Kekaulike Market

I would say this is more like walking through Chinatown in San Francisco with all the produce and butchers selling their goods from their store front. And it smells like SF Chinatown too. Don’t bother going here as a tourist looking for a farmer’s market to wonder.

The Good:
+ Your dollar will go very far here.
+ Located in the hustle and bustle of Chinatown.
+ Produce and food options for everyone.
+ FRESH
The Not So Good:
— Know your vendors before you buy; alot sell the same stuff but up to you to determine best quality since all prices comparable.
— Pretty dirty. Not really too stringent sanitation standards. Infested with insects and rodents, but I think foot traffic is frequent enough and food is brought in fresh daily to prevent any problems.
Bottom Line:
Great for a farmers market feel. You’ll see lots of locals and tourists alike.

This place definitely is an adventure to things that I am not accustomed to. From large tanks of swimming fish to trays of raw chicken feet, this is definitely not your everyday market.
Kekaulike Market can be found in the heart of Chinatown off of Hotel Street a short walk from Mauna Kea Street. Besides cuts of meat and edible animal parts, there is a wide assortment of produce with all sorts of fruits and vegetables available.
The environment here can be difficult to take in sometimes. I always feel bad when I encounter a homeless person and there at least a few that hang around.
Parking is on the street or in one of the relatively close municipal lots. This place is also home of the amazing Maguro Brothers Hawaii restaurant!

Fruits and vegetables at very cheap prices is a good excuse to take a trip into Chinatown for me.
It’s best to look around first because quality and prices can vary. There are different vendors along the mall so it can be a bit confusing on who you need to pay.
I saw 8oz of strawberries, the same ones you can find in the supermarket, for only $ 1.50.
Ingredients to make banh mi:
Cucumber: $ 0.72
Bamboocha Carrot: $ 0.83
Cilantro and Bamboocha Daikon: $ 2.00
Total $ 3.55
The carrot/​daikon pickles I made yielded to 4 cups & I only used half my daikon. The bread I bought cost more than the veggies.
I was so floored by the prices I paid for my veggies that I completely forgot about the strawberries. Didn’t even realize it until I had walked all the way to Fort Street Mall about them strawberries. I’m still kicking myself about that missed opportunity.

Want veggies for cheap? Come here to avoid supermarket mark-​up prices! Ok, so yes it’s not the cleanest of places and yes there are rats running around, but c’mon I’m gonna wash the veggies I eat before I cook them anyways right? Anyways, if you’re on a budget but still want to eat healthy by cooking at home, this is the place to get your produce!

KEKAULIKE MARKET/​MALL @KAKAULIKE STREET:
Located in the heart of China Town between N. King St. and N. Hotel Street.
I used to shop here often when my office was located in downtown. $ 10.00 will give you a lot of food. I stopped coming here because my office had moved but now I will be back here more often since Maguro Bros. has business here!

I love checking Chinatown out, both daytime and nighttime ;-) I like going in the mornings on the weekends to check out the produce vendors, the earlier the better. There’s so much produce to choose from. I try to go indoors to the vendors in the a/​c, the goods are fresher and stay nice and fresh. Goes the same for meat products too — I typically go to a regular grocery store since they have proper regulations but some of the items are very fresh so you just have to know which vendors to go to.
Parking can get tough, as they’re mostly street parking or there are some paid lots. If you live in downtown you’re lucky enough to just walk on over. Bring cash! And I recommend a tote bag or two also. Or you can push around a cart if you prefer wheeling than carrying.
If you’re in a rush and can’t stand crowds or waiting around for people to get out of the way, you may be in for some irritation. People tend to just waltz around casually and block your way with carts, their big bags or just walk slowly, so yeah just cruise ‘em and you’ll be fine.
I try to go often since the deals on produce and other good are so good. Just this morning I picked up: baby bok choy, kale, garlic, karabasa (Filipino pumpkin similar to the kobocha but MUCH easier to cut into), otong (long green bean), non spicy chili peppers, lettuce, broccoli, lemons, parsley, cilantro, green onions, tofu, enoki mushroms, Hamakua mushrooms — think I spent about $ 30 or $ 35 and I’m set for the week. This would have easily been $ 50 at the grocery store. I have a hard time getting things at regular stores these days but yeah, out of convenience I have to do that sometimes.
Some folks make a bargain with you too, like rounding down or dropping the price a bit if you show disinterest after checking out the product, so I’m sure there’s room to negotiate.
Uploading some pics from today. can’t wait to check out Chinatown again, always a fun adventure looking around at the different goodies the vendors have and running into familiar faces too.

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 carved pork 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. It’s a Farmers’ Market, after all.

All the fresh veggies you want and need for way less than store prices… been coming here since i was super young to help carry bags for my mom or grandma. place hasnt changed much but thats a good thing. i love chinatown.

Lots of fresh meats, seafood and produce to choose from at good prices. Spend some time walking through all the shops and markets in this area. Plenty of baked goods, lunch spots, butter rolls (YUM!) and boba drinks.

Its amazing how far your dollar goes at this market! I regularly shop here for fresh fruits and vegetables and find some unique items as well. I recommend taking a lap through all of the vendors first and making note of the best looking produce as the quality and prices are not consistent.

Kekaulike Market is where I do my weekly grocery shopping for Chinese goods. They carry a nice bunch of veggies that you won’t find in American supermarkets. And even the stuff that American supermarkets have, you will probably find it cheaper and fresher here. However, I still stick to American supermarkets for meat. A lot of the markets have random cuts of meat piled together, and I’m wary of how long the meat has been out unrefrigerated.

Know your vendors! Some vendors are really good and clean, others are very scary.
Example, while using the restroom there was an employee of one of the vendors using the urinal too. HE HAD HIS LATEX GLOVES ON! He shook, flushed, did the splash rinse of his hands with the gloves then went back to work. I followed him and DAMN he goes right to work handling produce. YIKES!!!
It always confuses me on the purpose of wearing gloves.
I have to say though you can get produce at great prices compared to grocery stores. But like I said know the vendors and observe them and their practices and throughly wash the produce when you get home.

I love this place. All your fresh fruits and vegetables right from the farms of Oahu and for a few bucks. In my experience, they’re so much less and way better quality than FoodLand, Times and Safeway.
Most of the vendors speak broken English and may seem rude but really they just don’t speak the language. Pick out your fresh stuff, walk up to the counters and pay them. In and out.
There’s a municipal parking lot very close to the market on Maunakea St. Across from Nam Fong.

Brain — «I’m bored! I want to stimulate the senses!»
Eyes — «I want to see something exotic and beautiful!»
Ears — «I want to hear someone with a sweet, sexy voice say something that excites me!»
Fingers — «I want to feel something that arouses these fingers!»
Tongue — «I want to taste something that are juicy and sweet; and makes my mouth water!»
Nose — «I want to smell something that is so fragrant it will make me feel like I am floating in a cloud.»
Crotch — «I want to …»
Brain — «CROTCH! Don’t you say another word! Fingers! Stay away from Crotch!»
Eyes, ears, fingers, tongue, nose… and crotch — «We want to be happy today!»
Brain, eyes, ears, fingers, tongue and nose… and crotch — «So where are you taking us today Val?»
Val: «I’m thinking the Kekaulike Market!»
Crotch — «I need to tell you what I want before we go!»
Brain — «CROTCH! Just ZIP it… let’s go Val!»
Eyes — «The market is located the Diamond Head side of the Kekaulike Mall; which is between King and Hotel. The mall is bustling with people! Lots of vendors and shopper on each side of the mall.
Ears — «I hear lots of Chinese, Ilocano and Tagalog spoken here!»
Eyes — «I see a lot of locals of Chinese, Filipino and other Asian descent shopping here.»
Nose — «The mall is pretty clean. No smell of urine or BO from the homeless in the air on this mall.»
Eyes — «Check out the sign. There are three entrances to the Kekaulike Market.»
Fingers — «I can’t wait to feel something that arouses these fingers!»
Brain — «Fingers! Feel them tomatoes?»
Fingers — «Beautiful! Smooth silky skin. Firm; nice and round! And they’re huge! How much for the tomatoes?»
Salesgirl — «$ 1.20 a pound!»
Ears — «She has a sweet and sexy voice! $ 1.20/lb! She excites me!»
Crotch — «She excites me too! They got all kinds of erotic… I mean exotic things here! Hey Fingers! Run your fingers through the hair on them coconuts?»
Fingers — «Oh this brings back memories! Thanks Crotch!»
Tongue — «I see something I love! Dragon fruit! Oh soo juicy!»
Nose — «Look at the Kumu! $ 15.99/pound! That fish smells heavenly steamed!»
Crotch — «That is the longest and the thickest carrot I have ever seen!
Crotch: «Look at the girth on the bamboo shoot! Look how long the sugar cane is! I’m in envy!!»
Brain — «They got so many things to cook and eat here. Fish, shrimp, mushrooms, lychee, longan, banana flower; all kinds of vegetables, meat and seafood. This market really does stimulate the senses.»
Fingers — «Live sunfish! In other words, white slimy, yucky tilapia!»
Crotch — «Oh man! Brain! I just have to tell you what I want!»
Brain — «Zip it Crotch! Just enjoy it like the rest of us! Look at that sign Cheap Market! Ha! Ha!»
Ears — «Chop! Chop! Chop! Hear that! They are chopping up a pig!»
Ears — «Seeing a pig’s ear gives me the creeps!»
Eyes, ears, nose, tongue — «Look! A whole pig head! I’m glad that’s not us!»
Crotch — «I SAID HEY! I NEED TO TELL YOU WHAT I WANT!»
Brain, eyes, ears, fingers, tongue and nose — «OK! What is it?»
Crotch — «I’ve been wanting to tell you… I WANT TO PEE!!!»
Brain — «Now you tell us! We’re in trouble! There are no public restrooms in this market!»