Fact or Fiction? Shaved Ice Vendor Experimenting with Sushi Flavors
DINKS Travel 
Haleiwa Shaved Ice
The following submission is either completely fictional or is fact-based. Please post a comment noting whether you think it is True or False with your own entertaining or supporting commentary. The answer will be revealed in a future comment on this post.
Our stay on Oahu and Maui is reaching its conclusion and somehow we nearly missed out on a Hawaiian islands’ tradition, shaved ice - That tasty treat known in Ohio (where we grew up) as snow cones. Luckily, our travels this week took us to the little town of Haleiwa where we encountered Matsumoto’s Haleiwa Shaved Ice.
This legendary shaved ice hot spot was hard to miss with its long line of customers cascading onto the sidewalk. We spotted a camera crew from the local news outlet and quickly learned that Matsumoto’s supplemented its traditional syrup flavors (i.e.: cherry and banana) with more creative offerings such as green tea and pickled mango, but that wasn’t what had attracted the media. Further investigation revealed that the owners were experimenting with a new flavor based on sushi grade ahi tuna which was presented with an optional dollop of fresh wasabi.
When asked about the creative offering, the shop’s representative informed us that it was created in an effort to appeal to the Japanese tourist community which contributes strongly to their business. While sales of the unique flavor have not been significant, it has garnered positive press and increased foot traffic to this local institution which currently sells more than 1,000 shaved ices each day.
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Reader Comments (4)
I suspect it is true and if so, Matt tried it. He is the only person I have ever known to go to a fancy steak house in NYC and order liver.
False. The old grocery (as the locals like to call it) creates many Hawaiian ice flavors. Many made with local fruits like papaya. If you put this stop on your bucket list you must pick up the Matusamotos Board Shorts. They are a have to have for every debonair and or chic dude or dudettte. This is especially true if you are a burbs kind of person. You will be the envy of every pot luck dinner when you return to the states. BTW if you really want a bit of liquid sushi you must stop at the shack on the road to Hana on Maui. There you can get the best smoothies in the islands including fresh Maki and Ono.
Steve - For breakfast in Manila this morning we tried champorado, a chocolate rice porridge accompanied with salted dried fish. It was a bold combination and perhaps an acquired taste. :)
The votes are in - "Uncle" wins another Fact or Fiction with his vote of "Fiction". While Matsumoto’s offers a wide variety of shaved ice offerings, they have yet to embraced the progressive flavor of sushi grade ahi tuna presented with an optional dollop of fresh wasabi. But it can't be too far off based on "Uncle's" recommended stop for liquid sushi along the road to Hana. Thanks for participating in these fun fact finding frivolities!