't have too much of a good thing at this dessert place. For five dollars' worth you can get a giant shave ice cone of your favorite flavors: strawberry milk, haupia, mango... and you can top it with condensed milk. Don't worry, you won't keel over and die--unless it's with pleasure! The owner's shop is hidden though. If you aren't looking you could miss it. It's hidden in the alley's of Ala Moana Center--off Kona street. You'll be head over heels for this local treat.
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Review from Will I.
Waipahu, HI
4/9/2012 1 Check-in Here
OK so did a staycation in Waiks and was walking around playing tourist thinking...Eh' I sure am hot walking around...but no need worry cause get Ailana Shave Ice to the rescue!
As others have mentioned just head down the escalator into the food court and it's on your right. It might look closed but it's probably not. This place looks like it just opened cause there isn't much in the way of lighting or even furniture but the shave ice machine is glowing in the back like some sort of magic device...which it is.
The shave ice is super soft and very fine. Not what I'm used to but it was great for a change. The consistency is between Waiola and Matumoto leaning more towards Waiola.
The day I went there the guy taking orders was super nice and patient as I was a little bewildered with all the choices. -
Review from Angie M.
Baldwin Park, CA
YUMMY!!
My family and I ate here 3 times on our one week vacation in HI. We had the rainbow ice, strawberry milk, mango, and rasberry flavors. All of them were soooo refreshing on a nice warm evening.
The workers there are SUPER friendly and vey welcoming. -
Review from Jeff B.
Glendale, CA
(Dined 1/10/12 TU): When I think of Hawaii, thoughts of Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor, sun, surf, hula, ukulele, macadamia nuts, and shave ice come to mind!
In Waikiki for the day as part of a 14-day cruise with Princess Cruises roundtrip Los Angeles, my friend and I were taking in the sights, sounds, and food. We have been walking and snorkeling all morning long so it was time to build up our energy and get some good local grinds in us before we set out on our next adventure. We already grubbed at the International Marketplace, but now it was time to finally introduce my friend to shave ice, the ultimate Hawaii treat!
Thanks to my mobile Yelp app, it led us to Ailana Shave Ice, which wasn't too far away from the International Marketplace. I've had shave ice many times before both on the Islands and back on the mainland, but never had I experienced what I can only call gourmet-style shave ice. Of all my shave ice experiences, I've never had it served to me in a bowl. It's always been in the paper cup cone which would leak on you if you didn't eat it fast enough (now, you can get a non-environment friendly plastic container to solve this problem).
So, after I began drooling over the menu, I ordered a large Azuki Lover (azuki bean, vanilla ice cream, condensed milk, mochi - $5.00). Watching it get made was pure entertainment, and the conversation with the master shave ice maker was fun, too (sorry, I can't remember his name, but he was very friendly and cool). It seemed like eternity before I got my edible masterpiece, but that was only because I couldn't wait to dive into it. It's like watching your girlfriend or wife get all dressed-up in something sexy and slinky only to be tearing it off her soon after and doing the nasty! Pure tease moment.
I finally got this sculpture of goodness, and before I ravaged it, I had to size it up like playing a game of Jenga. One wrong entry scoop and the whole thing can come toppling down. Yes, you need a gameplan to eat this volcano-looking thing so it doesn't end up in your lap or on the table. Once I figured it out, it was showtime! A scoop here and a slurp there, I was in heaven. The ice was so fluffy yet still had some body to it. The azuki beans and mochi was a true treat, and the buried vanilla ice cream was like a hidden treasure underneath it all. Honest perfection, I could have used a cigarette after I finished it about 30 minutes later!
The service was great, although my friend and I were the only people in there at the time. But as I said, the bruddah making me my snack and I were just shooting the breeze.
Parking is ample, since it appears to be part of a shopping center. However, my friend and I walked, so I can't say for sure.
Overall, Ailana Shave Ice made me one of the BEST DAMN SHAVE ICE I'VE EVER HAD! I don't know if I can go back to the basic shave ice anymore. Absolute value as noted by the price I quoted above (total bill was $5 before tip), and boy was I stuffed! The atmosphere is completely casual (come on, you're in Waikiki!), but there is limited seating inside the actual place (there are also seats and tables outside into the mall). Sadly, I will have to dock this place one star. They don't take my credit card (cash only) of choice...AMEX! -
Review from Kat L.
San Mateo, CA
4/12/2012
I think I'm just not into shaved ice. I liked the first few bites and then it melted into a watery syrup with ice....Maybe I eat too slow?
I had the strawberry milk/ coconut one too. Nice guy there thy let us try stuff. It's a one man show that night we went so we had to wait a little bit even though there were no other patrons. That was in December, so I'm not sure if they are fully staffed up now! -
Review from Kimberly B.
San Jose, CA
The owner of this shave ice store is super nice and friendly! I stumbled upon this place when I decided to mosey down the escalator that took me down to the food court. Don't be fooled by the lack of decor when you find this place. I think the owner likes to keep it simple and doesn't want to spend money on making the place look fancy, which is all good because he spends most of his time making your delicious shave ice concoction.
I had the green tea and lychee shave ice with mochi and azuki beans. It was absolutely delicious. The mochi was a little different than what I was used to, but it was still pretty darn good.
The only reason why I gave it 4 stars is because I thought it was just a little bit pricier than the average shave ice. But overall, definitely worth checking out.Listed in: Oahu Hot Spots
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Review from Pat T.
Aiea, HI
5/10/2012
Our newly discovered dessert place called Ailana Shave Ice Waikiki and we were pleasantly surprised and will definitely be back many more times.
We tried three dessert shave ices (1) Tropical Trio w/papaya, haupia, lilikoi (substituted the mango because it was not ready), (2) Kintoki w/ green tea, azuki beans, mochi, and (3) Strawberry milk,,,,all 3 were awesome and hit the spot, we cannot stop raving about it today! -
Review from Jasmine N.
Honolulu, HI
Eh' you hot? Eat shave ice then!
Eh' I'm hot. On a hot day their small shave ice (which is huge) is the best to cool you off. Actually on any day their shave ice hits the spot.
Right in the heart of Waikiki at the Waikiki Shopping Plaza lower level across from Grylt.
Their shave ice is soft and fine, they have very unique flavors and homemade mochi. The must try are calpico, strawberry milk, and cranberry-raspberry.
Yum!Listed in: Nom Nom
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Review from Maggie C.
I am surprised Waikiki has a great shaved ice place. This is the place to go when you are too lazy to drive to Haleiwa for Matsumoto or Aoki.
The worker told me that I could use free topping coupon. I didn't want any condensed milk so the nice guy gave me 10 percent discount.
Ordered tropical trio: mango, papaya, haupia, and ice cream for $5 minus the discount.
My shaved ice was so good. I forgot to order mine with azuki bean though. I honestly like Ailana better than Matsumoto for many different reasons.
1. The ice is not coarse like Matsumoto's.
2. The flavors are better, especially the haupia. I think they use coconut milk for haupia because it's super good. Mango and papaya flavors are so intense.
3. I dont' have to drive far. This place is located inside Waikiki Plaza basement right next to Baskin Robbins.
4. Friendly and fast service. No line when I got there.
5. Served in a big paper bowl so the mess is minimal compared to typical cone.
Yes, it is more expensive if you are comparing this to $2.50 Matsumoto. But the size is much bigger and I don't have to rent a car to go here. I think mine was one of the house specialties...they also have a cheaper price for the basic ones.
QUICK TIP: FREE TOPPING WITH COUPON FROM HAWAIIAN UP!
Ailana shaved ice is yummylicious!!Listed in: Oahu with Maggie C
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Review from Jane H.
3/4/2012 1 Check-in Here
The ice has an amazing texture. The service is friendly and fast too. The reason I can't give them a better rating is because their syrups are too artificial tasting. They told us they use nothing artificial, but there is something not right about the taste of their syrups. However, their strawberry milk is not bad. If anything, get that one!
If you are not sure as to what flavor, ask for a sample!
3.5 stars -- the extra 0.5 is for the excellent service. -
Review from Chris T.
Hayward, CA
2/6/2012 1 Check-in Here
In the US, most of the time food courts get a bad wrap considering people think they are places where you can only find a hot dog on a stick or some pretty mediocre pan asian cuisine. This place and exception of that preconceived notion.
Everyone I talk to after coming from Oahu always asks me, "Did you go to Matsumoto?" I tell them I did, but always follow it up with, "Have you tried Ailana?"
Most of them say no or where is it. They have two locations but this one is in the heart of Waikiki and easy to miss so be sure to look for the escalators and as soon as you go down he's the first place on the right!
What I love about this place is that they use fresh fruit puree's and yes while I do enjoy the syrupy sweetness and the vivid colors that those bring to my shave ice, But imagine scooping up and bite of shave ice and suddenly feel as though you are biting right into a mango or piece of guava. It's a surprising and welcoming change. We also had the strawberry milk, Aaron the man behind the counter was out, so he made us a fresh batch right then and there.
Also worth mentioning is the uji kintoki, lots of the matcha flavor, with the Mochi, azuki beans and a little bit of ice cream. That was ono. (delicious)
In all very generous portions and Aaron is very friendly and was always willing to add a little more of the purées since because it's fresh fruit it runs thicker then the traditional syrups.
If you were willing to make the drive to the north shore to hit up aoki's or Matsumoto, and I you staying in the Honolulu area you have no excuse. Get over and try Ailana, it will blow your mind. -
Review from Keane L.
1/11/2012
Spread the word! You can now get great tasting, authentic shave ice in the middle of tourist central! No more trucking out to long lines at Matsumoto. No more eating on some neighborhood side street like at Waiola. Ailana Shave Ice brings immensely delicious shave ice and top-notch customer service right to the Waikiki Shopping Plaza.
Take the Uji Kintoki for example. A mound of shaved ice is topped with sweet green tea, azuki, mochi and condensed milk. But wait! That's not all! Dig deep enough and you'll discover that the heart of the mix is a refreshing scoop of vanilla ice cream. It's enough to serve at least two people, making the $5.50 price pretty reasonable.
Don't put this on your "to do" list. Put this on your "MUST do" list!Listed in: Hometown Hawaii
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Review from Angela Irene D.
Kapolei, HI
Having a bad day? need something special to cheer you up? not craving for yogurt? ice cream? cookies? cake? donuts?.....
WELL If you are looking for that special shaved ice, THIS is the place! let me tell ya!
The place wasn't that hard to find, because it is inside the shopping center! I was reading other yelp reviews and read that the Strawberry Milk was good, and I was NOT disappointed. Omg, best invention EVER!! Just as good as back home!
My husband also got the Tropical Trio! That was sooo good too!
It was cute customer service, knowing that it's family owned, meaning two cute little kids took my order and made my dessert of joy.
Eating their shaved ice, was like having a bit of happiness put inside you with every bite, when you are taking each bite, you can NOT help but smile because of the deliciousness and just how creamy and smooth the taste is when you eat it. You take a nice spoonful again, and you feel like your 8yrs old on a hot summers day all over again!
You can buy happiness here, for as long as this place is open! I can't wait to come back and try the other flavors!! -
Review from Gerald B.
Fremont, CA
get that strawberry cream.. awesome place, with no hype
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Review from T M.
Sacramento, CA
1/21/2012
A must go to place while on your vacation visit to Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii. Why go to the North Shore/Matsumoto Shave Ice when you can just walk to "THE BEST SHAVED ICE" that i ever had, AiLANA SHAVED iCE. Close by, convenient & very good. Located @ the Waikiki Shopping Plaza 2250 Kalakaua Ave. (808) 349-9827, on the lower level food court area. My favorite flavor was the Peanut Butter Caramel flavor shaved ice but the Green Tea flavor was also good which i called it the Diamond Head. We tried the PEANUT BUTTER CARAMEL, AZUKi LOVER, UJi KiNTOKi & then made 1 from the Traditional Flavors, made with STRAWBERRY MiLK, MELONA & CALPiCO. This place was the BOMB!!!! They have alot of flavors to choose from. To the owner, Thank U for the good shaved ice & dont forget our deal, when i open a Mexican restaurant there in Waikiki, we will trade food for shaved ice LOL. Take care man
Tony -
Review from James M.
Waikiki, Honolulu, HI
4/3/2012 1 Check-in Here
Great service and the strawberry milk was reDONKuless!!! I'll be back more than once!!
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Review from Tiana G.
McKinney, TX
4/5/2012 1 Check-in Here
got the strawberry milk and green tea with mochi...yummmmo. And the owner is super nice.
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Review from Molly B.
Merced, CA
4/7/2012 1 photo
I got the strawberry milk per Yelp suggestions. It was alright.
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Review from Diana H.
Palo Alto, CA
2/4/2012 1 Check-in Here
The serving was generous, but all the flavor tasted a little too artificial for me. We got 3 flavors: Strawberry milk, mango, and guava with mochi as topping. Strawberry milk is the only good one, I'll stay away from the other two. As for the mochi, I was expecting the small ones that they typically have in froyo place, negative. Their mochi has no flavor and a little too soft for me. We got them for free, not only would I not pay extra for them, I would strongly recommend against them even if you can get them for free.
The service was nice, and they gave us a sample of strawberry milk. In hind sight, we should have tried the other sample first
If you are looking for something cold on Waikiki, get the dole whip instead (not sold here, but there are a few places that have them). Those are life changing -
Review from Miya M.
San Francisco, CA
1/10/2012
This locations is in the Waikiki Shopping Plaza so it was a little hard to find if you're not familiar with the area. But the shave ice is SO GOOD!
Strawberry Milk with mochi - True, they don't give you a lot of mochi, but it the strawerry milk is SO good it more than made up for the lack of mochi.
Haupia - SO good!
Tropical Trio - Amazing. I wish I could eat this for breakfast every day.
All the flavors I tried are delicious but the Haupia was my favorite. The staff as also super nice and friendly which is a plus. Remember to tip! -
Review from susanna n.
Walnut Creek, CA
5/10/2012
went to eat at Ailana tonight and my friends and I just love this place. I was thinking "its just another shave ice place" but was pleasantly surprised and the flavors were just awesome. I had the Tropical trio, my friends had the Green Tea and another had the Strawberry Cream. We all tasted each others one and all were really good. And for the price of $5 it was pretty huge (it came with ice cream). The ice was superfine and just melted. Planning to go there again soon!
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Review from Dion L.
12/14/2011 1 Check-in Here
The shave ice here is KILLER-- not only because of the wide-range of flavors, but the fact they make their own syrups and the colors aren't sickeningly artificial like other shave ice places. (Example: your tongue isn't going to turn orange from the mango.)
The owner was super friendly and took great pride in his product. He took care in shaving the ice, packing it in just right, and making sure enough syrup and toppings were distributed. I could tell he was excited to give us our giant lychee/mango/passion creation, drizzled with condensed milk and mochi. (Yes, Courtney Y is right, the mochi is super fresh and hold together fabulously while giving a good chew! I went to a different shave ice shop...the one President Obama likes, and found the mochi too squishy and just fell apart.)
A MUST for anyone craving some gooood smooth shave ice! -
Review from Jayson N.
11/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
You know you one tourist if you order rainbow. Yeah you know what i'm talking about.. The red, yellow, blue mixture to form one rainbow.. But you know you're one japanese tourist if you order calpico, green tea and strawberry milk..
Well in anycase it don't mattah. Cause dis shave ice is winnahz. If you one local braddah like me or one visitor in waikiki you gon enjoy dis place. No joke. Da price is one good one and the servings is big braddah status, aka dis suckah will fill you up.
One ting i like about dis place is dat da flavors stay unique. Try da cranberry-raspberry cause dat is winnahz. And deez braddahs is so friendly and kind, dey give you top notch service.
** switch back to normalness **
This place is a nice spot in waikiki if you're looking for quality shave ice. They don't have 300 standard flavors like waiola or shimazu but they do have flavors you've never heard of before. I mean you thought calpico or strawberry milk would be delightful on shave ice. The serving size is basically for 2 and they also have set specialties that are just asking to put you into a food comatose.
The bad is obviously that it is in waikiki and that parking is bad unless you are a resident of waikiki. But if you happen to be in the waikiki shopping plaza area, i would highly recommend grabbing a shave ice from this place.
You find um in da basement of the waikiki shopping plaza, k.. go get em!Listed in: My Sweet Tooth!
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Review from Courtney Y.
San Jose, CA
11/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
Hands down the best shaved ice I've ever had and I don't even like shaved ice. It's a must to try their homemade syrups. It's hard for me to know where to start b/c everything is so good. First the ice is like snow. It melts in your mouth so you don't feel like you're eating ice chips. Nice on the teeth :)
Now to their syrups. My personal favorite was their kona coffee flavor. It's like have a really good frappuccino. My cousin got the Uji Kintoki. I'm not a huge fan of the azuki beans but they are really great on this dessert. OH and the mochi balls are FRESH!! Meaning they roll and boil them making them on damn good bite!
And best of all. Their service. The people working there are soo friendly. They will even let you test out the flavors!!! Their only downfall... their portions are too big!! I couldn't finish mine.. :) -
Review from Marissa B.
La Mirada, CA
1/3/2012 1 Check-in Here
My first shaved ice and already sad that I probably won't find a spot like this in California.
I had the the Tropical one with the fresh mango, coconut, papaya syrup. The ice is fluffy and the owner was great as I told him it was my first shave ice. He was really friendly and helpful. Really I have nothing else to compare it too but I have a feeling that no other shaved ice will live up to this one. I guess I will need to plan another trip to Waikiki quick!! -
Review from Nat N.
When my friend had heard that Ailana Shave Ice opened in Waikiki, next to one of our favorite ramen places (Kiwami), we took no time in setting up a dinner date with friends to check it out!
As Shay F points out, the atmosphere isn't there. It's in a spot formerly occupied by Starbucks, and since the owner of Ailana and the neighboring sandwich lady did not invest in renovations, it still has that Starbucks feel - dark, low lighting, etc.
But, what I love about Ailana Waikiki is the owner and his fabulous shave ice creations. First of all, he gave us samples of his off-the-menu flavors - chocolate haupia, vanilla cream, and root beer float. I don't know of any other shave ice place that will give you samples. Yay!
They also have a menu of "homemade" flavors, like green tea, strawberry milk, lilikoi, haupia, etc. These homemade creations are way supreme to the fake sugary syrups at other shave ice places (Ailana also offers a few of these syrups as well). If you come to Ailana, you'll want to go for their homemade syrups.
While I thought the chocolate haupia was to die for, I stuck with my usual strawberry milk/haupia combo (both are homemade syrups) and added mochi. It came out to around $4.50, which is not bad considering it's Waikiki, and the serving was generous.
It's a harder sell for the locals, because of their location in Waikiki, but if you're in the area, or you're visiting Oahu and staying in Waikiki, you'll definitely want to check them out! -
Review from Kim M.
Customer service is unbelievable, especially for Waikiki.
YELP
The bf and I were in Waikiki, so I told him I wanted to check out Ailana. The bf, a die-hard Shimazu fan, thought against it at first, but was easily convinced after I told him about the high ratings on Yelp.
LOCATION
Ailana Shave Ice is located in the Waikiki Shopping Plaza food court. Entering from the Kalakaua Street entrance, Ailana is located down the stairs (to the food court) and to the right. This wonderful shave ice spot shares a space with The Sandwich Shop. Convenient if you're looking for a place to eat and a refreshing dessert afterwards.
GREAT SERVICE
The owner was the only one working at the time we went. (I wish we had gotten his name because he was so incredibly nice and generous!) This was our virgin roll at Ailana Waikiki, and the owner could tell. He was so nice to let us try a variety of different flavors before making our final selection.
HOMEMADE FLAVORS
Because the flavors were all so tasty, the bf and I had a difficult time deciding. The Strawberry Milk, however, was a no brainer. The bf went with half of their popular homemade flavor Strawberry Milk and half of their traditional flavor Dreamsicle. http://www.yelp.com/bi...
I chose the homemade flavors grape and guava. Vanilla cream, calpico, green tea, and cranberry-raspberry flavors were exceptionally tasty as well.
*Homemade flavors are made with real fruit. You can see the many strawberry seeds in the Strawberry Milk flavor!
MORE FLUFFY, LESS ICY
The shave ice is different from most other shave ice places with thick, icy ice. Ailana's ice is more fluffy and less icy, if that makes sense. It's delicate and soaks up the syrup perfectly. I also appreciate the fact that at Ailana they poke the mound of freshly shaven ice with a chopstick / hashi, so that the syrup is distributed evenly.
*Cash ONLY
Yelp 365 - #086/365Listed in: Yelp 365 Challenge, Sweet Tooth, Eateries in Waikiki, Cash ONLY
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Review from Frank B.
Kaneohe, HI
4/30/2012 1 photo
Excellent shave ice! One of it's better features is the super-fine shaved ice. The syrups are not as sweet or as strong as some places, but very tasty. Highly recommended!
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Review from Yuko A.
10/24/2011 4 Check-ins Here
YAY! Thanks to yelp, I found out that Ailana has now opened shop in Waikiki next to the Sandwich shop in the Waikiki Shopping Plaza AND is super close to my job. The service was great and the shave ice tastes just as good as the store on Kona street. Only bummer is that since it is in Waikiki the prices are a little bit higher. $3.75 for a small and I think $4.50 for a large...I don't know why but the homemade/reg flavors were the same price, but who cares, its still awesome!
Definitely go try it out if you are in Waikiki. They guy working also offered us samples!! Unfortunately, like the Kona Store. CASH ONLY!! -
Review from Rhandi U.
Queens, NY
Updated - 10/6/2011
I didn't realize Ailana Shave Ice Waikiki had another page in addition to their official yelp page. Wow, whoever created this one must really love the place and I can definitely see why!
Like I mentioned in my post on their other page, this place is top notch! Uji Kintoki...I DIE! As Rachel Zoe would say if she tried on the hottest dress off the runway, this flavor is MAJOR! For a green tea flavored food connoisseur like myself, this just hits the spot every time! It's topped with azuki beans, condensed milk and homemade mochi balls...don't knock it till you've tried it! Soooo good! All of their other flavors are great too! Strawberry Milk..yum! Mocha...winnahs!
The place is really clean and although it doesn't have windows (it's on the lower level of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza), the lack of sunlight does not affect the quality and taste of the product. Sure it doesn't have the same outdoorsy appeal like the Kona street location but you could always take it to go and eat it along the street of Waikiki to get your outdoor fix.
BONUS: the staff is really friendly! It's all about the customer service! Awesome service plus awesome shave ice equals one happy and satisfied customer! I only wish you could send all this goodness up to NYC!
Don't delay and get your hands on some Ailana Shave Ice! Your tummy will thank you for it!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/6/2011
This place is da bomb diggity! Talk about a creative spin on the island classic, you can't beat… Read more »
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Review from Joanne H.
San Francisco, CA
10/27/2011
So I've had snow.....and tried Waiola....I thought shaved ice was just not for me. Until my friend took me to Ailana.
CALPICO, ice cream, azuki beans, mochi, and vanilla ice cream.
It was very affordable compared to waiola. I am DEF a fan. It was soooo good! You must come here and try!!!! -
Review from Danny T.
Honolulu, HI
10/23/2011
Tried Ailana with my girlfriend for the first time ever today. Out of all the flavors we tried, the strawberry milk was my favorite. (It tastes like a lighter strawberry ice cream.) I was surprised to learn that this flavor is made with real strawberries. I guess that explains all the strawberry seeds.
Overall service was excellent. The owner let us try samples of several different flavors to help us decide. However, once I tasted the strawberry milk, my decision was made.
I bet Kim will be wanting to visit here again soon. -
Review from Tucker H.
2/27/2012 1 Check-in Here
This seems to be the only shave ice place open even remotely late, for some reason they all seem to close as soon as the sun goes down, which means no shave ice after dinner! Luckily, being open late isn't the only good thing about Ailana, their shave ice is pretty good as well. The nice thing about their syrups is that at least some of them are homemade (the homemade ones are marked as such on the menu board), and these are quite good. The mango was good, and the guava tasted good, but because it was a little thick it didn't penetrate the ice as well. Next time I would go for the strawberry milk instead!
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Review from BERT O.
Woodbridge, VA
3/6/2012 1 Check-in Here
The guy was really nice. I got a shave ice with half mocha, half strawberry milk base. It was what I was craving. The mocha was like a frappucino and the strawberry was a soft flavor. My wife got a tropical and it had strong fruity flavor, not too sweet.
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Review from Ikue T.
Kirkland, WA
12/7/2011
My husband and I found this place while in vacation. Aaron, the person who made my husband shave ice twice is such a great person! He's very friendly, attentive, and seems to take his job(making shave ice) seriously. He was talking to us about it when he was making my husband's order. He also offered free samples. What a nice guy..
We didn't have a car for the most days, so we ended up just walking there from our hotel three times. -
Review from Shay F.
I heard this place just opened yesterday? So I had to come and check out the new Waikiki store.
It was...sad. I mean it's the same goodness, but the atmosphere was so dark and gloomy.
I'll stick with getting my Ailana shave ice from the happy, bright, Ala Moana store.
Yelp 365 Challenge #66/365
