Hawaiian Shave Ice...in Champaign, IL?

About a month ago, Aaron mentioned that he saw a Hawaiian Shave Ice van in Champaign and asked me if it was the real deal. I was a bit skeptical about the place because at the "Taste of Champaign" a couple of years ago, the "Hawaiian Shave Ice" was similar to the texture of the coarse ice in a "Snow-cone."
Aaron brought it up again and said that he tried it and the ice texture was similar to snow, rather than crushed ice. Here's a picture of a slightly melted cup of shave ice.
So last Saturday, one of my Hawaii friends (yeah, there are a few others from Hawaii who attend school in Illinois) and I finally checked out the shave ice van on Neil St. in Champaign, IL. She's posing next to the shave ice van.
The workers were super nice and friendly and there were TONS of flavors to choose from. We tried the mango and the banana cream pie flavors. We then unintentionally got the cups mixed up and told/convinced Aaron that the mango was the banana cream pie flavor. He even said, "Mmm...that banana cream pie is really good." Then he some how figured out that he was eating the mango one. So, those flavoring in particular could use a little tweaking, but our taste buds could have been shot because we had been cooking and tasting all the food for our "Grown-Up Kids Party."Overall take home message, the shave ice van gets my stamp of approval. It is not as soft as Matsumoto's shave ice or Waiola's, but it's the best I've tasted on the mainland and definitely similar to other shave ice stores in Hawaii. I'd definitely go back, but I would try other flavors. Maybe stick with one of the more traditional flavors like strawberry.

Hawaii Sweets~Shimazu Shave Ice and Fujiya

Continuing on with our "food extravaganza" we checked out Shimazu's Store for some shave ice. I had never been there before, but Alan from Makiki suggested it. Oh and what a treat it was! The shave ice there is huge and cheap! Plus Shimazu's Store is a much shorter drive from my house than Matsumoto's (North Shore side) or Waiola's (Kapahulu).
Now Shimazu Store will always be on my list of places I want to frequent when I'm back home in Hawaii. I actually might like it better than Waiola's, but it's probably because of the price and size differences of the shave ice.

Look at all the syrup choices!

I am a "shave ice purist" and you will rarely see me order any other flavor besides strawberry or strawberry creme. I never liked to mix flavors or *gasp* so you would never see me ordering the rainbow flavor. Mike loves mixing flavors, but for me, I like enjoying the same flavor from start to finish. I do not enjoy the uncertainty of the mixed flavors at the end of the cup.
But since there were soooo many choices of syrups, that I tried not one, not two, but THREE flavors. But I figured that vanilla, peanut butter, and chocolate were complimentary flavors. It wasn't like I had chosen tutti fruit, root beer, and sour lemon.
D ordered the strawberry creme and vanilla creme. I actually prefered his flavor combination better than mine (my combo was delicious too) and wanted to snatch it from his hands. But would it be worth it, for the sake of our friendship? Probably not.
My only complaint about Shimazu's store is that it is not always open when the sign says it's open. Only on my third attempt was I able to indulge in this snowy goodness. One of the attempts was my fault because I didn't realize they were closed on Mondays. But I checked it out on a Sunday and there were a couple other people who parked and then drove away because it wasn't open.
We then moved on to find the place that makes fresh yuba (tofu skin). They were not making the yuba on the day we showed up, but you can call Fujiya in advance to see if they are making it and can watch the process.
We purchased some freshly made tofu, soy milk, senbei, and mochi. The tofu was delicious! It was extremely delicate in texture and had a mild soy flavor. Here's one of the mochi that I purhcased. I've seen strawberries in mochi mochi, pumpkin, and peanut butter fillings before, but I've never had a mochi filled with blueberries. I though the lima bean paste was a bit too sweet for my tastes, but I was super-stoked about the concept. I think I'll try to make a blueberry-filled mochi some day and experiment with the complimentary filling. Fujiya also sells manju or mochi filled with azuki beans, strawberries, and if I remember correctly raspberries.

Shimazu Store
330 N School St.
Honolulu, HI 96817

Fujiya Ltd.
454 Waiakamilo Rd.
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808)845-2921