It is often debated. “Who has the best shave ice?” Well, I was given the opportunity to find out first-hand this past Friday. Our Kamehameha Schools ESS division had its nohona cultural activity in Hale’iwa. The 90 of us stood in line at Matsumoto’s. After standing in the sun for a few minutes, I realized that I could go to Aoki’s and have a shave ice while waiting in the long Matsumoto’s line. No, I’m not a pig. I did this for the sake of research…. Anyway, I first had the Aoki’s shave ice. It was great! In fact, the locals prefer Aoki’s over Matsumoto’s. Then, I got my Matsumoto’s shave ice. Woh. There was a difference. I actually liked the Matsumoto’s a lot better. Funny, but it seemed a lot “colder.” I liked the ice better (must be the water,) and the texture (must be the blades,) and it melted slower (they must refrigerate their syrup.) They were both great, but IMHO, Matsumoto’s wins. Now this is not an exact science. I will need to replicate this experiment a few more times….