Shave ice is as much a part of Hawai'i's cultural fabric as plate lunches and rubbah slippahs.

Yet, as plate lunches have gone upscale and rubbah slippahs have been swapped for Crocs, shave ice has changed and adapted to new, different and sometimes finicky taste buds.

There are new flavors, new toppings and new ways to eat shave ice.

You can have it in a bowl with cooked oatmeal and chocolate syrup.

You can scoop it out of a cup with green tea syrup and condensed milk.

Or you can have it the traditional way: in a paper cone, with sticky strawberry syrup dripping down the sides.

"This is a part of Hawai'i," said Michelle Kalau, 37, of Nu'uanu, eating a tutti-frutti-flavored shave-ice cone from Shimazu Store in Liliha with her daughter, Maile, last Sunday. "It's perfect on those hot days. And if you got a sore throat, even better."

We all have our favorite spots for shave ice, from Kokonuts Shave Ice & Snacks in Hawai'i Kai to Baldwin's Sweet Shop in Waimalu.

But where did shave ice come from? And how did this icy treat get so fancy?

SWEET BEGINNINGS

It's hard to pinpoint exactly when shave ice first appeared in the Islands.

The earliest record of shave ice in Hawai'i dates back to the mid-1880s, when thousands of Japanese immigrants arrived to work on the sugar plantations.

Workers would scrape blocks of ice with carpenter's planing tools and top the shavings with sugary water.

Kids would also pick up and eat the shavings from these large ice blocks that were cut into pieces for easy delivery to homes and businesses.

Maurice Kaya, 64, remembers stories about his grandfather, Kaichi Kaya, who peddled cracked seed, fish cakes and shave ice to the dock workers in Honolulu Harbor from a push cart in the early 1900s.

Kaichi Kaya, who opened K. Kaya Fishing Supply in Chinatown in the late 1890s, would shave blocks of ice using a kana, or Japanese-style carpenter's plane. At the store he would cook molasses until it burned, then add water to thin it out. That's what he used to sweeten the shaved ice.

"I think he was about the first (to do that)," said Maurice Kaya, the third-generation owner of the store now on Kekaulike Street. "But it's kinda hazy. Too long ago."

The old-time fishing supply store doesn't serve shave ice anymore. And Kaya doesn't think he'll ever bring that back.

"I never really thought about that," he said, laughing. "Maybe after I retire."

SIGNATURE OFFERINGS

Shave ice has evolved over the decades, from simple strawberry-flavored ice in paper cones to plastic bowls filled with everything from mochi balls to custard to chocolate syrup.

Every shop boasts something that sets them apart from the others.

Baldwin's Sweet Shop serves its shave ice exclusively in sturdy cups.

Aoki's Shave Ice in Hale'iwa offers sugar-free syrups in strawberry, banana and watermelon.

Shimazu Store in Liliha — it occupies the old B&S Store on School Street — has several signature flavors, including milk tea royale and li hing pickled mango.

And Ice Gardens in 'Aiea offers such unusual toppings as flan-style custard, cooked oatmeal and taro milk.

"I like it because it's different instead of just plain," said Bryant Akiona, 46, of 'Ewa Beach, who was eating a No. 17 — strawberry syrup, red beans, ice cream and mochi balls atop a mound of shave ice — at Ice Gardens last Sunday.

Shave-ice purveyors have added flavors and toppings as demand for these unusual concoctions grew over the years.

Melona-flavored syrup, for example, arose during the height of the Melona Bar popularity.

Mochi balls got trendy, especially when bubble drinks were in vogue.

"Everybody has their own version of what shave ice should be," said Kelvin Shimazu, owner of Shimazu Store, which opened three months ago and offers 45 flavors. "We can't please 100 percent of the customers, but I like the way I offer it. ... We wouldn't serve anything I wouldn't eat myself."

Sometimes store workers come up with their own concoctions that become signature flavors.

Lindsey Paresa, 18, figured out how to make Melona and haupia flavors — both not on the menu — at Island Snow Kailua, where he's been working for two years.

For Melona, he combines vanilla, lime and watermelon, then tops it off with condensed milk. For haupia, it's coconut syrup and condensed milk.

His latest creation: a combination of Snawzberry, lychee, li hing, vanilla and coconut.

He calls it "snawcheelinillanut."

"People like it," he said proudly, pouring the syrups like a bartender making cocktails. "They ask for it."

Some of the most innovative shave ice is served at the Waiola Store in McCully.

Open since 1940, the little neighborhood grocery store was once the secret spot for these icy treats.

But its popularity has grown along with its menu, which has changed at least three times in the past 35 years.

In the '80s Waiola offered just 12 flavors, ice cream and azuki beans.

Today, the menu features 40 flavors, ice cream, azuki beans (on top, not on the bottom), mochi balls, custard, cracked seed, chocolate syrup and condensed milk.

In fact, owner Jerry Lee could be credited for introducing the condensed-milk topping to Hawai'i-style shave ice.

He got the idea after drinking iced coffee with the sweetened milk in a Vietnamese restaurant.

Lee quickly added the feature to his menu about 15 years ago.

"We're always trying to introduce new things," said Lee, 36, who took over the store in 1993 from his father and opened the Kapahulu Avenue location in 1999. "You want to offer something new to your regular customers."

IN SURF SHOPS, GYM ...

Decades ago, shave ice was sold in sweetshops, crack-seed stores and general stores.

Today, though, you can find shave ice just about anywhere, from Korean takeout windows to lunch wagons to golf tournaments.

Island Snow Kailua serves shave ice in the middle of a surf shop.

Shokudo Japanese Restaurant & Bar has green tea, melon and lychee shave ice on its menu.

HTK Hawai'i hawks local-style shave ice at art festivals and wine events around San Francisco.

Itsu's Fishing Supply in Hilo sells shave ice along with lures and fishing hooks.

And then there's Keneke's BBQ in Waimanalo.

In addition to dishing up plate lunches and shave ice, Keneke's doubles as a gym.

Yes, a gym.

Owner and ex-Marine Keith Ward, who started the business in 1984, turned the back part of the restaurant into a weight room about 15 years ago to coach people — primarily kids — in powerlifting.

"I saw a need," said Ward, who's coached hundreds of kids.

Growing up on a dairy farm in upstate New York, Ward had never had anything like Hawai'i's shave ice until he lived in Southeast Asia. He was instantly hooked.

"It always takes me back when I make shave ice," he said. "I remember a Christmas when I was really small, watching my grandmother make homemade ice cream. She used to mix ice with the snow outside, sugar, fruit and preserved fruit. She only did it once a year ... It brings back those memories of being on the farm, of being poor but happy."

THE NEXT GENERATION

The best-known shave ice spot in Hawai'i is arguably Matsumoto Shave Ice in Hale'iwa.

Images of Tom Hanks, Kristi Yamaguchi, Jack Johnson and other famous past patrons adorn the walls.

Mamoru and Helen Matsu-moto started the business 55 years ago selling groceries in the rural town. They sold everything from school supplies to fresh meat to miso in wooden barrels.

Mamoru Matsumoto would deliver groceries on his bicycle until he was able to afford a panel truck.

"I remember going with him and admiring the way he would talk to the customers," said Stanley Matsumoto, 55, who now runs his parents' store.

A few years after the store got started, the Matsumotos got the idea to serve shave ice.

The winter surf and laid-back lifestyle began to lure tourists and transplants to the North Shore. The influx of people to the area prompted the Matsu-motos to sell the sweet plantation treat.

Back then a small cone cost 5 cents, 10 cents for a large. And there were just a few flavors to choose from.

Now, Matsumoto Shave Ice has 29 flavors — including the newer bubble gum, cotton candy and coconut cream. You can get ice cream and azuki beans on the bottom, condensed milk on the top, and all in a spill-proof plastic cup.

The price — $1.50 for a small, $1.75 for a large, more with add-ons — is still affordable. And the syrups are still homemade.

T-shirts have replaced school supplies, keychains have replaced canned goods.

But one thing has remained the same: the shave ice.

"We don't want to change it," Matsumoto said. "We don't want cut back or make it faster. Nowadays what's important is quality and service."

A FAMILY TRADITION

The first family to sell shave ice on the North Shore was the Shimodas. They made shave ice at a concession in the old Hale'iwa theater in the '30s.

Today, their great-granddaughter, Cathy Aoki, is continuing the tradition in Hale'iwa.

Aoki, 32, is co-owner of Aoki's Shave Ice with her father, Michael.

The store has been serving its version of the local treat since 1981.

Aoki's and Matsumoto have existed down the road from each other in a friendly rivalry. When Matsumoto would close at lunch, Aoki's would open and serve shave ice until 5 p.m., Aoki said.

"People always think there's major competition between us, but there's not," said Aoki, who makes her own syrup every day at the store. "We're living and business neighbors. We've always had a good relationship ... We're some of the last Japanese stores around, so we gotta stick together."

Aoki's Shave Ice has benefited from the surge in popularity of Matsumoto — and in the North Shore in general.

At its peak, the store can dish out about 700 cones and cups a day. (Matsumoto does about 1,200.)

Dana Harada was visiting the North Shore on Tuesday while on vacation with friends. Their first stop: Aoki's Shave Ice.

"This usually happens in the beginning of the vacation," said Harada, 35, of San Jose, Calif., eating the Sunset Special. "That's so you can make multiple trips!"

Though Aoki's tries to offer something different from Matsu-moto for its customers — sugar-free syrups, unique flavors, store merchandise — they stick to what they know.

And that's shave ice.

"We're trying to keep the tradition," Aoki said. "This is what we're known for, this is what people like ... We may add new flavors, but the shave ice will always be the same."

DID YOU KNOW?

Little-known facts about one of Hawai'i's favorite snacks: