“Malini Bikini”…where it all began…
My parents often tell the story about how they chose our names when each of their daughters were born. As our last name is daunting to look at and almost impossible to pronounce until you hear it said, they decided to give us simple first names: Grace, Lilly, and Clara. However, to honor our heritage, they gave us each a beautiful Indian middle name: Adya, Ela, and Malini.
My middle sister, Lilly, was three years old when Clara Malini was born. As much as she was excited to have a younger sister, she found her name difficult to say. She lovingly called her Clara Bikini. And it stuck. Clara Malini Bikini.
My youngest sister and I are both lactose intolerant. An intolerance that is common in about 75% of those who have an ethnic Indian background! At the time, dairy-free or lactose-free options were few and hard to come by. To accommodate us, our family's eating habits changed drastically and we did well at home but we struggled to find options that we could enjoy at restaurants or dessert shops.
When we were little, Culvers in Lake Geneva started offering a new treat called Lemon Ice. It was tart, refreshing, and dairy-free! We were so excited we would finally be able to have a fun, special dessert. Unfortunately, this special treat would only be offered seasonally.
Being lactose intolerant, especially in the cheese-loving state of Wisconsin, meant every pizza-filled birthday party and ice cream-stuffed sleepover left us unable to eat anything. This was something we struggled with and were never fully able to enjoy. It became our mission to find a fun, healthy, dairy-free dessert alternative.
In 2017, my family took a short vacation to northern Wisconsin, near Minocqua. In the next town over, we discovered a seasonal stand that caught our eye as we drove by. As we pulled in, we discovered that it was a Hawaiian Shave Ice stand. As we didn’t initially know what that was, my youngest sister and I were overjoyed when we learned that they served an authentic Hawaiian dairy-free dessert. With so many island flavors and add-ons (including a scoop of ice cream), we could barely contain ourselves. Neither of us had any words to describe how delicious and refreshing this dairy-free treat was.
I immediately began thinking about how we could bring this delicious treat to others who were dairy-free and struggling to find healthy, dairy-free dessert options like we once struggled to find. We wanted our friends and family to have the same amazing experience we did having Hawaiian Shave Ice for the very first time.
We are living in a time when people are more conscious of what is being put in their food and then going into their bodies, purposefully searching out healthier options and alternatives, and are becoming more aware of possible intolerances they may have. But everybody loves a sweet treat! So to combine the two together is a must. Hawaiian Shave Ice is the answer. And what better place to bring an authentic Hawaiian Shave Ice stand to than to the shores of Geneva Lake!
Malini Bikini serves authentic Hawaiian-style Shave Ice, a finely-shaved, fluffy cloud of ice topped with traditional and natural syrups in a wide variety of flavors. Lake Geneva locals have been enjoying our tasty treat that brings a little piece of Hawaii to them and summer tourists can enjoy a new, refreshing, dairy-free treat after a joy-filled day on the beach, a treat that we continue to bring to Lake Geneva every summer! We hope to see you at Malini Bikini this summer!
My parents often tell the story about how they chose our names when each of their daughters were born. As our last name is daunting to look at and almost impossible to pronounce until you hear it said, they decided to give us simple first names: Grace, Lilly, and Clara. However, to honor our heritage, they gave us each a beautiful Indian middle name: Adya, Ela, and Malini.
My middle sister, Lilly, was three years old when Clara Malini was born. As much as she was excited to have a younger sister, she found her name difficult to say. She lovingly called her Clara Bikini. And it stuck. Clara Malini Bikini.
My youngest sister and I are both lactose intolerant. An intolerance that is common in about 75% of those who have an ethnic Indian background! At the time, dairy-free or lactose-free options were few and hard to come by. To accommodate us, our family's eating habits changed drastically and we did well at home but we struggled to find options that we could enjoy at restaurants or dessert shops.
When we were little, Culvers in Lake Geneva started offering a new treat called Lemon Ice. It was tart, refreshing, and dairy-free! We were so excited we would finally be able to have a fun, special dessert. Unfortunately, this special treat would only be offered seasonally.
Being lactose intolerant, especially in the cheese-loving state of Wisconsin, meant every pizza-filled birthday party and ice cream-stuffed sleepover left us unable to eat anything. This was something we struggled with and were never fully able to enjoy. It became our mission to find a fun, healthy, dairy-free dessert alternative.
In 2017, my family took a short vacation to northern Wisconsin, near Minocqua. In the next town over, we discovered a seasonal stand that caught our eye as we drove by. As we pulled in, we discovered that it was a Hawaiian Shave Ice stand. As we didn’t initially know what that was, my youngest sister and I were overjoyed when we learned that they served an authentic Hawaiian dairy-free dessert. With so many island flavors and add-ons (including a scoop of ice cream), we could barely contain ourselves. Neither of us had any words to describe how delicious and refreshing this dairy-free treat was.
I immediately began thinking about how we could bring this delicious treat to others who were dairy-free and struggling to find healthy, dairy-free dessert options like we once struggled to find. We wanted our friends and family to have the same amazing experience we did having Hawaiian Shave Ice for the very first time.
We are living in a time when people are more conscious of what is being put in their food and then going into their bodies, purposefully searching out healthier options and alternatives, and are becoming more aware of possible intolerances they may have. But everybody loves a sweet treat! So to combine the two together is a must. Hawaiian Shave Ice is the answer. And what better place to bring an authentic Hawaiian Shave Ice stand to than to the shores of Geneva Lake!
Malini Bikini serves authentic Hawaiian-style Shave Ice, a finely-shaved, fluffy cloud of ice topped with traditional and natural syrups in a wide variety of flavors. Lake Geneva locals have been enjoying our tasty treat that brings a little piece of Hawaii to them and summer tourists can enjoy a new, refreshing, dairy-free treat after a joy-filled day on the beach, a treat that we continue to bring to Lake Geneva every summer! We hope to see you at Malini Bikini this summer!
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