The Scoop On This New Sweet Spot

Maiz con Hielo ($4.99)

It used to be that you could only get the Asian-inspired and tropical flavors of Magnolia Ice Cream & Treats in cartons at the grocery store. But that changed last year when the popular brand began opening retail shops, starting with its first location in Waipahu, followed by a second one in Las Vegas and now one in Kalihi at Kapalama Shopping Center.

Magnolia Ice Cream might be new to the Islands, but the brand has an extensive history. It’s been around for 40 years, mostly in distribution to Asian stores. According to regional manager Rhea Quemado, Magnolia’s popularity has been so lasting because it combines classic items with more innovative flavors.

“We have the classic chocolate, strawberry, vanilla,” Quemado explains, “but then we have others like ube and we have this corn and cheese one, lychee, mango, guava.”

I Lava Lychee ($5.99)

The establishment also is in the process of expanding its Hawaii-inspired flavors, including haupia and taro.

SAY HELLO TO HALO HALO

To get a taste of some of Magnolia’s more unusual flavors, try Maiz con Hielo ($4.99), which basically means corn and ice, Quemado explains. This item is quickly becoming one of the shop’s most popular items.

“This is our corn halo halo, which is a popular Filipino desert,” she explains. “And we have spiced it up by putting creamed corn, then we top it off with corn flakes and a scoop of our corn and cheese ice cream.

“It’s so good,” she adds. “It’s a whole other experience of halo halo. It’s a unique flavor.”

Another popular item is I Lava Lychee ($5.99), which is another take on halo halo stocked with various forms of lychee. “At the bottom we have lychee jelly, lychee boba, then (it is) topped off with a milk shave ice, mochi, a scoop of lychee ice cream, a piece of lychee fruit and azuki beans,” she says. “It is a really good combination, and it is very refreshing.”

Magnolia Ice Cream & Treats

Kapalama Shopping Center,
1210 Dillingham Blvd., Kalihi
845-4063
Sunday–Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.