Aloha Shaved Ice - Honolulu, HI

Aloha indeed. 

My first Açaí Bowl and every bite of go-for-it indigo lives up to the hype. A foundation of frozen, almost-blueberry mush blends tart with a soft banana and sweetens a sour strawberry. The freeze has the texture of a smoothie paste, dense antioxidizing fruit in all its goodly goopy glory. Granola adds texture and honey drizzles in golden rays. I really didn’t think a bowl could be that good but açaí crushes all competition.

If you got it, flan it. I am all over this Azuki Bean Bowl. Big balls of mochi roll with the sweet spread of all beans red, and condensed milk and custard pudding concentrate in full-sugar glory over icy shavings.

A half n’ half shave offers options, and this earthy scoop of ube ice cream on top is uber good with alternating bites of tropical mango and creamy coconut milk.

Aloha to several new addictions and a couple of food obsessions to boot. The other kind of aloha to burning more calories than we consume. But hey, food is fuel, and we’ll need it for what we’re doing next. 

Day 1 - Hawaii Kai, O’ahu - Nanding's Bakery

Getting up for a 7 AM flight is brutal. The squinting stumble to the Uber is unwilling, as you crawl through the peri-dawn chill. Slog through the TSA as they confiscate your bottle openers and limit your cosmetics for the common good, and fling yourself into your assigned seat so you can pass out promptly. The silver lining to your sleep deprivation is that napping shortens the ride.

Our landing is smooth, and we get the rare bonus of an airport pickup, a car full of friends who immediately understand we’re starving.

We fuel up at Nanding’s Bakery first, basking in the pastry smells and savoring the purple swirls of an Ube Ensaymada. The dough is all air, and the top is dusted with sugar and a summation of sweet potato and sweeter cream cheese.

A veggie Lumpia costs a mere dollar, and it’s a mini spring-roll cave of wonders. Shreds of simply-seasoned cabbage crunch within layers of paper-thin crispy wrapper.

I’m starting to get the swing of the island as we unwrap the third and final Glazed Custard Roll. This one shimmers like a silver dollar, and each bite is a little bath of custard and glaze.

A small back-lot bakery on an island full of back-lots. Even the malasadas weren’t this good. Well, I may not have loved Oahu food the first time around, but something tells me I just need to dig a little deeper this time.