Hee Fat General Store — Restaurant in Hawaii

On the afternoon of our departure from Hawaii (Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022), my wife and I realized we had not tried shave ice yet. Luckily we were able to walk inside Hee Fat General Store in downtown Kapaa to cross that item off our list. First off, I was pleasantly surprised with the prices. I thought we may have been charged top dollar for premium shave ice but we only shelled out $3.50 each for our keiki dishes. For flavors, I got half bubble gum and half watermelon. The young girl who took our order and made our dishes was extremely nice and welcoming.

When she handed us our shave ice dishes, I was surprised by how light it felt in my hand. We went outside and sat down on one of the store’s benches. I took a bite and immediately told me wife, “This is the real deal.” To be honest, I thought shave ice in general must be overhyped. How special can ice and flavoring be? Holy cow, the texture of the ice at Hee Fat is magical. So smooth, so agreeable, so refreshing. What I ate that afternoon was 10X better than any of the Kona Ice and other imitator creations you find in the continental United States. I enjoyed every bite of my Hee Fat shave ice and it literally made me feel happy inside. What a sweet...

The shop and staff are great, but my review is specific to the shave ice.

If you have "that guidebook" you'll see that this shop gets the highest recommend. We found the same exact thing. Real fruit syrups generously applied. The ice was formed with care from a solid block. There are benches outside to sit on, although the afternoon sun shines right on you even with the "shades". Go earlier in the day for the most relaxing experience.

The gutter next to this shop had standing water in it over the course of several days that smelled quite a bit like sewage. That's the only thing I could think of to criticize, and it's likely not even their fault.

Plenty of parking nearby. We didn't have any issues.

Go out of your way to get a shave ice here. Or be like us and stop...

So delicious!! We tried Wishing Well and Hee Fat, and this one is my favorite. I had Hawaiian Sunrise on macadamia ice cream with a snow cap (sweetened condensed milk). The snow cap is a nice contrast with the tart passion fruit flavor. My kids had blueberry and raspberry, both incredible flavors as well. Very natural and fruity! The only thing that'd make it better is for the shave ice to be even softer. It didn't melt fast either, whereas the one at Wishing Well melted very quick. Lastly, it was almost half the price and more shave ice, which is a huge perk out here. All in all, wonderful. It's our last day here and I'm ready to get this one last time this evening, even though we just had it...