Just for laughs

For our final entry in this dessert blog, we thought we would put up a couple of our short outtakes when recording our final episode at Beard Papa's. Now this was unusual because in the first 7 episodes, we did not have to do any retakes. For some reason while doing our final episode at Beard Papa's, we could not stop laughing. It must have been the sugar from all of the desserts we have sampled :D Bye!

Hi! I'm Kristin and here is Outtake #1.

Hey! I'm Karen and this is Outtake #2.

Hello! I'm Miyuki and here is Outtake #3.

Episode #8: Beard Papa's

For our last dessert episode, we decided to journey into Beard Papa's located in Ward Centre, Honolulu. Their "fresh n' natural cream puffs" can be found at several establishments on Oahu: Pearl City and Salt Lake Shopping Center, Ewa Town Center, Foodland in Hawaii Kai and Ala Moana Center, and Waikiki Beach Walk. With chocolate, vanilla, green tea, strawberry, coffee and caramel for their flavours, everyone can indulge in the sweet filling with every bite.


Miyuki: I ordered éclair, which the flavor is chocolate and dark chocolate is on the cream puff. The price is about $2.40. I like this place since I lived in Japan. I really recommend this place to get the desserts!







Kristin: The cream puffs are good and I really like the Strawberry flavor. The only downside was that the cream puffs were a little messy but the outside tasted like a pie crust. Other than that the taste and the cost was good.





Karen: Aside from cream puffs, they also have tarts. I got the banana tart, which is made of cream, fresh and dried bananas and crust. It was okay, I thought there would be more pieces of banana.






Listen to Episode #8: Beard Papa's

Episode #7: Dippin' Dots

You can find Dippin' Dots at many places in Oahu. We tried one of the places at Ala Moana shopping center. Other shops are located in Honolulu Zoo, Aloha Stadium, Sea Life Park, Pearlridge shopping center, Waikele, and the University of Hawaii Arena. They are offering the interesting shape of ice cream by three sizes of cups. The shape of ice cream is also unique, so let's check it!


Kristin:
I think that this dessert was very interesting. The Rainbow Ice flavor that I had was very good. The concept of Dipping Dots is a good one because it is like ice cream but it comes is small circles that make it easier to eat.





Karen:
A lively place to get something for your sweet tooth. I had peanut-butter flavored ice cream. I like their serving size because it's a lot that it's going to be hard to finish and their ice cream isn't the usual that's clumped together because it's like little marbles.





Miyuki:
My order was the small cup of Hawaiian punch. The color is very cute, and allmost tastes ware orange and strawberry. This ice cream is really unique and interesting! Also, they are offering a lot of flavors.






Listen to Episode #7: Dippin' Dots!

Episode #6: SWIRL

SWIRL is located at the Ala Moana shopping center in the Food Court. Actually, this place is the small kiosk. It was Saturday noon time, so there were so many people in the Food Court. This place is very unique because you can make your sweets by choosing fruits and toppings. This is the nice place to take a rest during your shopping time at the Ala Moana shopping center, so please try!



Kristin:
This was one of my favorite places so far. I had a Strawberry Italian Soda that was very good. The price was good and the flavor was also very good. There were so many selections that it was hard to choose just one.










Karen:
I had the chocolate-dipped frozen banana rolled in a mix of almonds, dried mangoes and chocolate pieces. You'll have apple, banana or strawberry dipped in your choice of topping. This place offers something different other than your regular ice cream for dessert. This is probably my favorite dessert parlor out of all we've tried!




Miyuki:
My order was the frozen banana dipped in milk chocolate. The topping is chocolate chips and almonds. This was really nice, and I am going to try the different fruits, may be an apple. I like this place!






Listen to Episode #6: SWIRL!

Episode #5: Mondo Gelato

Mondo Gelato is a new place located in the recently opened Waikiki Beachwalk area. This is a great new area with lots of shops ad restaurants. When you walk into Mondo Gelato you are faced with the task of choosing from over twenty-five flavors, including Bud Light, Raspberry, and Chocolate. The sizes are also in Italian which makes it quite unique. The seating area is small but it is nice and air conditioned inside. The flavoring of the gelatos was very good. It is a great afternoon snack on a hot day.


Kristin:

My drink was very good. Just what I needed on a hot day in Waikiki. It had a great flavor and was a change from all of the gelatos that were offered.

Karen:

I chose to sample their lychee flavored gelato in their piccolo (small) cup. The price was around $3-4. A bit expensive for a small cup. It was an interesting flavor, though, for this was the first time I tasted lychee as an ice cream. Overall, a good-tasting dessert.

Miyuki:

My order was the small cup of mango flavor gelato. The server said that mango flavor is best seller, and he gave me a sample of it. Taste was really good and I liked it.

Listen to Episode #5: Mondo Gelato

Episode #4: Coldstone Creamery

Coldstone Creamery has several locations in Honolulu, including one at the Ward Shopping Complex and one at the Safeway on Kapahulu Avenue. The one that we got to visit was right in the heart of Waikiki on Kalakaua Avenue. It was quite a small location with only a few tables, never the less the ice cream flavors were very good. At Coldstone, they create a unique experience by mixing the ice cream of your choice with the toppings right in front of you. They even sing when you tip them! So if you are ever in need of an ice cream fix while you are in Waikiki, stop in at Coldstone Creamery.

Kristin:

The dessert that I had was the birthday cake signature mix that they had listed on the menu. Although the cake ice cream was a little rich, all of the flavors mixed together were very good and really did taste like a birthday cake!

Miyuki:

My order was the banana ice cream with chocolate brownie. I chose the smallest size, but it was enough for me. I liked the combination between banana ice cream and chocolate brownie.

Karen:

Being a lover of dark chocolate, I ordered dark chocolate with a hint of peppermint in their smallest cup available. This was around $4. It had grains of dark chocolate and peppermint for an aftertaste. A great combination of flavors! They have got a selection of ordering a single or a mix of ice-cream. Anything you choose will be worth your bucks.

Listen to Episode #4: Coldstone Creamery

Episode #3: Waialoa Store and Shave Ice

Tucked in a residential area, this dessert place (which is also a convenient store) is popular among the locals as evident in the long lines and arrivals of people when we were there to sample their shave ice. Offering only benches around the establishment for seating, people were standing while taking delight in their colorful shave ice. They make it so that the ice is fine and smooth, it immediately melts in your mouth. This is a perfect dessert destination to quench your craving for something cool and refreshing!

Kristin:
The shave ice was very refreshing and it is something that is unique to Hawaii. I don't think there is anywhere in the world that can make shave ice like the people in Hawaii can. I thought that the pricing was pretty reasonable. The only thing that was difficult is the parking situation as well as where to sit down and eat. The crowd just shows you how popular they continue to be year after year.

Miyuki:

My order was a small cup of shave ice. The flavor was strawberry and pineapple. I was surprised when I ate it first because this shave ice was really smooth. Very good and I liked it.

Karen:
This green color on the ice is of Melona flavor. At 2 bucks, this was the best shave ice I've tasted. A must-try especially for the summer.

Listen to Episode #3: Waialoa Store and Shave Ice!

Episode #2: Bubbies

Only a block from University Avenue, this cozy dessert parlour charms its customer with colorful, delightful and popular mochi ice cream. In a relaxed dinning setting with wooden chairs and tables, customers can savor the refreshing flavor Bubbies' of mochi, coffees, and cakes/pies (that have strange but cool names to them). So stop by and indulge your taste buds in the chewy goodness of their mochi ice cream and their other desserts that spell yummy!

Miyuki:
I ordered three mochi ice creams. The flavor was green tea, chocolate mint and raspberry. The taste was really good and I really like them. Price was $1 each. I really recommend this place.

Kristin:
I thought that the ice cream there was good. It was a little on the expensive side but worth the price. It was very refreshing. The dessert I had was called the "Functioning Prostate" but it was raspberry with chocolate.

Karen:

With the mochi half-dipped in chocolate, these 2 chocolate espresso and 1 raspberry flavored mochi ice-cream will surely satisfy the taste buds of ice-cream and mochi lovers. Priced at $1.50 each, every bite is worth every penny.

Listen to Episode #2: Bubbies!

Episode #1: Häagen-Dazs

The first site that we visited was Haagen-Dazs. It was conveniently located at the Ala Moana Shopping center in the Food Court. There were a lot of people when we did our report. It was a busy Saturday morning at the shopping mall. The service behind the counter was very good. They seemed to know what they were doing and were very efficient at making the different desserts.


Kristin:
The dessert that I chose was a Strawberry-Banana Smoothie. From what I could see, they made it out of Strawberry Sorbet, Fruit Punch, Sprite, Strawberries, Bananas and Ice. I thought that it was ok. The texture was too lumpy for me but the taste was good.
Overall I would rate the dessert place a 4 out of 5. My dessert was a 3-3.5 but the location makes up for the lumpiness of the smoothie.











Miyuki:
I ordered the Big Island Dazzler. The blig island candies (cookies), vanila ice cream, chocolate were inside. The price was about $7. It had a good-looking and good-taste, but it was hard to eat all just by myself.
I would rate my dessert a 4 because the taste is very good, but the price is expensive.













Karen:
Ordering a Mango Sorbet with a Twist for our group's first stop for delicious desserts is only my second time ordering at Haagen-Dazs. It tasted, I think, like any other mango smoothies I've tasted. A mix of mango sorbet and ice and something else I don't remember, it was a bit more expensive than what I've paid before (around 5 bucks), but it was good and refreshing nonetheless. For those who love mango-flavored drinks, I think you'll love this one. This dessert shop is surrounded by a many eateries: Italian, Chinese, Korean, Mexican and more and is in a casual environment. Not a bad place for our first stop.








Listen to Episode #1: Häagen-Dazs!

Welcome!!

Hello, everyone :)
We are taking Information Technology class at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Over the next 8 weeks, we are going to visit the different dessert places around Honolulu. Please enjoy our every episode!

The first episode is going to be Haagen-Dazs!