Pau Hana Shave Ice — Restaurant in San Jose

As a family from HI we have high expectations for shave ice and typically don't even bother so we won't be disappointed. Pau Hana did not disappoint (can't expect the portion size of HI), the texture, oh the texture is as it should be. Light, fluffy, and delicate, as good as good local places in HI. Would absolutely come back here to satisfy the shave ice urge. I ordered a custom mix to recreate the Korean style bingsu with red beans, condensed/evaporated milk, and mochi. The flavors were good and worthy of your patronage.

8/28/23 We've been here since but thought I'd update with a new review. No surprise, it's as good as ever, soft fluffy shaved ice, good flavor in the syrup. This time baby girl had Melona and watermelon with condensed milk and mochi topping. The mochi was good, not those commercially manufactured balls, and that condensed milk with the syrup was delicious. Also had the Halo Halo. Good sized scoop of ube ice cream, I like the fruity pebbles instead of pinipig (crispy rice) but I love fruity pebbles. Delicious. There's stuff at the bottom so when you can reach out you might want to dig down there and retrieve the jackfruit, banana, and thin sliced buko. No...

Walked over during the SJ Obon Festival to a decent line out the door but it went by fairly quick! Bought 2 smalls, one with rainbow (cashier said their rainbow is banana / strawberry / blue raspberry) and another with li hing mui / POG, both with vanilla ice cream, condensed milk, and mochi.

My partner was born and raised on O’ahu around the corner from a Waiola’s and said this was the best, softest shave ice he’s ever had on the mainland! The li hing mui and banana flavors were especially tasty. The rainbow had an odd taste when it melted together at the bottom though so next time I’ll probably opt for a custom flavor combination. It was great to see the mochi placed on top instead of at the bottom with the ice cream, it stayed soft this way. However the cups are flat-rimmed, not bowl-like so as we walked somewhere less crowded to eat and the ice melted, it dripped and a mochi cube fell off. My advice? Push the mochi down into the ice or by the rim and hold the cup out so as not to stain your shoes (if you’re wearing fabric ones like I was).

All in all, great place and can’t wait to swing by again as the...

My family and I absolutely love this place and the owner is super friendly and so is the rest of the staff! They have delicious Shave Ice. Their customer service is phenomenal. We usually go there on Sunday afternoons, and the last time we went, we had placed our order and we were waiting for the owner to prepare it. We were looking at the menu and we were curious to know what calamansi was, so we asked him, and he explained it was basically Hawaiian lemonade. We got our order and went to sit outside to enjoy our treat, and a few minutes later, the owner came out with a free shave ice with calamansi so that we could taste it. It was not only delicious, but so thoughtful! We were not expecting that at all. The ONLY reason I didn't give it five stars, is the limited hours. I just had surgery today, and all I want is a shave ice and they are closed. Other than that, five...