HONOLULU Staff Favorites: The 12 Best Frozen Treats for a Boiling Hot Day on O‘ahu

Labor Day might signal the end of summer elsewhere, but we’ll still be sweating through the next few months. Here are our favorite ways to cool down.

Aloha Confectionery

Aloha Confectionery’s soft serve is around $8 if you get the most popular and expensive option, which comes with your choice of soft serve (milk tea, fresh whole milk or swirl), a waffle cone in the color of your choice, assorted toppings (chocolate garnishes, marshmallows and more) and the bakery’s signature chocolate-dipped shortbread cookie. Read more on frolichawaii.com. —Kelli Shiroma Braiotta, digital marketing specialist

Ala Moana Center, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Level 3, (808) 943-8550, @alohaconfectionery

Wing Ice Cream Parlor

I love a good waffle cone filled with Tea ’n’ Cookies (matcha and Oreos), which now comes in a nondairy version. Choices are limited these days (no more experimental garlic or the recent GovernMint Bailey-Out), but you can still get favorites like Vaniller or Violet Beauregarde (blueberry lavender). Call ahead to confirm what’s on the ever-changing “Flavor Bored” and swing by for curbside pickup. —Katrina Valcourt, managing editor

1145 Maunakea St., #4, (808) 536-4929, wingicecream.com, @wingicecream

Kailua General Store

Video: Aaron K. Yoshino

Sure, you’ve heard of that other shave ice spot that the former First Family hits with the whole entourage. But we know the place we go when we’re looking for good shave ice on a hot day: Kailua General Store near the library and drycleaners. The shave ice cones come in three sizes ($3 to $5) and you pick up to three flavors. Flavors include homemade liliko‘i, lime, green tea and ginger as well as a slew of options: guava, Melona, lychee, etc. You can add extras of ice cream, mochi balls, snow cap or li hing powder for 50 cents each. My friend from Hilo swears the shave ice here is the closest thing to her hometown favorites on the Big Island. Owner Steve Parker’s fishing supplies are keeping people coming in, too. With pandemic precautions, he trimmed hours to 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays but it’s never a bad idea to check first. —Robbie Dingeman, editor at large

316 Ku‘ulei Road, Kailua, (808) 261-5740, kailuageneralstore.com, @kailuageneralstore

SEE ALSO: Small Town to Bustling Attraction: Tourists and Traffic Trouble the Residents of Kailua

SomiSomi

SomiSomi’s soft serve is creamy and not icy, the ube-Oreo swirl is delicious, and how can you not love a dessert in a fish-shaped cone? The price (around $6) is reasonable. It just melts at an alarming rate, so it’s more like a race to the finish instead of a leisurely dessert. Read more on frolichawaii.com. —KSB

Ala Moana Center, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 1075, (808) 206-8997, somisomi.com, @somisomiicecream

Frozen Lychee

Photo: Robbie Dingeman

Summer means fresh lychee, great on their own. But a friend recently told us about a simple yet ingenious idea: Grab a handful of lychee before the season ends and pop them into the freezer. A few hours later, peel the leathery red skin to bite into what tastes like a sweet-tart sorbet. This simple hack offers a way to preserve that taste of summer a little longer. For those who don’t eat them right away, freezing them in a bag with as little air as possible seems to keep them freshest. —RD

SEE ALSO: Everything You Need to Know About Local Fruit in Hawai‘i 

A Giant King Cone from Longs

It’s 2:07 pm and you are struggling. The work isn’t flowing. Lunch didn’t help. You hate your office cubicle (or, these days, your stuffy home office). And damn is it hot outside. Too hot to walk 20 minutes for some gourmet ice cream s**t, you know what I’m saying? But then you smile. You know what’s waiting for you at Longs in the cold case. Up the escalator and $2.79 plus tax is all it takes to trip you back to childhood on the chocolate-vanilla-nut-studded Giant King Cone. It’s everything you want in a cone with no hipster additives. Who’s up for some kickball? —Don Wallace, contributing editor

Matcha Café Maiko

Photo: Shelley Shiroma

If you love matcha, definitely try Matcha Café Maiko’s soft serve. They even sprinkle on some real matcha powder! —Shelley Shiroma, Hawai‘i Magazine

2310 Kūhiō Ave., #143, (808) 369-8031, matchacafe-maiko.com, @matchastand_maiko

Uncle’s Ice Cream Sandwiches

If anyone knows me, they know I’m a Whole Foods freak. I’m there at least twice a week buying bougie basics, including my favorite summah sweet—Uncle’s Ice Cream Sandwiches. There’s always an ohhhhh-my-gaaawd reaction whenever I have someone try it. Here’s why: Two heavenly, sugar-dusted cookies (that somehow stay firm and chewy) hug a generous scoop of locally made ice cream. All the flavors are really cool, but the ones that have me screamin’ for ice cream are: Kona coffee ice cream mixed with Oreos and fudge on chocolate cookies; sea salt caramel chocolate swirl ice cream on snickerdoodle cookies; and, one that I just tried and died, lemon ice cream with candied ginger on old-fashioned sugar cookies. It creams the competition. —Stacey Makiya, senior fashion editor

SEE ALSO: 2-Dollar Indulgence: New Mini Uncle’s Hawaiian Ice Cream Sandwiches

Meadow Gold’s Vanilla Twin Pops

One of my favorite frozen treats since small kid time. Sooo refreshing! —Christine Labrador, art director

The Purple Ones

Oh man, you’re going to think I’m totally pitiful but I don’t think I’ve ever had a frozen treat. Are Popsicles considered frozen treats? ’Cause I love those—the purple ones. Other than that though, I got nothing. —Elroy Garcia, copy editor

Coconutmilk Frozen Dessert (dairy free)

Sweet, frozen mammary fluids from bovines are yummy and all. But sometimes, I crave dairy-free ice creams from the “SO Delicious” brand made with almond, cashew and soy milks. The chocolate-flavored Coconutmilk Frozen Dessert is a family favorite. Before buying any supermarket ice cream, I check to see if it’s been pre-licked, because, you know, #icecreamchallenge. Ewwwww. —Cathy Cruz-George, former HONOLULU Family managing editor

SEE ALSO: A Simple Ice Cream Bar for Uncertain Times

DIY Lemon Ice Cream

When soaring temperatures meet sticky humidity, that calls for creatively tasty measures that should include making this lemon ice cream. Really. This easy-to-DIY dessert hits your tongue with a flavor symphony: tart with a hint of sweet, alternately icy and creamy. You don’t have to buy specialty ingredients, just: lemons, sugar, heavy cream, milk and sea salt. Before you roll your eyes about the hassle, time and need for expensive tools, check out the no-churning-required recipe at food52.com. —RD