Mahalo-halo Shave Ice

I came here on a whim with my boyfriend as it was a hot weekend. I ordered the banana shaved ice with condensed milk and mochi bits. It was super yummy but then again, I love almost anything banana flavored.
The boyfriend was the more adventurous one and ordered the island reggae special. It was good and very tasty. He said it reminded him of Hawaii.

We just had Mahalo-​halo cater my daughter’s 4 year old birthday party this past weekend, and WOW, we were blown away.
Earlier this month, we went to Maui, where my daughter and I had REAL shave ice for the first time, so she was really excited to have shave ice again. I admit I wasn’t expecting TRUE Hawaiian shave ice here in CA, only because I realize it’s very difficult to replicate. (The only shave ice I had before our trip to Hawaii was that crunchy, watery stuff that falls to the ground when you try and chip away at it.) Well Mahalo-​halo is the real stuff, right here in CA! Even my brother-​in-​law, who grew up in Oahu, said this was the best shave ice he’s tasted! Their many flavors were so good (I personally loved the green tea, guava, and tiger’s blood), and we even got azuki bean, mochi, and condensed milk. Oh, and the umbrella to top off each shave ice — so cute!
And to top it all off, the customer service was AWESOME. Working with them was super easy and pleasant, and all our party guests raved about them. Their cute tiki bar was so impressive, and they’re both the sweetest, most down-​to-​earth people. I can’t wait to hire them again!

I can’t wait for the farmers market to open so I can get my shave ice on.
I always get the ice cream on the bottom and condensed milk on top.
My latest fave flavor combo is the mango with li hing mui. The tigers blood is yummy too.
I’ve also been to parties where they have catered and I thought that was pretty cool. If I had summer time parties I’d definitely hire them!

I was working next to Mahalo-​halo at a couple events last summer. This stuff is amazing! I forget what flavor I tried, but I look forward to trying more next summer.

My first time having a Hawaiian shaved ice treat, and I can say that it was über yumminess. Loved the booth and the Tiki theme; loved the Hawaiian goddess next to the menu shakin’ her thang. The staff were very friendly and smiley, which made the treat even sweeter. Sad to see these guys leave now that I’ve discovered them, but hopefully they’ll be back once the weathers nice and warm again. Cheers to you guys!

The weather cooperated today to give us warm weather, so we could enjoy this nice summery treat for the last time (in 2010) at the Farmer’s Market.
The ice was shaved to order. The portions were enormous. Mentioning Unilocal gave me free vanilla ice cream. So the layering goes ice cream (or azuka beans) on the bottom, soft flaky ice, syrup, and the final touch was a drizzling of condensed milk (which I opted out of). The shaved ice was served with a spoon straw and a cute little paper umbrella.
There was a huge variety of flavors to choose from, a maximum of 3 per shaved ice. Or you can choose from their combinations, aka «Da Specials.»
It was deliciously refreshing. I didn’t finish because the last bit of it was too sugary sweet from the syrup accumulating on the bottom.

I visited Hawaii this year after not having been for 11 years. Because it had been so long, shave ice was something I thought I’d get, but I wasn’t craving it. I figured, if I get to it, I get to it.
When I did get it, I remembered how good it was and wanted more. I only was able to get in two trips to Waiola while there (I should’ve gone more considering it’s right around the corner from my grandma’s house).
Of course, the day I got back, it was 102 degrees, so shave ice sounded like a fantastic idea. Unfortunately, it’s not so readily available here. I tried both Banana Crêpe and Shuei-​Do Manju Shop in J-​town San Jose… both were «meh», frankly. At this point, I was ready to write off the possibility of getting good shave ice here.
Then I found out about Mahalo-​Halo and I ventured on over to the Farmer’s Market today to give it a shot. After all, it’s right across the street from me, practically.
And I was glad I did. M-​H gets the ice texture pretty close to right. I have wondered aloud (as have many others) why this is so difficult to replicate. I’m not sure any place can touch the ice texture at Waiola (and when I say that, I don’t just mean here, I mean probably even in Hawaii), but failing that, this is pretty darn good. Everything is in the ice texture — and M-​H is much closer to optimum than the other places around. I’ve read reviews for the other places claiming that they are just like Hawaii… my humble opinion is that M-​H is head and shoulders above Shuei-​Do and Banana Crêpe, and the closest thing to Hawaiian shave ice, at least in San Jose.
My only regret is not discovering M-​H earlier.

Since Sunday was SUPER hot and to cool off my husband bought us shaved ice from Mahalo-​halo. I’ve had the Korean shaved ice deserts but never the Hawaiian shaved ice. My first time and I am a fan! My hubby ordered a
— pineapple/​bubblegum/​coconut for the twins
— honeydew melon/​orange cream/​vanilla for Shaun
— The 808 w/​mochi for me
— The 808 for himself
Everything tasted yummy and cooled us off. Service was friendly. They asked if we wanted condensed milk but we declined. Will definitely be back esp since they’ll give you free scoop of vanilla for mentioning Unilocal :)

I used to love Unilocal.Then I came to the conclusion that most of you people were pretentious wannabes whose opinions were utterly worthless. The current 4.5 rating for Mahalo-​Halo confirms that, because this place is deserving of nothing less than five.
This isn’t a place for sno-​cones, slurpees, ICEEs, or any overly sugary white trash slushy. This is a place for the authentic experience of Hawaiian Shave Ice, served by two little sweethearts that take great pains to personally import all of their ingredients, cups, and, I would assume, straws, ice, and aloha spirit (but don’t quote me on that) from the islands to the mainland.
The level of artistry they display can best be illustrated in my initial visit. I ordered a large shave ice with three flavors: POG (papaya/​orange/​guava), Li Hing Mui (salty dried plum), and Tiger’s Blood (tiger blood/​sugar water). Was I just being difficult for the hell of it? Yes, obviously. It was pointed out to me that that was going to be about nine flavors mixed together, and instead off complementing each other, they were going to conflict. It wasn’t recommended, so I took the Tiger’s Blood out and added a snow cap (sweet and condensed milk to top it). It was divine. It gave me the strength to personally fight an entire group of Hell’s Angels, swim from the city to Alcatraz, and read Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace — all simultaneously and in 27 minutes.
Unfortunately, Mahalo Halo is kind of a traveling summer vendor and not a store that one can go to at their own convenience. However, if you’re lucky enough to stumble into them, you will be very, very happy.

I must say this is a great place. We found the place via Unilocal events. As close to authentic as you can get. The folks are extremely friendly. Awesome ice texture and great choice of flavors. They have a very good preset flavors for those that just want to order quickly. Then even had POG!!! This reminds me of the time I carried home two cases of Hawaiian Sun POG in my carry on luggage since I’m so cheap! I’d rather pay $.25 a can in hawaii than $ 1.50 each here.
Keep up the good work. Come to the Mountain view Farmers market. The wife and I go quite often!

Hoooray! Yummy shave ice — Hawaiian style just the way I like it! I usually get this once a year when I visit Maui (Local Boy Snack Shop) or Oahu (Matsumotos). Now I can get this tasty treat every Sunday morning after church for breakfast! Yup it’s the breakfast of champions. They use block ice so the ice shavings and very powdery and soft. If you are having a difficult time choosing your flavors they have a special menu to order off of. I’ve tried Aloha Ice and Dakine so far and mmmm was it delish!
PROS:
*Besides Sundays at the Great Mall farmers market they also do private parties.
* You can order additional items such as condensed milk, ice cream, mochi, azuki beans to add a little extra umph!
* The owners are super nice!
* I don’t have to venture to Hawaii to get yummy shave ice!
* Mention Unilocal and they will give you a free size upgrade.
* Pricing is great.
* They give out samples to try flavors.
CONS:
* I can only get this yummy fix on Sundays from 10 – 1.

I discovered Mahalo-​Halo Shave Ice from the event page on the Unilocal website. I was enticed by the fact they will upgrade you from a small to large just for mentioning that you saw the event on Unilocal.Unilocal sure does have it’s perks! My mom and I headed over to the tiny Farmer’s Market at the Great Mall (didn’t even know they had one until I saw it on the event page). It’s located in the parking lot right next to the McDonald’s.
We immediately headed to the Mahalo-​halo booth which didn’t have much of a wait. When you step up to the their little window they ask if you want to taste any of their flavors. For me that’s a star in itself, because generally I run into places where their syrups are just way to sweet or they just don’t taste right. But you have no way of knowing this because they don’t offer you any samples. I gave their guava syrup a try on a tiny sample sized mound of shaved ice, it was refreshing and not too syrupy. So I decided on the Paradise which was a combination of the guava, mango, and coconut. The other flavors were the same quality as the guava that I tasted and all the flavors blended well together. Also I added a Snow Cap to my order, which is a bunch of condensed milk on the top. It makes it super creamy, which I love. My mom ordered the Shaka Shark which consisted of blue hawaii, coconut, and pinapple. She really enjoyed the shaved ice and compared it to the ones that we’ve had on multiple occasions in Hawaii. The quality of the shaved ice was excellent and made me wish they had a permanent store where I could give them a visit any day of the week.
I checked out their website and apparently they are more in the catering type business. When I saw that I was a tad bit disappointed, but I guess that makes sense to me. But the next time I plan an event in the hot outdoors I’ll be sure to remember Mahalo-​halo Shave Ice, I’m sure my guests would appreciate that!

mmm, i thought the shaved ice from japantown was very yummy, but i have finally found better!
the ice they serve here is extraaaaa smooth! the flavors are all so very yummy too! they have plenty to choose from!
decent price for what they offer.
i ordered a small and mentioned Unilocal,so i got a free size upgrade =) added ice cream and mochi balls + extraaaaaaaa condensed milk! every bite taken was extremely refreshing, sweet, and flavorful! it also comes in a very cute cup and to top it off they put a mini umbrella on it!
i would definitely return! =)
it’s too bad that i can only have this fix ONCE A WK… if i ever crave b/​c its only available sundays.

came to the milpitas farmer’s market to check out the shaved ice.
i bought a small for $ 2.50. the texture of the ice is very smooth,
no clumpy ice chunks. i had guava & lychee. flavors were good.
my search continues for the ultimate shaved ice.
next stop is san jose japantown!

I love this place! For $ 2.50 you get a decent sized amount of juiciness drizzled with condensed milk. For a quarter more you can add on azuki beans or mochi. If you’re ice cream inclined that’s only fifty cents more.
I had the paradiso, (if I remember correctly was guava, mango and coconut flavoring) with mochi and condensed milk. It tasted just like the ones from shuei-​do except presented in a cute bright flower pot with an umbrella on top. Not overly sweet and the ice is powdery and fluffy. The ice shaving just melted in my mouth. I wish the mochi wasn’t at the bottom – I had to eat through the ice mound on top before reaching to the chewy bites, but that’s only a minor complaint.
Love the price, flavor options, location and awesome service! With mahalo halo so close by my house, I now have motivation to get shaved ice after breakfast. And munch on it while buying veggies at the farmers market.

I’ve tried a lot of shaved ice spots, But I got a chance to go to a sample tasting of Mahalo-​halo and i gotta say I’m hooked. haven’t had a chance to check them out at the farmer’s market but if you ever get an opportunity to try some of their DELICIOUS flavor combos don’t pass it up. My personal favorite is the POG… mix that up with anything else but make sure u get that.