Asato's Waikiki is a new scoop shop + shave ice omakase counter created by Asato Family! You can order their famous sherbet by the scoop or book a four course omakase dessert tasting menu. So good, so fun. Here's everything to know before you go ^_^
How fabulous is this!
Asato Family opened their super popular Pali Highway shop back in 2018. Sherbet by the pint, lines out the doors, all the good old school flavors....
And almost a decade later...there is Asato's Waikiki! Here you can order sherbert by the scoop and sit for a shave ice omakase. How lucky are we to live in Hawaii?
Location and Parking
Asato's Waikiki is located inside Kings & Queens, which is one of the ground floor retail spots at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach. It's right across the street from the Duke Kahanamoku statue on Kalakaua Avenue!
The shop is an easy walk from most anywhere in Waikiki. If you are driving, they offer validation for purchases over $20. Alternatively you can find street parking on the smaller street closer to Ala Wai Avenue.
My preference is to park at the Honolulu Zoo parking lot ($1.50 per hour) and walk over. It's a 10 minute walk. Zoo parking is a good option if you plan to do other stuff in Waikiki before/after visiting Asato Family.
What To Order
There are 2 main options here: Scoops or Omakase!
Scoops are available for walk-up orders, just like an ice cream shop but all sherbert instead of ice cream! The Omakase is a seated tasting menu that needs to be pre-booked online.
There's also a bonus 3rd option and that's all the take home treats. There's a small retail section next to register with crack seed gummies (think lemon peel gummy bears) and even li hing mui sauce!
Let's take a closer look at the scoops:
Scoops!
Sherbert scoops are $6 each, come in a cup, and there's a menu board next to the register listing all the daily flavors. They also have sorbet for those who want non-dairy options. My favorite is definitely the li hing mui float! My kid likes the green river. They are all great so you'll just have to come back to try them all.
Now let's look at the tasting menu...
Flavor Lab Experience (Shave Ice Omakase)
The tasting menu / omakase is $58 a person and requires pre-booking online. It's fun and unique, there's nothing else quite like it! I went for a 2pm seating on Saturday and it was such a fun way to spend the afternoon. There are 4 courses plus a take home bonus! Come see...
...first, a welcome bite of rainbow jello. The jello is made of just two ingredients: gummy bears and water! It comes with a side dish of lemon peel for dipping.
Second is a "Taste of the Crack Seed Shop." So fun! Even if you grew up going to crack seed shops, how often do you get to taste so many kinds side by side? Here's everything that was on the plate:
- Li hing gummy bear
- Li hing sour belt
- Shredded mango
- Whole lemon peel
- Lemon peel strip
- Li hing cherry
- Red li hing mui
- White li hing mui
- Li hing watermelon
- Lemon peel cola gummy
- Lemon peel mango gummy
- Lemon peel gummy bear
- Li hing mango gummy
- Rock salt plum
- Plus a bonus Haw Flake!
Neale makes the gummy bears at Asato Family (you can also purchase retail bags to take home, good for everything from omiyage gift to car snack). The crack seed comes from Kaimuki's popular Crack Seed Store...
...make sure to visit this shop next time you're in Kaimuki!
The second course comes with iced rock salt plum cola and four different tinctures...
...to customize your own concoction! I am big fan of the malic acid and added a mix of the 10% saline and malic acid to my cola. Fun to try them all and see how they change the taste of the cola.
Guests also receive a separate bottle of the rock salt plum syrup to customize. Once you're done adding the saline / syrup / acid, Neale seals the bottle by dipping it into liquid wax. Then you can take it home. Beautiful!
For the fourth course, select creme brûlée shave ice or li hing strawberry crunch cake shave ice. I went with a friend and we ordered one each and shared.
The li hing strawberry crunch cake shave ice is inspired by the crunch cake at Aiea Bowl! Love the soft whipped cream and cake cubes. This is definitely my favorite shave ice. It's served with extra li hing strawberry syrup if you want to add more to your shave ice (I thought it was perfect as-is).
And here is the creme brûlée shave ice with macadamia nut crunch! We skipped the mac nuts because my friend is allergic. Love that custard and smoky brûléed top. There's also more custard layered in the middle of the shave ice.
Neale also let us try a this bonus ube shave ice, so cool ^_^
Useful Tips
If you want to do the omakase / tasting counter, you need to prebook a seat online via Open Table. The tasting counter has 4 seats and they offer 2 seatings a day (2pm and 4pm) from Tuesday-Saturday.
Free parking validation for all purchases over $20.
Follow their Instagram (@asatoswaikiki and @asatofamily) for updates on special flavors and just general neat stuff!
Asato's Waikiki: Info
- Address: 2424 Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815
- Hours: Monday-Thursday and Sunday: 11am-9pm. Friday and Saturday: 11am-10pm.
- Website: asatos.com
- Instagram: @asatoswaikiki and @asatofamily
Mahalo for Reading!