If you’re looking for sweet relief from the sweltering heat and humidity, here are five consumables to help you chill. Tell us about your favorite way to keep cool by emailing features@staradvertiser.com. Tuesday: adjusting your hot-weather workout.
Sweet sandwiches offer a cooling nosh
Uncle’s Handmade Ice Cream sandwiches are a cool alternative to “been there, done that” shave ice options on the North Shore. Paul Logan says his cookies are baked using local ingredients whenever possible. My favorites are Peanut Butter Crunch (peanut butter ice cream between two chocolate chip cookies) and North Shore Coffee (dark chocolate cookies and coffee ice cream). Logan’s lilikoi ice cream, served with old-fashioned sugar cookies, is made with fruit he grows himself.
Find these treats ($5 to $5.95) at the Haleiwa Farmers Market at Waimea Valley Adventure Park and an array of establishments on the North Shore including Beet Box Cafe and Waialua Fresh. Visit facebook.com/UnclesNorthShoreGourmet, email unclesgourmet@gmail.com or call 238-9021.
—Nancy Arcayna
Fancy dessert reinvents shave ice
Take respite from the relentless heat at MW Restaurant, home of the fanciest incarnation of shave ice ever created. Dessert guru Michelle Karr-Ueoka’s Kula Strawberry “Shave Ice” ($10) is an amazing confection of haupia tapioca, strawberry kanten (Japanese gelatin), mochi ice cream, strawberry-yuzu sorbet and delectable shaved strawberries, garnished with lime zest. Just the memory of it will turn your frown upside-down, even in sizzling temperatures. The restaurant is at 1538 Kapiolani Blvd. Call 955-6505.
—Joleen Oshiro
Glass of rose helps keep humidity at bay
There’s no better cure for the humidity — and your weekday stress — than a glass of chilled sparkling wine, preferably Lokelani from MauiWine at Ulupalakua Ranch, a new find for me on a recent trip to the Maui winery. This bubbly rose, produced in the traditional Methode Champenoise right on the slopes of Haleakala, has nuances of fresh raspberries and orange blossom. We sipped it after a huge rainstorm, when the humidity was at its peak, and no one seemed to mind the weather. It’s perfect with a cheese and salami spread, or take it along to dinner at your favorite BYOB restaurant. Buy it at mauiwine.com, Safeway and other stores for under $30.
—Catherine Toth Fox, Nuuanu
Refreshing treat packs in seasonal flavor
Just the name of the place is enough to give you the chills, but you’ll want to head to Frostcity in Moiliili anyway for an ice-cold dessert that is light and refreshing. Blocks of naturally flavored ice are shaved into creamy, fruity sheets of “Snow Ice” and garnished with fruit, mochi and other sweets. The flavor menu changes seasonally; my hot-weather favorite is watermelon. Prices range from $4 to $9.
Frostcity is at 2570 Beretania St., in the small strip mall next to Blazin’ Steaks at University Avenue; call 947-3328. Hours: 1 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 1 to 11 p.m. Fridays, 12:30 to 11 p.m. Saturdays and 12:30 to 9 p.m. Sundays.
—Jermel-Lynn Quillopo, honolulupulse.com blogger
Minty grass jelly offsets stifling heat
Growing up, my mother always offered me certain foods she said had cooling properties on hot days. One of them was grass jelly, a gelatin made from the stalks and leaves of Mesona chinensis (a member of the mint family). It has a refreshing herbal, minty taste. So I was excited when I discovered it (cut into cubes) as an optional addition to the tea drinks served at Dragon Tea in Kaimuki.
The Taiwanese teahouse, at Market City Shopping Center, 2919 Kapiolani Blvd., uses fresh fruit and premium tea in its drinks, which range from $4 to $5. And if grass jelly sounds a little too exotic for your taste, try the fresh watermelon green tea slush. Call 739-9988.
—Nina Wu