ShaKa ShaKa Tea Express

Not where I’d go to get my boba milk tea. However, it is where I get my avocado drink or my watermelon drink, and when in season, my lychee drink. Supposedly, they only use real fruits, no powder. And, I will say that I’m pretty convinced of that claim.
I know of a place that makes their avocado drinks out of real avocados, and I’ve even watched them make it. Shaka Shaka’s avocado drink tastes and its consistency is exactly like that one place. I also noticed actual watermelon chunks in their watermelon drink. The fact that their lychee drink is only available when the fruit is in season is a huge hint that they do in fact use real fruit.
I’m not a fan of their boba. So, I always get my drinks without them. And just a FYI, they don’t always open right at 08:30. I’ve been here couple times straight from working a night shift, and I had to wait about half an hour from the time the sign says they’re suppose to open.

I’ve tried many other «tea» places and I have to say that the tea here is super different and YUMMY! I will be back for more.

This is my favorite bubble tea place, hands down. I’ve been here more than ten times and have been slacking on adding a review.
They use only fresh ingredients, and you can customize your sweetness. I usually get the watermelon smoothie with boba, but recently got addicted to the avocado smoothie (75% sweetness).
You can park in the lot for free up to 2 hours. It’s right next to the DMV and the Asian market (next to Chuck E. Cheese). They have a punch card reward system, so take advantage of it.

I don’t understand why anyone would give less than 5 stars. Shaka Shaka is literally heaven on earth! The fresh fruit smoothies and the amazing teas imported from Taiwan are exquisite. Any time I’m in the neighborhood I stop by for an avocado taro smoothie or green milk tea. Try Shaka Shaka if you haven’t!

Awesome tasty fresh and purely natural drinks, accompanied by outstanding service by the owner named Maggie, she rocks and her drinks are off the hook a must stop when u looking for the best natural boba drinks in town!

I come here way too often than I should, but their fresh fruit flavors are hard to resist. Their drinks come with one free scoop of «bubbles.» And their bubbles are soft and easy to chew unlike some places. My fave is the fresh watermelon smoothie. So good! I also like their green tea cappacino drink which is always refreshing. They’re friendly and pretty quick. Don’t forget your stamp card too so you can get a free one after purchasing 10. :)

I’ve been all over trying different bubble drinks… But Shaka Shaka is second to none. The BEST bubble drink place! All natural, no powders, fresh fruit, the boba made fresh everyday. Staff… the counter women are always pleasant, very informative and if your undecided will help you to pick something. The owner Maggie she’s great. Works the counter with her employees, makes you feel at home. So anyone looking for the BEST bubble drink place… LOOK NO FURTHER! Come check it out and you won’t be disappointed.

The first time I ventured into this bubble tea shop I was quite skeptical of the ‘only fresh fruits’ claim that I was told about this business. However, the smoothie that they made me was very good and I enjoyed it (Avocado Taro smoothie). The Filipino girl at the service counter was very pleasant to interact with and I very much anticipated my next visit.
Fast forward (the next day) to my second trip there and their true side comes out. This time it was one of the younger Chinese girls at the register working alongside the Filipino girl. I ordered the exact same customized smoothie that I enjoyed the night before. However, this time the staff in the back refused to make what I had ordered. Apparently, the personnel in the back only spoke Chinese and no English because the Filipino girl could not communicate with them at all and they ignored her. The other Chinese girl was taking orders and the Filipino girl and I were left on the side at a loss for how to remedy the situation. She was clearly embarrassed for not being able to take care of my order so I just canceled the order and left.
In all fairness, the issue was probably because they were very busy when I tried to put in my customized order. Nevertheless, sadly I can not recommend this business and I will not be visiting again.

Wendy W. has heard many great things about Shaka Shaka in LA, so when we took a spontaneous trip to O’ahu last month, we had to stop by here at least once. Over the course of five days in Honolulu, we actually came here four times.
I’m always skeptical of boba shops outside of 626 (LA) in California. Usually, the shops rely heavily on artificial syrups and powders (I used to work at a boba distributing giant that supplies these materials to boba shops all over the world); so I didn’t expect much. I was pleasantly surprised!
All the drinks here are freshly made fruit juices. They have a small selection of tea drinks, but no one comes here for those. I tried guava, mango, and pineapple (you can mix fruits as well) and the pineapple concoctions usually come with pineapple bits, which were really good. You can also add boba, for FREE. The boba here is very good, chewy and soft, the way it’s supposed to be.
We met the owner, who is Taiwanese (shout-​out to the motherland!) and from LA, so it all made sense why everything tasted so good and fresh. She was also so incredibly friendly and nice, giving us recommendations on local spots to visit, so we could avoid tourist traps.
If we’re ever back in town, we’ll definitely be coming back!

I really only recommend coming to shaka Shaka if you’re getting milk tea. If you plan to get fruit or a smoothie then I’d recommend going to thangs a few doors down.
One of the cool features about Shaka Shaka is that they let you determine the sweetness level that you like (I like 75% sweetness).

I always enjoy customizing drinks whenever given the opportunity. At Shaka Shaka you have the option of adjusting the sweetness level of your drinks, and either adding boba bubbles or not. They use fresh in-​season fruits instead of the powder-​y boba drinks so it’s a lot healthier and fresh tasting. The staff here is very nice and is always willing to give you recommendations on any of the drinks, answering your questions, and give you samples of your drink to see if you like it or not. One of the distinguishing things about this bubble tea store is the variety of fresh fruit flavors you might not see on the menu at other tea shops in town.
Located in the Dillingham Business Plaza shopping center, there is ample parking in the lot and pretty convenient if you’re doing business around the Iwilei/​Dillingham area.

Definitely one of my favorite boba spots on the island. Not only are the drinks delicious but the selection is simply endless. I like how they’re always changing up their menu depending on what is in season.
For example this summer, I was hooked on the lychee drink. It was so delicious. I was in lychee heaven. The only downside is that once those fruits aren’t in season those drinks are gone. But this of course isn’t Shaka Shaka’s fault.
Another thing I love is how friendly the staff always is, especially the owner, Maggie. No matter what she is always smiling and ready to help you. If you’re unsure what to get or want to try something new, ask her for a recommendation.
My go to drinks are the mango, watermelon, and black milk tea. You can’t go wrong with any of these. Anyways there’s always a new drink to try and all of them are delicious! Try it out for yourself
8 drinks = one free with stamp card.

Another competing bubble drink place conveniently located within city square, by the Dillingham DMV, which is so close to home! It’s up there in competition with the other bubble drink place that’s located on the other side of city square. But this place has more variety options of drinks than just regular smoothies. I love anything that it’s made fresh. They use natural ingredients and not your typical artificial flavoring that a lot of places offer. Living in Hawaii, to beat the summer heat we have all year round, this would be the best way to cool down.
It surrounds other local food places as well so it’s a good sense of location if you want to stop by for lunch before refreshing yourself with a drink. The price for its portion is definitely reasonable. I tried the strawberry banana flavor, it wasn’t the best I’ve had but it was still delish and fresh. I love that this place takes card because I hardly ever carry cash! It was my first time there and service was great. I don’t mind coming back to try the other drink flavors.
The interior is vibrant and a little tropical. Suits well with the products they serve. There’s pictures in the front of the store also that draws people in. They gave me a stamp card and for ever 8 that you purchase, get one free! I think stamp cards encourages people to come back more. Everyone loves free stuffs!

I refer to this place as ‘Shaka Laka Boba’ just because it’s fun to say and it makes me want to go there even more. Hehe.
But on a serious note, this is my go-​to boba joint! The fruits are definitely fresh. You can see the refridgerator to the right of the store with almost everything in there. Plus! You can taste it in your drink. Sooo refreshing after a nice day of paddling. They even like to explain what’s in your drink. I tried the coconut milk smoothie and it was derrricious. The nice, young lady said they use whole milk (as a heads up). Oh, and there’s a fish bowl, with actual fishies, at the center of one of the tables! So different, but pretty awesome!
The only negative thing I can say is that it gets waaayy too cold in there sometimes. My friends and I sat outside. My suggestion is, even though there are a lot of boba places on this island, try Shaka Laka Boba out at least once.

Took the family here. We’ve tried many boba tea places with claims of «natural» ingredients. I must say, Shaka Shaka Tea Express is THE BEST at fruit drinks to include smoothies and teas. Words cannot express the awesomeness we’ve experienced. The owner had a very cheerful and approachable attitude. The workers were very nice too.
My wife ordered the lychee with boba and I ordered the strawberry banana with boba. The best lychee drink ever! The strawberry banana was also great. Overall you must try this place at least once. Two thumbs WAYYYYY Up! Stamp cards are always a plus. We will be back for sure.

I absolutely LOVE the Taro Black Milk Tea. My kids love all of the fruit smoothies they have tried… lychee, strawberry, pineapple, mango to name a few. I’ve sampled all of the drinks they’ve ordered and I really like those fruit ones too, but I’m a die hard fan of milk tea and I just love the taro one. :P
I love that you can choose your level of sweetness for your tea and I especially love that at the bottom of my taro tea there are small cubes of sweetened cooked taro pieces. So yum!!! Definitely my favorite place for milk tea. Boba is cooked just right. The milk tea is never diluted. They have a stamp card, after 8 stamps you get a free drink of your choice.
Oh! And they deliver! Just get 9 of your fellow coworkers to order a drink too and you can have it delivered to your unit/​office. I discovered this place from being asked to make a order while I was working at Queens. I had no clue they delivered to the hospital! Let me tell ya. Its not hard to get your coworkers to place an order to make enough orders to get a delivery. More often than not you’ll get more than enough people interested on jumping in for a delivery order. :)

Working Night Shift (11pm — 7am) leaves me in a Zombie-​like state most of the time. I cannot understand how people expect me to cook. Like, really? You want a sleep-​deprived person to handle a knife or other kitchen appliances? I’d rather sleep than eat sometimes! Forget about driving to the grocery store and buying produce. Then you want me to wash, peel, chop, cook, chew, and swallow — AND wash dishes? Too much work!
I’ll take a smoothie any time! That’s what I like about Shaka Shaka Tea Express — Maggie (the owner) makes eating a more pleasant experience (rather than a chore for me). Especially this week — I knew I had to give blood, so I needed extra nutrition. I chose a Watermelon smoothie since it should have more iron — yes! I was able to donate blood! I had also prepped for my donation with an avocado taro smoothie and a fresh coconut smoothie — both were thick, rich & creamy. The blueberry banana smoothie and Red Grape flavors were packed with antioxidants and helped me recover faster! Every one of them were tasty!
I really like the fact that you can adjust the sweetness: 25, 50, 75, or 100 percent. I also appreciate the owner (Maggie) who is the most enthusiastic and helpful shop owner I have ever met! She showed me photos of the boxes of boba that she imports and explained how they boil them to make them soft. She talked about the fruits: the search for them and how fresh they are. If they are poor quality, they get thrown out. If ingredients are not used by the end of the day, they go in the trash. Maggie explained the difference between powdered drinks vs. ones made with quality fresh fruit — you get what you pay for!
This week, I went 4 times to Shaka Shaka, and each time, she remembered what I had ordered, made great suggestions on what to try next, treated my friends well, and even hugged my mom! I’m looking forward to my next visit and my next boba treat!
The location is convenient: City Square — the shopping area with Chuck E. Cheese and Satellite City Hall. There’s a lot of free parking and many restaurants in the same lot (Utage, Sugoi, Kamehameha Bakery, Pancake & Waffles, etc.). There are many seats so you and your friends can hang out. The place is bright, spacious, and nicely decorated with Asian good luck items.
Go try it! Which one will you have first? Big decision! Remember to get the stamp card — after 8 drinks, you get a FREE one! Enjoy!

Unilocal 365 Challenge 2015 #17/​365
There’s something that puts Shaka Shaka Tea above the rest of the boba places, and that is the fresh fruit they use in their drinks. Most boba places use powder for their drinks, but not here. Although their drinks are a little more pricey than others, it’s definitely worth it. They even include the boba for free!
My favorite drink from here has to be the fresh coconut smoothie with boba. Definitely have never had a boba drink be so refreshing! My second favorite would have to be the taro smoothie. I’ve ordered taro from all the other boba places, and this one was for sure the best. It wasn’t purple like the others, but it was fresher and better than the others.
I like that this place offers small snacks like Poi donuts ($ 1.50), chips, and a few other things to snack on on the side. The poi donuts are great, and well worth the $ 1.50. It’s sugary and flaky on the outside, and soft on the inside, a perfect match with any of the boba drinks there.
They also have a stamp card that when filled up (after 8 drinks) you get a $ 4 credit towards your next drink.
Also, they accept credit cards, but only with a $ 5 minimum, which isn’t hard to do here.
It’s a little off the beaten path when compared to the other boba spots in town, but definitely worth going there just for the boba.

You can’t beat REAL TEA and FRESH FRUIT in your boba drink. Really. This place is the real deal — none of that powder most boba places use.
Normally I’m hesitant to get smoothies because sometimes they come out icy, but that’s not the case here. I ordered a taro smoothie and it came out creamy and delicious. It was even a tan color instead of the usual purple you’ll see from the use of the powder. Proof that this place doesn’t mess around.
You’ve gotta try the COCONUT SMOOTHIE. With boba. It is my new favorite thing. The coconut gives your drink a creamy texture and a naturally sweet flavor. There’s also just enough boba — it doesn’t overwhelm the drink at all.
They have an extensive menu, so if you’re a first timer it can be a lot to take in. Don’t hesitate to ask the staff for suggestions or ask questions about the drinks! The woman at the cashier is always helpful. Really good service here. She even asks every customer if they’d like her to open their drink.
While their milk teas are averagely priced, their smoothies can get a little expensive. My boyfriend Jake ordered a large coconut smoothie with boba and paid $ 6.99 (plus tax). I’m assuming prices are a littler higher than other spots because they use fresh fruit, so I’m happy to pay the extra money for such a good quality product!
If you work in the area, it’s a great place to grab a quick afternoon pick-​me-​up! Jump start the rest of your day with a Black Tea Cappuccino instead of that bland office coffee. It’s black tea with a layer of cream that trickles down… How can you go wrong?
PARKING: Shaka Shaka Tea is located in the City Square Shopping Center (next to the DMV), so there’s lots of free parking in the lot. Parking can be a challenge during the day, but you’re bound to find a stall — even if it’s a tiny one!

I am always looking for a new boba place to get addicted to! Shaka Shaka Tea Express has definitely been on my radar for the longest time. I came on a Sunday afternoon and it wasn’t busy at all. This was a good thing because when I saw the menu I had time to stand there for a minute and debate on what I wanted to get without being pressured to order. I knew I couldn’t choose wrong because when I entered I noticed the sign, «made with real tea and no powder.» I knew this place was going to be legit!
The assortment of drinks ranged from smoothies, milk tea and even a special section for pineapple infused drinks! When I try new boba places, I always have to get the Jasmine Green Milk tea. It wasn’t too sweet and very light on the milk, which was great because I can’t stand the ones that are too sweet.
The cashier also recommended the Pineapple Green Tea. It came with little dices of pineapple and had a naturally sweet taste. I would definitely get both of the drinks again! Don’t forget the stamp card! 8 stamps will get you a FREE drink!
There are a few tables inside for you to hang out and enjoy your drink. Wifi is also available for your use.
I will definitely be coming back to try more of their drinks!