The lemon crunch cake — an airy white cake with lemon curd and bits of toffee crunch — is one of the signature desserts at Diamond Head Market & Grill.
Now, customers can get this dessert in shave ice form.
Diamond Head Market & Grill launched its new shave ice concept earlier this month, according to chef Kelvin Ro. The artisan shave ice stand is on the corner of Monsarrat and Campbell Avenues.
Ro explains that the business actually had shave ice in that very corner 20 years ago.
“We had a coffee bar with shave ice about 20 years ago,” he says, noting that when a coffee shop opened across the street from the business, Diamond Head Market closed its coffee bar.
“This shave ice machine is old; it’s a really expensive machine from Japan,” he adds. “The ice is really fine and fluffy. There seems to be a resurgence of shave ice now, but we’ve had the machine for so long. I decided to just try it (to do shave ice).”
Prior to the corner spot becoming a shave ice stand, it was used as a storage space for the business. As a chef, though, Ro knew he had to bring a unique spin to his shave ice concept. He explains the signature desserts feature housemade fruit coulis, slow-simmered compotes and premium ice cream, along with distinctive flavors inspired by some of the market’s signature creations.
“We’re chefs; we’re creating our own stuff,” he says.
The business offers classic flavors — ranging from blue vanilla and blueberry to lychee and mango — which are more “traditional;” guests can choose from keiki ($7) or regular ($9) sizes. Customers can choose up to three flavors per dessert.
Meanwhile, the signature desserts ($12-$15) feature the business’s specialty flavors and are more elaborate. Instead of shave ice bowls, the signature creations are served in trays.
“I didn’t want it (the shave ice) to be too high for several reasons,” Ro explains. “The ice is so fine; it’ll melt so fast. I wanted it more wide so we could put in all the ingredients without putting it all on one mound.”
Ro says each signature dessert is constructed using a layering process.
“I do it in two steps because I don’t want the top to be too fluffy,” he says. “I want flavor on the bottom half, too. I put the toppings on twice.”
Reminiscent of the market’s signature cake, the lemon crunch shave ice ($12) features lemon curd, toffee crunch, lemon icing and vanilla ice cream.
“We have the lemon curd from the lemon crunch cake; we made it into a creamier sauce so it’s pourable,” Ro says. “The lemon syrup is actually lemon icing.”
He explains the tart lemon curd balances the subtly sweet icing, while the toffee crunch adds texture.
Meanwhile, the strawberry daifuku ($15) — inspired by the popular Japanese dessert — includes strawberry compote, azuki beans, housemade butter mochi and vanilla ice cream.
“We’re making our own mochi,” he says. “All the components for daifuku — mochi, azuki beans — are already kind of in a shave ice. You’re getting so many textures and components in that, and it tastes really good.
“Instead of putting the mochi and ice cream on the bottom, I’m deconstructing it,” he adds, noting that the ice cream and butter mochi are on top of the shave ice.”
The blueberry cream cheese crush ($12) comprises blueberry compote, cream cheese drizzle and vanilla ice cream. Ro says Hawaiian Da Kine ($12) — haupia cream, pineapple compote and vanilla ice cream — is his personal favorite, but he anticipates the Pīkake (jasmine) flavor ($15) will be the signature dessert.
“There’s a story behind it,” he says, explaining that the flavor features pīkake syrup made from flowers from Diamond Head Market & Grill’s Maunalua farm. “We had the opportunity of having pīkake fields when we acquired the farm about four years ago. We started making lei — we became more than farm to table — and we did not want to discard them (the extra flowers).”
Ro explains that pīkake blooms all day; buds are picked for lei.
“There are going to be times when the flower is not picked, and it’s still so beautiful; I didn’t want to waste it, so I turned it into a syrup,” he says. “I used pīkake syrup in the past for other things like sorbet, or for intermezzo for a finer dinner.
“When they eat the sorbet, people can’t believe that they’re actually smelling pīkake,” he adds. “I decided to take the concept of the syrup with the sorbet, and do it for shave ice.”
Ro says he will let the pīkake bloom, and he worked with farmers to create the jasmine syrup.
“The oils are stronger if you let it naturally come out in the sun,” he says. “My farmer made the pīkake syrup with me. We’re taking it and adding value to a farm product.”
The pīkake dessert is topped with fresh fruit, including strawberries, blueberries and pineapple. Ro notes the jasmine is more of an essence, much like lavender or rose.
“When you taste it, you’re going to see what I mean,” he says. “Hopefully, I’ll get more stuff directly from the farm (to make syrups), because we have guavas, mangoes, coconuts and bananas.
“I wanted to do a bananas foster (flavor) with the ice cream, but we had too many ideas,” he chuckles. “I also wanted to do a Filipino halo halo (flavor); I wanted to do sticky rice and mango, tapioca and mango with ice cream.”
The shave ice stand is more than just another dessert option to Ro. He explains the shave ice concept is another outlet “to show the next generation the viability of farm to table.”
“It’s also about being unique and creating something out of the box,” he says. “Hopefully, we can use this and the farm as a training ground for the next generation. That’s my personal goal.
“We’re considered a one-stop shop,” he adds. “You can get your cake, lei, ice cream and food, and while you’re waiting for everything, you can order shave ice. In a little space like this, we have a bakery, the market, the grill, and now this.”
The shave ice stand is currently open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
CONTACT
Diamond Head Market & Grill
3158 Monsarrat Ave., Honolulu
808-732-0077
diamondheadmarket.com
Instagram: @diamondheadmarketandgrill
Shave ice stand is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
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