"ShavedIce" news and stories

Japanesse expats Mamoru Matsumoto and his wife Helen dreamed of opening their own business in Hawaii. It was a long, hard journey -- he started out peddling goods on a bicycle while Helen labored as a seamstress -- but it eventually happened. They opened their own grocery, M. Matsumoto Store Inc., in the historic town of Haleiwa in 1951. Following the birth of their three children, the couple decided it was time to expand. They settled on shave ice, which they believed would appeal to the growing number of hotrodders, surfers and hippies invading the North Shore. Their "snow cones" cascading with homemade syrups were instant hits, and the couple become local celebrities. They were living the American dream.

Following Mamoru's death in 1994, his son Stanley and wife Noriko took the reigns. This new guard ditched the groceries for T-shirts and souvenirs (to cater to the growing number of tourists), but kept the shave ice. And business is better than ever. Just ask Roxanne Lloyd, a loyal employee trusted to run the store on a day-to-day basis. We recently caught up with her to talk about shave ice and its many tangents, including David Hasselhoff, sumo wrestlers and the problem with paradise.

Read all about island girl Roxanne Lloyd and her frozen life after the jump.

Now that summer, with all its attendant heat and humidity, is in full swing in New York City, I often find myself indulging in foods that I like to refer to as edible A.C. This includes everything from such main dishes as cold soba noodles and Korean naeng myun to desserts, like Taiwanese shaved ice, various types of psychedelic colored Indonesian ices and the ubiquitous Italian ice.

I admit some sheepishly that I've never cooled down with kakigori, or Japan's contribution to the world of sweet shaved ice desserts. And I've certainly never tried Champagne Kakigori mainly because it was only invented just this summer in Tokyo.

Maxim's de Paris, a posh spot in Chuo makes its version of this decidely adult snocone by starting with shaved ice mixed with fruit and herb extracts. Then the bartender tops it off with what I'm hoping for $18 a pop turns out to be a goodly pour of Dom Perignon.

[via Inventor Spot]