It’s no surprise that Hawaii is a melting pot of cultures, and we love that one of the most prominent cultures being integrated into our island is Japanese. Why? Because Japan is undeniably known for the cutest, most picture-worthy foods on the internet.
Spoon Hawaii recently visited Shirokiya Village Walk’s two newest vendors, Charmy Ice Cream and Vintage Cave Choco Magic, to sample some of their most Instagramable soft serves and chocolate-dipped delights.
10-Second History Lesson:
Vintage Cave Choco Magic opened on Halloween day to offer delectable treats to patrons of all ages, because who doesn’t love chocolate?
Charmy’s operates under the name Eddy’s Ice Cream in the funky, quirky, zany city of Harajuku, Japan, and made its debut in Honolulu early November.
The Sweets:
Now that we got our little history lesson out of the way, let’s get on to the fun stuff – ice cream and chocolates!
Charmy’s offers a variety of colorful hand-dipped waffle cones and a choice of Vanilla, Strawberry, or a Mix of the two as the base. Their extensive menu allows you to choose a specialty cone, or create your very own unique ice cream with their quirky cookies and chocolate toppings.
We got to sample two of their most popular items, the Unicorn and Hawaii-themed cones, along with their promotional holiday Christmas soft-serve.
*Fun Fact: The soft serve doesn't melt as quickly as you'd think, which allows you to have a full-on photoshoot for your beautiful creation.
Vintage Cave Choco Magic should rename themselves Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Fountain, because that’s what it was like stepping into the establishment. Their endless choices of dippable delicacies and myriad of chocolate selections literally made us drool.
They offer a wide array of skewered sweets, ranging in price points of $1-$3, everything from marshmallows to brownies, apples, macarons, cream puffs, strawberries, and more. They also have a huge selection of toppings to load up on for only $1.
For those of you that thought Milk, Dark, and White Chocolate were the only chocolate options for a fountain, think again. Choco Magic has changed the game by adding a Strawberry Chocolate and Banana Chocolate to their line-up, and we’re glad they did because we’re going bananas for these exclusive flavors.
Our Favorites:
Everything. Just kidding. Not really. Everything was great, but if we had to recommend our favorites, these would be it:
Charmy's:
Mixed Ice Cream with a Cereal-Topped Cone: Honestly, all four items that we tried were equally delicious, and you can’t go wrong with any of the pre-designed cone options they that they offer.
We found that the tangy strawberry flavor paired so well with the slightly-milky vanilla soft serve. Too much of each flavor was a little overpowering, especially because the cone is ginormous for one person, but by getting a combination of the two, you get a perfect balance of the two. We loved the Cheerio and Fruit Loops cone, because it’s the perfect excuse to eat this for breakfast.
Call me crazy, but one of my favorite parts of the ice cream was the cookie topping! We were told that the cookie recipe has gone through many a trial-and-error, and that effort has not gone to waste, because it’s the perfect mashup of a shortbread and sugar cookie.
Vintage Cave Choco Magic:
Strawberries & Brownies, Dark Belgium & Banana Chocolate:
It’s no surprise that strawberries made it onto our Favorites List. Chocolate and strawberries are the most iconic duo, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Now, you may be thinking “Brownies are like 85% chocolate. Isn’t it a little overkill?” Oh, how you couldn’t be more wrong. The dense, chewy brownie, paired with the sweet, banana-y chocolate is like a match made in chocolate heaven.
#SpoonTip: Tag @charmy.hawaii on your insta-worthy Instagram pic to get a free cookie or chocolate!
Sundays are Keiki Days at Choco Magic. Kids 12 and under who are accompanied by an adult can get 10% off! Offer to babysit your niece or little brother and it’s a win-win. They get a delicious treat, and you get paid to take them to a chocolate wonderland.