In 1997, Paul Davies, owner of Surfing Monkey Shave Ice, packed up his life in London and headed to Hawaii to spread roots. On that first trip to Honolulu, Paul was taken to the North Shore of Oahu to try the world famous Matsumoto’s Shave Ice, and he could not believe how soft the ice was and how good it tasted. After moving to Maui a few years later, and now the proud father of three, every time Paul went out with the kids he could never find shave ice as good as Matsumoto’s. All the shave ice tasted like a snow cone — crunchy with not much flavor and watered down.
After many years working a 9-5, Paul was ready to tackle a new challenge — opening a shave ice stand and making it the best shave ice on Maui. In 2008, the first Surfing Monkey Shave Ice shack opened in Kihei and soon became the most popular shave ice stand on the island, selling the softest ice and using locally sourced raw sugar cane syrup.
Nearly ten years later, Paul is making his own all-natural flavors using fruit purees with no added color or artificial flavoring (including an exclusive coffee flavor made with 100% Kona coffee) and has expanded to multiple locations across the island, all while maintaining his mission to make and serve the best shave ice on Maui.
Surfing Monkey Shave Ice is proud to be a family-run business with an added emphasis on aloha to all of our customers and providing Maui’s best shave ice. Come say hello to us in Kihei, The Shops at Wailea and at the Fairmont Kea Lani Resort in Wailea.
Can’t stop by? We can bring our island-inspired shave ice to you.