Asatos Waikīkī Debuts a Whimsical Three-Course Dessert Omakase Starting Today

Photo: Thomas Obungen

When I sent a set of photos of this dessert omakase to Frolic editor Mari Taketa, she said, “It looks not like Hawai‘i.” Save for Joyce Harada’s long-shuttered Little Oven in Pāwa‘a, Honolulu hasn’t had a dessert restaurant driven by this kind of next-level geekiness and whimsy. With today’s debut of Asatos Waikīkī Flavor Lab dessert bar at the Hyatt Regency Waikīkī, we now do.

Owner Neale Asato’s dessert philosophy has been on display in the flavors of Asato Family’s storied sherbet stand, where they run the gamut from Lemon Peel Cola and Li Hing Vanilla Float to Cotton Candy Grape and Pickled Mango Juice. At Asato’s scoop shop in the same spot at Asatos Waikīkī, a coursed dessert omakase has been in the works since last November. Now that the holiday rush is over, Asato will welcome sweet tooths starting Wednesday, Jan. 14, at two time slots, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., that you can book online.

SEE ALSO: Asatos Waikīkī Scoop Shop to Open at Hyatt Waikīkī

The three-course menu starts with a bang: a tasting of crack seed items surrounding a rainbow gelatin cube made from melted gummy bears. You work your way around the palette-like arrangement of dried lemon peel, cherry and plums. Most people don’t know there are different types of peels and plums, Asato says, so the experience is like sampling your way through a crack seed store.

Photo: Thomas Obungen

The gummy bear gelatin is partly nostalgic, resembling a square of rainbow Jell-O, but is made with gummy bears that Asato separates by color, melts down with water and layers in a pan. He slices off a cube from a sashimi-like loin. To up the flavor punch, you can dip it into a dish of shredded lemon peel.

Photo: Thomas Obungen

Course two is a soda that turns into a full-on Willy Wonka experience. Asato pours a house-made syrup into fine glassware and tops it off with carbonated water. Each flavor—mine is a rock salt plum—comes with apothecary tinctures you can drop in to adjust the flavor. Citric acid to make it more sour, ascorbic acid to make it tart like apple, 10% saline to make it saltier, and so on. Mix until you’re happy; meticulous guests will want to take notes.

Photo: Thomas Obungen

Asato was inspired in part by Iyoshi Cola in Japan, which crafts sodas on the spot using a classic apothecary recipe for cola. As a fan of Iyoshi, I appreciate the construction, especially since Asato is also working on his own cola recipe.

Photo: Thomas Obungen

The finale is the sensory grandeur we’ve all been waiting for: kakigori, the over-the-top Japanese-style shave ice that has rocked the snack world in recent years. Asato loads a crystal-clear cube of On The Rock ice into his machine; it sends whispers of white ice floating into a custom bowl. The snowy ice is layered with toppings, covered with final dome of ice, and topped once again with the same syrups and ingredients. We try two kakigori, one inspired by the crunch cake served at The Alley at ‘Aiea Bowl and a second that tastes like a riff on crème brûlée and Japanese-style custard pudding.

Photo: Thomas Obungen

The li hing strawberry crunch kakigori is an ethereal crack seed Icee cloud with cubes of chiffon cake hiding under layers of cream and a syrup made with Asato’s sherbert. I joke with the couple next to me that the Hyatt will need some Wet Floor signs because watching the preparation might make you drool nonstop.

Your afternoon of desserts ends with a memento: a vial of syrup with your dialed-in flavor from Course 2 to make two more sodas at home.

Being an omakase, flavors and offerings may change as Asato concocts more crazy deliciousness. Keep an eye on Asatos Waikīkī’s Instagram, where he posts his flavor lab tests and more.

For now, availability is limited to eight seats a day, Wednesday to Sunday, and the experience costs $58 a person. More times may be added once Asato figures out flow and demand.

Wednesday to Sunday, 2 and 4 p.m. by reservation only at asatos.com, Hyatt Regency Waikīkī Beach, 2424 Kalākaua Ave., Suite 113, Waikīkī, asatofamilyshop.com, @asatoswaikiki

SEE ALSO: New & Coming Restaurants and Shops in Waikīkī

Thomas Obungen is the special projects editor of HONOLULU Magazine.