Crack Seed Store

I miss working in the Kaimuki neighborhood. Coming to this place was at least 3x per week visit. The refreshing Icee w/​ice dream and living mui is a favorite treat. Even the spam musubis were memorable. Something in the TLC from the owner made this place special.
I always enjoy my visit. Today though, tried some light hing mui ginger which was real tasty. I like the old school traditional style setup they offer with the crackseed found in the glass jars. So yummy…
I can’t wait to return to try something else I’ve never tried before. Of course, need to get the Icee!!!

khaki mochi with wet li hing mui has been my favorite snack made only from Mr.young. For the past 18 years my family and I have been supporting him and his shop!
I used to come here five times a week because my elementary school was just a walk away from this crack seed store. Now that I am a young adult busy with work I have slowed down to once a month but that’s not a good excuse!!! I can literally take a short distance exercise here to get my snacks haha! Looks like I will start coming back here a lot more often!
The owner is very nice and works really hard. All of their snacks are delicious. I will definitely purchase more li hing mui, local snacks, and candy during my next visit here at my favorite crack seed store. I was so excited to eat my khaki mochi with wet lihing mui that i forgot to purchase my ice float melon with 3 scoops of ice cream! But it’s okay gives me another reason to keep coming back here haha!!! Also!!! Rice candy has been one of my favorites here so anther note to myself to buy a huge box of them! Enjoy your sweets everyone!!!

This crack seed store has been my absolute favorite for as long as I can remember! There’s just something really nostalgic about this place when you walk in the door. I think it’s probably because there aren’t a lot of places like this left.
My usual order is a li hing mui coke icee and a quarter pound of red seedless li hing mui.

The real deal. I bought wet mango for friends who used to live in Hawaii and they loved it. My husband bought something he loved from his own youth days in Hawaii. Will definitely visit again next time I am in Honolulu.

I would love to order some dried sweet spicy crab. Like at least 5 lbs of them. If anyone can help please feel free to contact me.
Thank you and looking forward
–Jessica Williams

So much variety! The shop owner is very friendly and helpful to explain what eat snack is. Try the mochi balls (nori ones are best), lemon strips and li hing mui anything. The norimaki is also very tasty and worth a try (comes in mini and regular size).
Don’t try to scoop the bags yourself, the owner will do it for you. If you want to try something, just ask.

The owner is the kindest and gentlest man… and this storefront is the true definition of a small business. He has been here as long as I can remember. I don’t live in Kaimuki, but this town is my absolute favorite because of small businesses and shops like The Crack seed Store. There is something so awesome about the how simple and pure the store is… icee with/​without li-​hing, arare/​kakimochi with/​without li-​hing (powder or juice)… I prefer the latter — but you gotta eat it right away or it gets soggy. A variety or colorful preserved goodies line the walls in big glass jars. This is my kind of candy store… and every time a step foot here, it reverts me back to being a kid. It so much more than just good local snacks… it’s my childhood, and hopefully they’ll be around long enough to be apart of my kiddos memories as well!
If you’ve never been… you gotta check them out! They are located on Koko Head Avenue, across the street of Liliuokalani Elementary School, near Waialae Avenue. Tiny storefront… so worth the find!

Very nice old school candy store. We came looking for Li Hing Mui for my boyfriend’s dad from TX. He orders it online and since we were in HI, we got a special request for this search. I thought, this must be really good candy, I want to try it. OmG! I’m hooked! I tried one and after that I had to order some for us too. The gentleman at the store is very pleasant and gives you samples and suggestions depending on what you like. I’m new to this kind of candy, so it was a nice discovery for me.

This place is my go –to-​place for seeds. I have been frequenting this store for over 35+ years. I’ll even go out of my way to come here for Sweet Lihing Mui or old fashioned Rock Salt Plum. Prices are good and the family who runs it is super nice.
The service and selection makes you want to come back for more.

As seen on the travel channel… this off the beaten path gem was a unique experience. Bought the tiny dried crab and dried mango. Service was phenomena and attentive without being overbearing.

Oh Crack Seed Store, how I love you and miss you when I am not in Hawaii. I grew up eating at this place, with its many jars of delicious seeds and wet li hing. My mouth is watering thinking of this place.
It is one of those old school shops and has icees with lots of different flavors and offerings: strawberry, blue vanilla, melon, and coke. I always get strawberry and blue vanilla mixed together and you can get li hing sauce or li hing powder inside.
Must trys: kaki mochi with li hing sauce (wet li hing kaki mochi) — not too many places in Hawaii do this, so when you find one, get it this way instead of with the powder! Wet li hing mango, seedless li hing, li hing mui cherry, and pickled mango when they have it.
I am drooling all over my keyboard just thinking about this.
Parking kind of sucks in Kaimuki, so you need to either park and pay the meter in the lot behind, or find street parking and pay the meter.
I’m so homesick right now just thinking about how much I love this place.

The man that works there is THE NICEST MAN IN THE WORLD!!! Very helpful, happy, and efficient.
We got cuttlefish, rock salt plum, wet Li Hing mui arare, and icee (strawberry coke mix)
We WILL be back

So I walked here, 48 minutes from Waikiki — sign on the door «back at 3 pm» — time I got there: 230 pm. I waited the thirty minutes to find preserved fruits and not any candy. So sad.

You won’t find any prissy Whole Foods folks here, just a sweet, old Chinese man with a ton of preserved goodies!
The Crack Seed Place is one of the best remnants of old Hawaii. I remember going to the local crack seed place as a kid on Maui, so I was stoked to find out there was one close to my house. Wet lemon, dried lemon, sweet-​sour cherry, pickled mango – this place has it all going on within a space the size of a closet!
Like the others have said, get the strawberry Icee with the li hing juice inside! Nothing screams childhood to me than the artificial sweetness of a strawberry Icee and the sweet-​sour li hing essence! Fabulous on a hot day and your tongue is permanently tattooed red for that hot date. ;-)

Crack Seed Store was part of my hanabadda days. A couple bucks was all I needed for a tasty treat to share with friends.
Rows of glass jars full of goodies greet you at the door – Sweet and Salty Li Hing Mui, Plum, Cherry, Lemon Peel, Cuttlefish, Arare and more. Ask for a few dollars worth or buy by the quarter pound and your selections will be hand-​packed and sealed in your desired amount.
On a hot day, a Strawberry or Melon Li Hing Icee is the way too go. Very sweet with a tang from the li hing juice, it’s perfect to sip while you walk.
When you’re feeling nostalgic, stop by this tiny shop. It’ll take you back to an earlier time.

Li Hing ICEE!
This is a small establishment located on the corner of Waialae and Koko Head Ave. Even though they are small, they have a lot of items packed full of flavor! It’s easy to get to by bus or if you drive, they have lots of parking options. You can park on the street by meter, inside the parking lot by meters or in the loading zone areas if you have a loading zone vehicle.
We’re so lucky that they have the perfect solution for this hot Summer weather! Their Li Hing ICEE’s! It’s the perfect mixture of sweet and sour. You can get it without the Li Hing but I love it! Reminds me of the sour flavors in Thailand. I’ve been slowly trying the different items stored in their huge glass jars. So far, everything is great! Perfect snacks for any occasion. Best part of this place is that everything is so CHEAP! Great for everyone, even students! Can’t wait to go back next week :)

Unilocal 100 Challenge #23/​100
This is definitely a fixture in the Kaimuki area! I’ve been coming to Mr Young’s crack seed store for as long as I can remember. It reminds me of Sammy Davis Jr. in Willy Wonka when Charlie goes into the candy store and sees all the candies.
You’ll always see him behind the counter ready to help you find your favorite crack seed and offer up some samples to help make your decision; which will be hard at times since it’s like Baskin and Robbins for crack seed in there. There are so many types to choose from.
I really like the quality of his crack seed too. He’s like a master chef for crack seed. In those glass jars lie a mouthful of joy and happiness. Just look for your favorite flavor and try his. Then make your opinion.
When I’m in the area I always get the Icee with li hing powder or juice in there. The juice is magical. Most places has the li hing powder with your Icee, but Mr. Young’s magical juice kicks it up a notch like Emeril would say. The flavor that I like with the magic juice is strawberry, but YMMV. One thing to note is the juice does add more flavor and some may like to have just the powder. I would definitely just try it once to see if it’s for you.
If you’re in the Kaimuki area and want to get some crack seed or the magical li hing Icee with the li hing juice then you gotta check this place out. Thank you Mr. Young for all the wonderful tasting crack seed and Icee I’ve been happily consuming all these years!

An institution!
One of the original crack seed stores of a soon to be bygone era.
Mr. Young, the owner, says he has been in business about 35 years.
That’s a lot of crack seed.
I first discovered business when I went to the Bikram yoga studio 10 years ago that was then upstairs near the store to get water and change.
I remember Mr. Young was so nice even when I was dripping with sweat and stinky.
What is Mr. Young’s favorite?
«I depends on what mood I’m in that day… sometimes sweet, sometimes salty, sometimes spicy.»
Wife and I had the hot soft cuttlefish which was en fuego del mouth-​o.
We also tried the sweet and sour peach which is everything is sounds like and more.
Mr. Young’s best seller? The Li Hing plum of course!
When I see these types of businesses my heart gets a bit heavy.
They won’t be around for much longer if you take a cue of what is happening to Kailua and Kaakako.
Enjoy it while you can…

We came across this place on our way back to our car after dining at a Mexican Restaurant in the area.
Upon entering, you will instantly be transported to back in the day… «small kid time» when all you had for cash was a few bucks you earned for raking some leaves or helping your watch your little brother/​sister for a few hours. Back in the day when 5. was a big deal.
The glass jars with the heavy lids which have ball shaped handles are so old-​school and very uncommon nowadays. They are everywhere here. They have all of the stuff you remember… salty seed, ginger, crack seed, pickled mango, differently prepared cherry and the list goes on. They also have the rice paper candy and Japanese ball gum. You know, the kind that you see and you HAVE TO have just because you used to love it?
So Son and I picked up some misc «Japanese» candies which made us say «oh, I remember this». Of course, being mom and having much more cash than I used to, I bought more than he asked for. By the next day, we have bags full of stuff that we aren’t going eat twice. Unreal how that stuff used to taste so good when we were young?!
The dried cherry was so good. Really, so much better than the stuff we buy at Long’s. I picked some up for a friend because he loves the stuff… generally I pick it up on sale at Long’s or wherever for when he comes by. Normally, I taste a few pieces and am able to save the little gift for him until the next time he comes but man, this was some good ish! Definitely quality stuff and I had to cut myself off! For 4./lb it’d better be!
There was a small line of what appeared to be regulars and the elderly man in front of me picked up a LOT of dried cherry and other things. That’s a good sign.
We’ll be back when we are in the area as parking is sort of a pain. Paid, metered in the lot nearby or wherever you find it on the street.

The little shop around the corner.
In days gone by, almost every neighborhood in Hawaii had a crack seed store, not unlike the local saimin stand. With the arrival of the major convenience stores and their like, many of the mom and pops have disappeared, a price paid for a changing society.
Now in Kaimuki, in a tiny shop on Kokohead ave. around the corner from Waialae ave. is a snack shop that has been serving treats to the community for decades, a true niche market survivor.
The Crack Seed Store offers many different Asian snack items– dried cuttle fish, li hing mui, pickled mango, Kam cho footballs, they are all here in those big glass jars many of us grew up with.
But it doesn’t end there. They are also noted for their great icees and icee floats. Other places may offer more variations but that basic icee, ice cream with li hing mui flavor offerings are made with a flavor and care that can’t be beat.
The purveyor, like a kindly favorite uncle, will make recommendations with a smile as he waits patiently for the customer to make their choice from the multitude of options. There is an art to selling, and Mr. Young’s friendliness is genuine. Not about how much to get you to buy but trying to fulfill your wants.
This little store has served thousands of children from around the Kaimuki area and points beyond. Ask anyone who has lived or worked in Kaimuki since the 50s and you are sure to get a smile and a memory of a favorite childhood haunt.
So order your li hing mui flavored icee float with a side order of mochi crunch, and close your eyes– you can almost hear the chatter of students from the school that was once across the street, as they slurped and munched their way home after a hard day of learning.