Okina Cafe

I bug my boyfriend to come here tonight, just so I can try their fish cake! I ordered fruity lemonade and the three fish cakes, fruity lemonade was really refreshing, they give me soooo many frozen fruits in it to add the flavor! Thats totally a bonus! Fish cakes were okay and not much special about it. Over all I love my drink and will be back again!

I first had Okina drinks on the North Shore after ordering some shrimp plates at Giovanni’s. I was quite surprised to discover that they had opened up shop in town!
I like that there’s a little drink shop located in Palama. It’s refreshing to drink a mixed tea in the car after doing some intense Korean grocery shopping. Also, as a quick pinch, you can also purchase a drink here before ordering some yummy steak rolls across the street at Taes Teppenyaki or dining in at the food court/​cafeteria.
The menu is limited to a few teas, blended smoothies, acai bowls and coffees. They also serve some boiled looking food items on skewers. I wouldn’t come here just for the drinks, but again, it’s nice to be able to purchase a drink after I do some grocery shopping. I do enjoy their smoothies more than I do their teas. However that is a personal preference.
My rating is based on the limited menu. I prefer a larger variety in a café and unfortunately for myself, the two times I’ve been here, the white tea was terribly diluted and the berry smoothie (Haleiwa?) was too sweet and goopy tasting. The consistency wasn’t there for my tastes. Although I enjoyed my white tea out in Haleiwa, I did not particularly enjoy the drinks made from this location.

‘okina café was brought to my attention by fellow Unilocalers, Alina and Judy, back in early August. The other night, I happened to stumble upon it as I wandered into the Palama Supermarket while «foraging» for dinner.
Unfortunately, they were about to close for the evening. The nice young man working the counter gave us descriptions about the Korean fish cake soup, dukbokkie, açai bowls, smoothies and desserts as he was cleaning the chafing dishes. As he paused from his cleaning duties, he graciously took our request for a bowl of the patbingsu aka Korean Shave Ice after we saw the luscious poster.
We had never had this dessert before but what we received was impressive. The huge serving satisfied both of us. The bowl was filled with fluffy and fine shaved ice and topped with mochi balls, sweet red beans (azuki), fruit cocktail, sweetened condensed milk, something crunchy like cereal flakes and kinako (roasted soybean powder) all for $ 7.25. Thanks to Unilocal Hawaii, we received a 10% discount upon check-​in.
We’re looking forward to trying some of the savory Korean dishes as well as the other healthy fresh fruit creations. REAL SOON!
#448

I tried the white bubble tea and there are different levels of sweetness. The guy brought a sample in a little cup to let us check if the sweetness was ok and he was so polite too. This is one of the best milk teas i’ve tried.

This shop came as an interesting new addition to Palama Super, along with Von’s Chicken a few booths down. At first, I was a bit confused as to how it even got here until I realized most of the workers spoke Korean. Anyway, Okina Café is a great, get your groceries and maybe a drink, kind of place. The tea is a lot cleaner tasting with less milk compared to some other places, and the sweetness level may be less than what many people are used to. They don’t charge additional fees to add toppings into your drinks either, so you can add things like bubbles or coffee jelly in for free. I’ve tried the green tea as well as the white tea and thought that the white tea was pretty interesting. The workers often give out free samples of different drinks too, including their mango smoothies and shikye. My favorite recent discovery from this place is their Triple Wave which is basically a liquefied acai bowl.

I was really excited to try this place since it’s near my office. I tried their blueberry milk tea with taro. The drink seemed really watered down and the taro chunks were cut too big that it did not pass through the straw??? disappointed to say the least.

This milk tea was not as good as I had hoped after reading all the great reviews. It lacked flavor and seemed very watered down. I am pretty disappointed. :(the service was nice and fast, which was a plus. However, I will probably try a different place when I have a craving for milk tea. It was not worth $ 4.

Really good! Great tea flavor, I got the green milk tea with honey boba medium sweet. One star less because it could be creamier, this isn’t creamy at all — they have some white stuff in a pump instead of whole milk? but the tea flavor is amazing. If it was a little creamier this would seriously be the best milk tea! Boba has a great honey flavor and she only uses organic or fresh ingredients, no artificial powder here.
Highly recommended. Much better than most boba places I’ve been to locally.

Okina café is located inside Palama market on the right side as you enter.
The man who took my order was so nice and pleasant. He even gave us a sample of korean rice punch. That’s why I had to give 4 stars instead of 3.
As for my green milktea, it was very clean tasting but it wasn’t exactly what I’m used to. We also tried mango smoothie but more liquidity than smoothie. It was made from fresh mango. We also tried power surf smoothie that tasted something out from jamba juice.
I want to try their regular milktea next time.

OMG, just tried their new Korean shave ice patbingsu (7.25 $)
it’s so delicious !
the shave is melt in your mouth soft and the variety of toppings are just perfect.

Best milk tea I had so far and they ask you how sweet you want it. After they mix it they let you try it to see if the sweetness is to your liking.

This location is exactly like their food truck on North Shore. We ordered the blueberry milk tea, tart berry smoothie, and their original lemonade. All drinks were okay but at $ 4-​$ 6 each, it seemed a little pricey and they came without any extra toppings. Their blueberry milk tea is okay. The tart berry is basically a blended strawberry lemonade. Normally this would have been a 3 star post based on the product but the staff is so friendly that they deserve a star alone.

In a city flooded with tea cafes, it’s a nice change of pace to visit one that clearly puts quality over quantity. If you’re looking for a spot that won’t overwhelm you with their menu, and one that isn’t flooded with hipsters, come to Okina Café and let their refreshing blueberry tea (no milk) float you away on a river of tranquility.
*on a side note, they do serve sweet crepes, which are so few and far between these days as many places that serve crepes have closed down or are located in areas with non-​ideal parking situations. The next time I’m craving a crêpe, this will be my go-​to spot!

Thank you Okina Café!
I didn’t believe my frend’s Facebook post, on free drinks,
On your grand opening day.
Which was ⁸⁄₁ & ⁸⁄₂.
I had to make a stop @ Palama market to pick up Ban-​chan & Other goods.
What perfect timing & location!
After I got my goods, I walked over to Okina Café.
Located in the food court area, before the bathroom.
There is a digital screen with menu info. This is just perfect!
It was true, tea drinks showed «free».
The owner was very friendly!
I got the green tea with boba, half sweet.
I really enjoyed this drink, really refreshing, on this very hot day!
It was just perfect. The boba was just right! Not soggy.
I will be back, to get the same drink & try the other items.
Prices start in 4.00 range, i like that the toppings are free!
Can’t wait to try taro & coffee jelly when I visit again.
Congratulations Okina Café! & Thank you for the drinks!

The soft opening I went on Saturday August 1^st, milk tea with topping was free! There wasn’t a line like I would expect. I guess not a lot of people know about it yet. It’s located inside Palama Market, on your right when you entered. The owners and another worker that day. They were really nice.
Anyways, I ordered the green soy milk tea with azuki bean and my bf ordered the white milk tea with sweet taro. It’s definitely similar to the taste in Haleiwa’s one. Since we requested light sugar, it wasn’t too sweet. However, it was really milky. It tasted like there was more milk than tea in the drink. My bf wanted to try the honey boba… maybe I should have let him got that instead. Then it suddenly hit me… so why didn’t we get iced tea to try? Gawd… so smart.
Prices of drinks ranges from $ 4-​$ 6. There is also crepes… maybe I’ll try it next time.

Very friendly staff and delish coffee and teas! Haven’t tried their crepes yet but it looked yummy! I got a cold Kona brewed coffee and it was very nice and smooth. I also got a blueberry milk tea which was soon delicious!!! Very aromatic and light at the same time! They give you the option of sweetness too. Will be back for this tea!!! Yum yum yum!

Okina café is located in Palama Supermarket. When you head inside the supermarket, the café will be on your right hand side.
We got the white, green, and blueberry milk tea with sweet taro. The best part was we can choose any toppings in our drink with no extra charge! This includes honey boba, azuki beans, sweet taro, and watermelon. Also, we got to choose how sweet we wanted our drink. We were surprised they were super fast in making our drinks even when there was a few people before us.
If we were to compare which of our drinks had the strongest/​lightest flavor, it will be from green milk tea to white milk tea. The sweet taro was lightly sweetened and was a perfect combo in our drinks.
We will come back to try their dessert crepes and Korean shave ice!

On August 1^st and 2^nd, Okina Café has its soft opening for its second location in Palama Supermarket (by Don Quixote) and is offering free milk tea for these two days! I got to try the black milk tea and white milk tea as well as the boba and taro toppings.
I didn’t like the boba (I think it could have been slightly more sweetened), but I enjoyed the taro topping a lot. The bite size pieces fit perfectly through the straw and pairs great with the milk tea. Between the black milk tea and the white milk tea, I prefer the white milk tea, as it’s something unique and different. I had to obligatorily try the black milk tea though, as it’s the standard. The milk tea here is not as creamy as other places, and leans more on the tea flavors.
They have other fares here as well, like lemonades, fresh smoothies, crepes, and more. Most drinks range from $ 4 — $ 6 normally, which is comparative to other milk tea places. Conveniently located inside of Palama, it makes a great snack while you shop around!

When I saw on social media that Okina Café would be making free boba milk teas for their opening weekend in palama market, I made the effort to stop by on my way home from work. I’ve been to this palama market only a couple times, even though it is convenient. The issue is the small parking and high concentration of female Asian drivers. It makes me nervous.
Okina café is located in the small food court inside the market. There are tables and chairs and of course, an Ohana bank atm. Surprisingly, there was no line, and the guy who took my order was friendly and helpful. I decided on a blueberry milk tea because I’ve never seen blueberry tea as an option in any other milk tea spot. I also noticed there was «white tea» on the menu, so I’ll have to go back to try that too.
My drink was prepared quickly and as I waited I watched the workers preparing crepes. Crepes and boba, in addition to all the yummy Korean food from the other vendors sounds like a perfect coming nation. Hopefully this place makes it in this crazy boba tea city.
I wasn’t the hugest fan of my blueberry milk tea. I think I’m too set in my ways with my usual green tea milk tea. I look forward to coming back to try the other flavors and their crepes!

Tea truck from the North Shore now located in Palama Market in Makaloa. Good thing that Koreans like tea and boba! Hey I’m Korean and I do!
I just recently read about this place that this places was opening today and I figured it would be very refreshing after my gym workout. It’s so close to 24 fitness and it’s nice to do your shopping and have this refreshing at your fingertips.
This place is to the right when you walk in. Today was their grand opening and they have a free special: one free milk tea or tea today! The staff is really friendly.
Something I really like about this place is toppings are always free. They have honey boba, sweet azuki, sweet potato and watermelon.
I tried the blueberry iced tea with watermelon. It was different but good. I bet it would taste great as milk tea. My friend got the Haleiwa and said it was light and super refreshing.
I want to come back to try a smoothie and their lemonade!