NIO Snow Ice & Tea

NIO Snow Ice & Tea is a tiny shop near Restaurant Row that offers Taiwanese snow ice, milk teas, and fruit teas with boba. The snow ice is priced between $6-$7 and the drinks are between $5-$6. All the drinks are one size; large. Their boba are softer and chewier compared to the other shops in town. I noticed their drinks are more on the sweet size so it might be best to ask for less sugar and add more as needed. There is a self-serve syrup dispenser on the side of the counter. I recommend the tiger latte boba and matcha lovers. The tiger latte boba has no caffeine and is made with milk and caramel. The matcha lovers tasted like a Japanese dessert. It's a green tea latte with sweeten azuki beans and condensed milk walls.

The seating is limited; there are 6 bar stools. The parking is also tough. If you drive into the alley most of the spaces are reserved or coned off for the other businesses. It is best to find street parking or have someone else get the drinks while you wait in the car in front of the shop.

550 Halekauwila St., Ste 101
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 548-2431

Tiger Latte Boba, Matcha Lovers, Tiger Amber Boba

Anytime Cafe - CLOSED

Anytime Cafe is located in the Market City Shopping Center. The menu is mostly Chinese food but there's some Italian; pasta and risotto. They have a happy hour that runs from 2pm to 4pm which offers HK style snacks for under $5. The items are very limited and the portions are small. If you order items from the regular menu, the portions are much better. For a restaurant in this part of town, I consider their appetizers prices to be affordable. As for the other items, the prices are a bit high.

I recommend coming in the afternoon when you've already had lunch but you need a place to hang out. You can order a few appetizers to nibble on while you talk story. The parking lot is usually empty on this side of the shopping center but the stalls are small.

For more information about Anytime Cafe, visit www.anytimecafehawaii.com.

2919 Kapiolani Blvd
Ste 218
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 735-3888

Look Funn Roll

Sweet Potato Fries

Fried Calamari

Baked Garlic Chili Wings

Garlic Bread

Fresh Clam Spaghetti w/ White Wine Sauce

Fish Ball Noodle Soup

Fried Dumpling

Coffee or Tea?

Don't be confused by their name, they offer more than just coffee and tea. They also have Taiwanese shave ice and Chinese style snacks. The staff and the owners here are constantly experimenting so you'll always find something new on the menu.

The drinks here are customizable. You can choose as many topping as you want in your cup. The down side is that the price goes up as you add. You also get less coffee/tea because those toppings are taking up space at the bottom.

If you come here after 9pm on any day, you'll probably see groups of Chinese people hanging out in the front of the shop. They're not going to bite if you don't look Asian, just walk in and get your drink. If you decide you want to sit in, make sure you don't bring any outside food. They're super strict and the staff will yell at you. This place is cash only and the average drink costs around $3.50.

McCully Shopping Center
1960 Kapiolani Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 942-4357

Watermelon Milk Tea w/ Boba

Lemon Ice Green Tea

Shave Ice w/ Grass Jelly, Pudding & Boba

Shave Ice w/ Condensed Milk, Pineapple,
Strawberry, Vanilla Ice Cream & Boba

Green Tea Shake

Papaya Milk

Frost City

This is starting to become popular. People call this snow ice, it's shave ice but instead of using water, they use ice cream. So the end product is creamier.

I didn't like the fruit flavors. It tasted too similar to regular shave ice. I thought the black sesame and the green tea flavors were the best. Some flavors do sell out fast so if you miss it, you can probably go back in 2 weeks and it should be there.

2570 Beretania St. Ste 105
Honolulu, HI 96826

Blueberry

Mango

Green Tea

Azuki

Black Sesame & Milk