Kekaulike Market

Chinatown was a cute experience. Many small vendors with all types of fruits , vegetables, food and drinks of all sorts.

Grocery shopping in Chinatown, Honolulu, Hawaii...Located on Kekaulike Street - between King Street and Hotel Street - Kekaulike Market is one of the "go to" places for fresh produce and fresh meats and seafood.Today, I was looking for a pineapple for my mom, but, unfortunately, didn't find any.However, I did see items such as locally caught fish packed in ice, clean chicken feet in refrigerated cases, and tables full of colorful vegetables and fruits!The variety is overwhelming! There are many vendors inside of the air conditioned market and even more stalls right outside the market's doors - all along the wall!Just take your time and compare prices. Bring tote bags ...and cash for better bargaining power!Remember that metered street parking is free on Sundays and holidays. If you're early, you can get free parking on King Street. If not, the municipal parking lots have reasonable parking rates.

When growing up in Chinatown, I often found myself following my father or paternal grandmother wandering around the neighborhood getting groceries. Our family was the stereotypical Chinese family where fresh meat and produce were purchased daily and the menu was dependent on what's in season or what looks good.Once upon a time there was a HUGE open, metered parking lot next to Cindy's Lei Shoppe but that all changed when Kekaulike Market (KM) was developed in the late 80's/early 90's. I went away for college and when I returned, I realized multiple Chinatown developments to promote more foot traffic to the area.KM is an enclosed area with air-conditioning of many stall selling meats, seafood, produce, canned and dry goods. Today, I find myself following my father's footsteps going through the multiple vendors checking out what's good and what's in season. I have my usual favorites, which included Maguro Brothers when they were originally located here before moving over to a much larger space inside Maunakea Marketplace.Most vendors speak English but for most of the staff, English is not their native tongue. As a word of precaution, do your due diligence and shop around before making that purchase as you'll most likely find the same products within walking distance of different prices and/or quality.Vendors primarily accept cash and/or EBT cards. Make sure to watch the staff weigh and price your purchase and check your change prior leaving. Receipts are not automatically given, and you need to request for one. And since the plastic bag ban in Oahu, it's now BYOB - - bring your own bag. Be sure to bring your eco-friendly shopping bags to carry your purchase. I really like KM because it's adjoining to Maunakea Municipal Parking and is also a pass through between Maunakea Street and Keaulike Street. A major plus if you're in a rush, avoiding heavy foot traffic and dodging the rain.

Poke bowls in the back are the highlight fresh fruits and vegetables. Papaya, Mango's passion fruit. All farm fresh and ripe. great pork and chicken, but the Poke bowls are the BOMB!!! Atmosphere might be a shock to some, kinda open air like something you'd see in China, but all good stuff. Safe Hygiene practices and very very fresh meats and produce.

Kekaulike Market in Honolulu's Chinatown is a good place to buy locally grown fruits and vegetables, seafood, and raw meats. Some of the prices are cheaper than the farmers markets and the mainland chain supermarkets. During lychee season (May/June) you'll find bright red plump Hilo lychee. When lychee is not in season, you might find Hilo longan (dragon eye) which are also sweet and juicy. The locally grown papayas, pineapples, and apple bananas are sold here year-round.I always bring cash when I shop in Chinatown because most of the vendors don't have card terminals for credit/debit cards. If you walk inside the market, you'll see the raw meat/poultry and seafood vendors. In the back corner, there is Maguro Brothers and they sell high quality fish for sashimi. They get their fish from the fish auction and they make chirashi and poke bowls with it.The best time to shop here is mid-morning. All the vendors will have their products out and are ready to do business. Once 11:30am comes around, it gets hot and the smells from everything can be disturbing. For parking there is a municipal garage on Maunakea Street that goes underground; this is the closest parking. You can also park in the street if you find a metered parking space.

I love visiting open air markets, even though as a visitor I really have no need of live fish. It's fun to see and experience the hustle and bustle of a grocery market in a culture that has to shop daily so lunch and dinner are made from the freshest ingredients. And this is the place to come for fresh tropical fruit. For those of you used to the cultural appropriation of poke on the mainland, what poke (rhymes with hokey pokey, it's not a French word) is and originally was in Hawai'i is a market food made from the fresh leftover fish catch of the day. It's also a supermarket food, poke is to Hawai'i what cole slaw is to Wisconsin. Easy ride on TheBus from Waikiki. You might want to buy a big knife here to get at the pineapple, mangos, and papayas you are bringing back to your hotel room.

When you do cooking at home a lot you'll probably consider this market to browse your fresh produce in here. Pretty sure you'll find good deals in here!I'm so used to a market like this. Back to my homeland we always go to a market like this because aside from scoring a cheaper price, sometimes they are more fresh than the supermarkets. So glad this is just 10mins. drive from our tiki nest!Personally I find it fun marketing in here. I even consider it as a microadventure for me. Heaven knows how I love shopping for our fridge. LoL. This market helps me a lot to find local goodies that grocery stores don't carry. Hopping one stall to another makes it more enjoyable. Inside you'll find frozen stuffs & seafood! Oh boy, a haven for me when I want clams & pompano!Storekeepers have a different blend in here too! Others are kind & friendly. Others don't care at all. Such a snob sometimes. Hahaha. Oh well, for those who catch my mood for sure they'll get my money.Don't expect a super duper clean market, okay? This is inside Chinatown & as you can see, homeless in here are everywhere. If you can't take the smell & with all the stuffs that randomly happened in here, you have the choice to leave asap or not come back in here.Mahalo & happy juandering fellow [email protected]

Kekaulike Market is located in Chinatown which has many homeless people. There was some that passed by (with one talking to himself) but they didn't bother anyone.There are plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, and poultry. The fruits here are soooo fresh and yummy. We got pineapples and rambutan, and both were very fresh and sweet. In fact, the pineapple was sweeter and juicier than the ones at Dole Plantation. The best, freshest, and cheapest fruits will be from Kekaulike Market. Definitely stop by for some if you can.

CASH IS KING!This marketplace has it ALL for cooks and non-cooks. There are fresh local fruits, vegetables, seafood, meat and prepared foods. The prepared, canned or packaged products lean toward the Asian palate. This marketplace has cleaned up its act after receiving unfavorable (unsanitary) reports from just a few years ago.We've been coming to this marketplace almost weekly since it's located in Chinatown. Can I say that we've put this place into our routine? Yes! Because we've been coming here for years, we have our "favorite" vendors who we trust. We often find fruits and vegetables that are the same quality as in major supermarkets but, it's less expensive here. When we have a hankering for fresh seafood, there are stalls with fresh caught fish or live shellfish to choose from. Also, there are butchers from whom you can order whole or butchered meats and poultry. It's a good idea to roam and browse before you buy so you can compare prices and freshness. Cash is usually accepted, although, I've not tried using credit cards.

Vendors are everywhere for veggies. If you work out love in downtown and need a place to get local produce this place has you covered. You can find also all of your asian ingredients here for that authentic taste. It's best to get there before noon so it's not too hot of a walk and the streets aren't as busy.