Lisa's Snax at 1552 Mill St. in Wailuku has the best boiled peanuts on island, bar none. They've also got snow ice, old-school crack seeds, dried fish and made-on-Maui taro chips.
"We've been making boiled peanuts for about a year now," says owner Ed "Najo" Hamasaki. "It's a secret recipe. Us old-time peanut eaters want them juicy, salted just right, with the perfect texture - not hard and not soft."
Just about everyone in Hawaii knows what shave ice is - basically finely shaved ice with different hues of flavored syrups poured on top. But Lisa's Snax has a creamier version called snow ice. Made with flavored ice like ice milk, it's topped with thick specialty jams such as strawberry, honeydew, mango, passion fruit and lychee. "We also have Oreo cookies as a topping now," he adds.
Article Photos
“You gotta come check out our snow ice,” says Manager Lisa Hamasaki with keiki Rinoa Angel Wright (left) and Naiya Hamasaki.
The Maui News / CARLA TRACY photo
"I've had people who have traveled from Lahaina, Kihei and Upcountry who have taken it home and put in their freezers. It holds up really well and you can eat it later if you like."
As far as the crack seeds go, "We sell the kind that other stores don't have," says Hamasaki. "What I call 'old school.' Like olive cake or football seed, guava peel and wet-baby seed. We also have dried opelo and robust taro chips made on Market Street in Wailuku."
For more details, call Lisa's Snax at 244-4996.
