FUUD: Bubbies Homemade Ice Cream & Desserts
July 11th, 2008 by CatIf there's one thing I love, it's ice cream.
Mint chocolate chip, vanilla fudge swirl, mocha almond fudge — if it's a dairy product in frozen form, I'll likely eat it.
And there's no better place — in my opinion — to get homemade ice cream in Hawai'i than Bubbies Homemade Ice Cream & Desserts. (After all, it's in the name!)
Inside Bubbies on University Avenue — on a Thursday night!
Its trademark chalk board menu.
I grew up going to Bubbies with friends, hanging out after a movie at Varsity Theater and snickering at the menu items with names like "Come Here Little Girl" and "Multiple Orgasm."
Back then, I used to order a double scoop — or dip — of Oreo and Chocolate. (That's when the menu only offered eight or so flavors.) And even though the ice cream shop has added such cool flavors as Banana Nut and Green Tea, I still opt for the same pairing. Must be habit!
Bubbies has long been known for its, er, creative dessert names — like this one.
One of my favorites!
It's hard to believe Bubbies has been around for 23 years. The original parlor opened in March 1985 on Coyne Street in the University area. Flavors were manufactured one at a time in the back of the store.
It was the ice cream's creamy texture and natural ingredients that lure a loyal customer base to Bubbies. And through word-of-mouth, its popularity grew beyond the store's 10 parking stalls.
A look at Bubbies' signature flavors.
The following year, however, the parlor was destroyed by a fire. A few months later, the store re-opened with a vengeance, expanding its restaurant and hotel wholesale business.
Now, Bubbies products are all over the world. High-end restaurants such as Nobu and upscale gourmet retailers like Dean & Deluca carry its products.
On O'ahu there are two locations: Varsity Center and Koko Marina Shopping Center in Hawai'i Kai. Though its cakes and ice creams are still popular, Bubbies has become known for its line of mochi ice cream, which includes flavors such as green tea, azuki bean, lychee and sakura. (I ordered three to take home!)
Here's what we ate last night, after watching "Surfwise" at the Doris Duke Theatre:
A single dip of Banana Nut ice cream in a cone.
A scoop of Mint Chip drenched in chocolate sauce and topped with a gummy bear.
A scoop of a coffee crunch ice cream (and the name escapes me).
And my duo of Oreo and Dark Dark Chocolate Chip. Can't go wrong!
So if you've got plans to grab dinner, hit the movies or even just lounge at the beach, consider stopping by Bubbies. Go to the gym tomorrow.
Bubbies Homemade Ice Cream & Desserts, Varsity Center, 1010 University Ave. Hours: Noon to midnight, Monday through Thursday; noon to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday; and noon to 11:30 p.m. Sunday. Phone: 949-8984.
July 11th, 2008 at 2:45 am
bubbies > cold stone
any day.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:08 am
Ooooo.......And, I was just in the area on Wednesday night. I should have walked over and had a tall, cool one.....Cat, you've convinced me. Maybe I should go there tonight.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:36 am
Bubbie's is right around the corner from my friend's bookstore, Rainbow Music & Books, and I usually go to Bubbie's on a hot day after a foray into the bookstore. Good place to sit & peruse the book purchases with a scoop of ice cream. If I remember right, Bubbie's also serves Vietnamese-style coffee, too, which is great with ice cream.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:45 am
Azuki and Green Tea is the bomb!
The Mrs and I crack up when we go to the Hawaii Kai store and tell the
frail high school girls we want each flavor in the half-gallon containers.
Hard work builds character.....tee hee!
July 11th, 2008 at 6:40 am
CAT,
Banana Nut foto is of a Wafer Cone vice a sugar cone. Sugar cones are rolled and darker (not to be confused with the Waffle cone which is larger still). Wafer cones are like that found in wafer cookies (Nutter Butter, Twix, etc.).
One of my pet peeves when servers of ice cream don't know what a wafer cone is. They always say..."Oh, you mean a REGULAR cone"!? when I point to the wafer cone when they think my request is from outer space.
July 11th, 2008 at 6:55 am
Yummy, yummy, yummy, it's early but I want to have ice cream now...
July 11th, 2008 at 6:58 am
Thanks, Annoddah Dave. I made the change!
Hey, you met my parents recently? My mom recognized you!
Hope you guys had fun at the blog party last night!
July 11th, 2008 at 7:50 am
ooh....Bubbies! haven't been there for awhile. thanx for the pix to remind me of what i've been missing.
i used to have that Multiple Orgasm....so decadent and satisfying.
July 11th, 2008 at 7:58 am
Nothing beats DDCCC!!!
July 11th, 2008 at 8:07 am
i work at koko marina sometimes, and once - these 2 young kids (a girl and a boy) came in giggling like they saw or heard something really funny . . .
the girl asks me "have you ever been to bubbies?" and i reply "yeesssss . . . why?" almost scared to hear her answer, and in a really loud voice says: "they have a dessert there called 'multiple orgasm'! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!" both of them cracking up, and i'm standing there trying not to laugh AT them!
but i do like their ice cream flavors . . . i love the green tea
after eating dinner at kit 'n kitchen, we'd always have dessert at bubbies . . . gotta get back soon!
July 11th, 2008 at 8:15 am
good call . . . that was always the spot after a movie at varsity, or after a uh v-ball game.
July 11th, 2008 at 8:20 am
i think i might've only been there once...living on the west side you kinda settle for whats close!! it did look good though...and i'm one of those that normally sticks to the same old thing, either rocky road or mint chocolate chip, but i think i'm in the mood for some multiple orgasm...take that as you will! lol!!
July 11th, 2008 at 8:39 am
I'm squinting at the pic of the signboard, but I just can't read it.
How much for a double scoop or a sundae?
July 11th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Bubbies is the bestest. The fondest memory I have is when my girlfriend at the time and I ate there then went back to her dorm room. Ahh good times.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:04 am
oh man....now i'm seriously craving some green tea mochi ice-cream! not good....its not even 10am!!
July 11th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Bubbie's "multiple orgasm" (coffee, chocolate, oreo cookie... with fudge... how can you not love that!?) is awesome... used to have that all the time (jus' like opso!). Hmm... I wonder if that coffee crunch flavor is the one I tried once and loved, but they never had it when I went on later occasions. It was so good! Guess I'll have to try again...
July 11th, 2008 at 10:21 am
kako mochi - You reminded me of the time I went to Bubbies and this little boy, probably around seven years old, ran in and ordered a "multiple orgasm." He told the guy behind the counter "Can I have a multiple orgasm?" Since the boy had been running, the guy couldn't understand him so the boy had to repeat his request... like four times, until, at the end, he was YELLING, "CAN I HAVE A MULTIPLE ORGASM?!" OMG! Something was just sooooo wrong with that picture.... ???!! (but, was pretty funny... and the boy's parents missed everything - they came in after that episode was done!)
July 11th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Bubbies is awesome! Now if only more places in Honolulu were open that late...
July 11th, 2008 at 11:47 am
I LOVE Bubbies! The green tea ice cream there is my favorite. My mom used to buy some in a container for me before I came home from school on the Mainland. I even got scoldings from my dad for eating the ice cream for breakfast. Oops!
July 11th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Never been there but the ice cream place in Haweiwa across from Kua'ina burgers is fantastic.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Bubbies is fantastic. I either get the lychee mochi, oreo ice cream, or whatever their special sorbet is. Can't go wrong with anything you get there!
July 11th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I'm going to get oreo ice cream tonight at Bubbies...
July 11th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Hey Cat... We missed you last night. I kept a look out for you!
July 11th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Yeah, sorry, I wanted to be there, but I had to finish up some work. And I had tickets to see "Surfwise." But I heard it was a huge success! How was the food? (Or FUUD)
July 12th, 2008 at 12:11 am
(I wish you hadn't advertised the place.)
July 12th, 2008 at 1:10 am
yah. you were only one of two who attended the first bash and was awol.
tsk, tsk.
join us
july 30
phuket thai ward area
1200
cattle call.
July 12th, 2008 at 6:26 am
Did anyone mentioned the price for their Bubbies ice cream? Went a couple times when they had a location in Mililani and it was very good and creamy and pricey. I kept wanting to go there more often but the cost was a barrier. Ice cream not exactly healthy but have no discipline to avoid it but will eat at home usually it's Breyer's Kona Coffee or Roselani Kona Coffee/Haupia/or the one with the pineapple chunks.
July 12th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Bubbies can make anyone uncontrollable. When I ate Bubbies at first time, it was amazing. I cannot leave it.
_________________________________
John
Addiction Recovery Hawaii
July 13th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
You really love your deserts don't you?
July 13th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Multiple Orgasm??? I'll have to try that one and see how it compares to the real thing...
July 14th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Aaahhhh... Bubbies, one of the places in Hawaii that makes me homesick. I wonder if Keith still owns the store? I knew someone who knew Keith and I've been to the factory; it's amazing how they make mochi ice cream, they use some kind of modified meat grinding/sausage making machine. I remember when Bubbies first opened at Kahala Mall and they had to change some of the names to make it family acceptable.
I have to say I'd take Bubbies over Pinkberry any day. And I love Pinkberry a lot!
July 15th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Yup, luv bubbies used to go their after the movies at Varsity. Sad to see Varsity close. By the way how was the movie Surfwise?
July 25th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
I finally got around to Bubbies today. I didn't have a multiple orgasm. I did have a multiple brain freeze.
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