Palama Supermarket

I come every so often to get the pre soaked spicy pork. It pretty good. I decided try the Korean food and got the meat jun and kalbi. Not so good. Little flavor. Better stick with Kim Chee on King Street. The 2 stars are for grouchy ass workers in the prepared foods booth. OMG. Take some lessons from your fellow country aunty at Kim Chee King street. At least she knows how to treat customers. See Ya.

To make a long story short we went to buy a bento a fly flew on a bento that I wanted a lady grabbed a fly swatter and killed the fly on the bento and just flings is corpse on the floor doesn’t look to good knowing you brought a bento that a fly died on, wouldn’t want to eat that!

Awesome Korean grocery store! They have a small area of appliances and alcohol. The key ingredients are available and lots of produce. There is even a small take out food place in the back.

Raging msg headache after eating the spicy fried tofu. Definitely not going to trust any of the food they make anymore!
But good place to get other Asian ingredients, snacks and produce (Best Korean pears and Fuji apples! Pricey but sooo worth it!). Korea is of course known for their seaweed, sesame oil, and beef, other than K-​Pop, so getting these staples here is a good bet.

I stumbled onto this place a few months ago! It’s your typical pacific Asian market that has everything that you need for cooking and eating!
The entrance to the parking lot, okay so there is only one way to come in and their is a crazy Korean man yelling at you trying to direct traffic and find you a parking stall. He’s actually really nice but, he gets frustrated when drivers come in through the exit! Everyone and I mean everyone ignores the sign where it says «EXIT ONLY» so I’m always cracking up laughing seeing him get pissed off at the drivers with his hand gestures… it’s a good thing I don’t know how to speak Korean I’d be rolling on the ground if I did! Lol…
My reasons for coming here is their meat juhn sauce! That’s it! The sauce they sell with their plate lunch! The ladies behind the area they suck with customer service! I mean super bad they could give a rats ass if they screwed up your order with no apologizes and no smiles! But, it’s okay because I love their sauce I will endure the bitchiness of their attitude still smile at them so they don’t spit in my food… Lol! And ask to pay for their delicious meat juhn sauce! Ha’
But, it is a great place to shop not so sure on the prices though because other places you can get it for cheaper…

Since my coworker and I were both craving for some chicken, we decided to go to Von’s chicken inside Palama. I can say that this place is very clean and well-​organized. Von’s chicken is located in the back. They also have a place where they serve Korean food so I had to order my all-​time favorite Korean soup, soondubu. The soup was so good. Better than all the places I’ve been to here. Now, for the chicken, we ordered the popular crispy shoyu and the garlic chicken wings. They make it right there so it is so fresh. The crispy shoyu was so good and light. A little salty but the flavor is definitely amazing! I’ve had Von’s before but I can definitely tell the difference when it’s made fresh because the chicken that I had before wasn’t this good. The garlic chicken was a little too overpowering for us. He doused it with a little too much garlic. I will definitely come back for the crispy shoyu and the soondubu and probably check out the Korean groceries they have

I loooooove Asian supermarkets! Yes, LOVE! I can’t ever get enough. The Palama has delicious Korean food and I can buy everything I need to make a great Korean meal at home. I love cooking K-​BBQ at home and Palama has a great meat selection that is great for just that!

Into a Korean kick? Watching all of those Korean dramas and want to get more into the culture? Well, this is the place for you. Palama Supermaarket in Kalihi is not only a market with Korean goods and foods, it also features pre-​packed prepared foods, like kimchee soup, kimbap, spicy pork and ricecake, mandoo, and more. Want it fresh? They have a small dining area in the back that actually prepares all of your Korean favs and you can sit down and eat it there. Want banchan? They have assorted cold banchan and sides arranged (kind of like salad bar style) so you can scoop out the amount you want into containers and it is sold by the weight. Interested in Korean beauty products? They have a Tony Moly franchise in the store. Cooking Korean at home? They also have fresh meats and cuts made for Korean cuisine. Plus you ca find everything else you need in the store. Just curious? This is a great place to explore and try different things. a great resource for everything Korean and it is pretty authentic… not to mention tasty!

Craving some authentic Korean food/​snacks or looking to make your own traditional dishes? Then this is the place for you. I remember going to Palama Supermarket (the OG location) growing up and loving to get side dishes to eat on the way home. At that time, I lived in the North Shore and my Grandmother and I would drive all the way to Kalihi to get the «real deal» ingredients.
The store is always clean and organized very well. It is pretty much immaculate, which I like! It doesn’t have that smell that’s been stuck in the paint for a few decades either which I can appreciate. I don’t like walking into a store and feeling like it’s coming along with me. Do you know what I’m talking about?
The service isn’t all that great, but it’s to be expected since if you don’t look Korean, they don’t even bat a lash at you. Been like that since I was little too. Mind you, I am half so I am sure if they knew that service would be tons better. If you’re Korean, you know what I’m talking about. I sure do.
Overall, I like how easy it is to get what I am looking for, the store is kept clean, and it’s for me to get in and out. I would recommend this location more than the Makaloa one simply for convenience, easy parking, and it’s newer so it appears to look more clean/​organized. I’ll keep coming as long as they keep selling pre-​made Korean goodies.

Current Review: as of January 3, 2016
Updated review on January 4, 2016.
I went to this place with my friends Marcus, Yumi, Gary Tania and EJ, and I ate lunch. Everything was pretty much convenient!
Food was fantastic and atmosphere is great! Workers were awesome!
i will post food pics of what they sell now.
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Sorry for late review! But I totally wanted to share the world how awesome this place is. Whoever the owner is, Id like to thank them and wanted to let them know how much I love this place. The workers that worked here are all amazing. Friendly and helpful as well. I always come here to buy lots of korean food. Whether cooked or precooked or I had to buy ingredients to cook. I travel to korea often many times. But I live here in Honolulu HI… so I always miss going to korea… probably my 8 times going there to Seoul, South Korea. This place reminds me of places in Korea… And it means so much to me because it reminds me much well of my friends. I loved coming here because I keep practicing my korean language speaking skills.
Foods: All are great! I loved to cook korean food and everything is in here.
Drinks: OMG! they now have those cute mini drinks like what korea has even the Yuja cha or the Yellow Citron Teas!
Facial Products: Masks and moisturizing things are awesome!
Snacks: All available and great!
Sitting area: perfect to relax! there is also a ready to go food… Bento sizes or you can also order from menu…
Many more to explain… I will keep posting an updated review everytime I come here… sigh Thanks so much for everything! Pls come to this store and hope to see you guys again very soon!
Parking is available and one Korean man works very hard… very hardworking and humble… why? hes friendly and nice and etc. Try speak to him… hes so awesome…
Restrooms are really clean! :) Loved the whole environment… I would be very sad if this place is gone… looking forward to see new things ahead this year 2016! Kamsahamnida

One of my fave grocery stores!
Tons of different soju and korean ramen to choose from.
I’m not sure what it’s called but they always have a banchan bar which is where you can make your own selections of the various side dishes in the amounts you want. They charge you by weight and price varies on a few items. Banchan bar includes the normal things like taegu, various kim chee but sometimes they even have yummy shoyu chicken wings or oyster sauce crab.
Freshly made bentos, if you go there early in the am the chive and kim chee pancakes are still warm! Bentos are soo affordable at $ 6. It’s enough to feed you a couple of times or once if you are starving. It’s a good place to pick up various pupus if you wanted to chill at home.
Veggies are affordable. Meat center towards the back offers thin sliced meat which is perfect to make shabu shabu or yakiniku at home.
Fresh food counter in the back that offers affordable plate lunches and soup.
Hmmmm, what else can i say? I love this place but lots of people must love it too because the parking is full most of the time. Lol

Binge-​watching K-​Dramas till 3AM in the morning is not recommended because:
1. The actors are always eating some kind of meal in one form or other.
2. The way they eat makes it look so mashisseo (onolicious), even if it’s something so simple as cup ramen.
3. Binge-​watching causes hunger pangs since you most likely haven’t eaten anything since dinner, which was probably 8 – 9 hours ago.
The Side Effect? In my case, loss of sleep and 2 days later a sudden onset & extreme urge to eat cup ramen at 2 in the afternoon. Even though I already ate lunch.
The Cure: Nongshim Shin Cup Ramyun. My favorite Korean ramen & one of Korea’s top selling ramen.
I will admit I have not tried all the Korean ramen offerings but the ones I have tried so far are just «blah» to me so I just stick to my fave. (Japan makes the best packaged ramen — it’s a no brainer. My favorite is Myojo Charmela Tonkotsu for the curious minds.)
Did you know Koreans put cheese in their ramen? Not just any cheese. It has to be the processed fake cheese… the sliced individually wrapped ones. It has the proper melt factor as it becomes part of the soup base. The cheese gives the soup base a slight creaminess to it and tempers the spiciness to perfection. It may sound «eeeeeww» to you but give it a try once.
Here’s what I do:
For 2.6z Shin Cup Ramyun:
Empty ½ packet soup base (the whole packet is just too salty) into instant cup ramen. Pour hot water to line. Add half a slice of processed American cheese. Cover lid & wait 3 minutes. Stir ramen until cheese is well incorporated into soup base.
And dig in. Eat with your favorite kimchi.
P. S., I have never, ever seen fresh noodle ramen served in a Korean «fast food» restaurant. It always seems to be of the packaged variety. Let me know if you do.

LOVE the self serve — area — in Waimalu — they have a branch but it is NOT the same — Waimalu has prepackaged stuff …
at the Palama market — we take that treck — at least once or twice — a week — to get the taegu, gobo (which is crunchy AND yummy) — seaweed salad — and some other stuff — too bad they don’t have the same thing at Waimalu —
did let the manager know at the Kalihi one —
we tried their marinated meats — and cooked them at home — not bad — even their restaurant — take out — not bad either —
they have a new chicken place called Vons — according to a friend –they have a Vons in Texas —
LOVE their carts — kinda like Seafood city — rolls like crazy LOL _​_​_​_​like their snack place — we go and get the cookies and cream pretzel sticks —
they have an interesting mini area with pots and stuff —
my hubby buys the fried shrimp — and some other take out foods — wish Waimalu had the same features — they rock

Palama Supermarket is the place to go to stock up on Korean goodies. I buy meats for home grilling, they have nice kalbi and pork belly. And don’t forget the ban chan, I love their mushrooms, raw oysters, and raw crab.
Palama also has great snacks, puffed rice, shrimp chips, popped corn, these are great to have at work when you get the munchies. I also like their box mixes to make hotteok and dukbokki, and their Asian canned coffees, juices, and sodas.
If you don’t feel like cooking there’s a snack shop in the supermarket that makes affordable favorites. There are a few tables if you want to dine-​in or grab a bento to go.
Definitely head to Palama Supermarket for all your Korean cooking needs.

This is the place I go to for my Korean ingredients for cooking. I love all their prepared foods to go & can never decide what to get. The Kim Chi is so good & I especially like their kimbap!
The only confusing thing about this place is the parking lot. Well, you should visit this store & see for yourself if it makes sense! Good luck!

Sooooo some items in this market are super cheap and some not so much. But they do have sales pretty often in which everything is super cheap.
BUT…if you LOVE Korean food like I do, you’ll love this market like I do. They also have pretty good quality cuts of meat. I bought some beef tongue and will definitely back for more.
You can pretty much find any type of Asian food, sauce, seasoning, snacks your heart may desire and you can even make yourself a plate of fresh Korean food. Parking lot always seems to be pretty packed – sometimes they have a lot attendant who sits there and directs people to stalls but I’ve never had to wait too long to park.

I ordered Spicy Chicken for my lunch and it was amazing! The spicy ness was just right and side dish was really good too!
The price is reasonable for one big plate lunch $ 7.00!

This is my grocery store! YES. You need Kimchi? You need some seaweed? You need instant banchan (Korean side dishes)? Palama’s got you covered, bro. If you’ve ever been to Assi or H-​mart on the mainland, it’s a miniature version of that. EXCEPT, Palama has a hot Korean food bar. Last time I’ve been to H-​mart, they did not have that. And it’s deeeeeeelicious! You can also grab a quick lunch at their mini-​restaurant part on the left corner of the market.
I always grab like 5 packs of ramen/​udon/​instant noodles, 2 – 3 packs of cut up seaweed, veggies/​fruits, Korean snacks, big ol’ jar of Kimchi, 10 lbs of RICE, Korean seasonings, and 2 rolls of gimbop AND some Korean cold coffee! Nom Nom NOMZ. And yes, I do eat the gimbop in the parking lot because I can’t wait. So freaking good.
Which brings me to my next point: Parking lot is freaking huge! And a bit confusing. Just don’t park all the way inside (you’ll see what I’m talking about when you visit) because you’ll probably get trapped by some idiot. Although you’re probably not very bright if you park in those spots. you probably deserve to be trapped for awhile to think about what you’ve done.
They also have a make-​up store (Tony Moly) inside. It’s not the best Korean beauty store, but it’s all right. Just don’t buy their skin care stuff– trust me, Tony Moly doesn’t carry good quality products.
Skip Safeway and shop Asian! Heh heh heh. That should be their motto.

For a quick lunch this is one of my favorite places in Kalihi. I’m always stopping by for a plate of kimbap korean sushi, a plate of egg omelet and then grab me a few containers of ban chan. I love the seasoned mushrooms and the squid with vegetables is also a favorite of mine.
I’m also a huge fan of the instant ramen they sell. I spend too much time looking at the huge assortment of instant noodles they have. I’m amazed at some of the types they have from cold noodle, black noodle and just the everyday spicy ramen noodles. Sure, not the healthiest stuff but so delicious when you’re at home and just want something quick.
I also buy a ton of nori here. They sell the twenty packs of individually packed nori. Great for make your own sushi nights at home, bundling ban chan and rice or just snacking on them alone.
When I want to make my own korean food at home, this is my go to place for sure. Although I liked to old shop that used to be on Dillingham behind the Zippys better because I think they had a larger inventory, the new shop on King Street is super clean looking and the best thing in the neighborhood for all things Korean!

This Palama Market has the most ridiculous parking lot, ever. I’m not sure who designed it, but whoever it was needs to be hit upside the head.
Here’s what I think happened:
Person 1: «Let’s make the parking lot tandem. I think two rows of double parking will work out really well.»
Person 2: «But what if people get stuck and can’t leave?»
Person 1: «They won’t.»
Person 2: «Except that they will. Unless they refuse to park in the inner space, which then wastes half the lot.»
Person 1: «Nonsense. It will be fine. You know what wastes lot space? Having less parking because we’re concerned with stupid things like people being able to leave when they’re done shopping.»
Person 2: «But people will be mad if they can’t leave!»
Person 1: «You shut your mouth now!»
Person 2: «You’re an idiot!»
— Person 1 is so angry that he’s having a stroke and grabbing the back of his neck.
End scene.
With that said.
I like this store a lot.
They’ve really improved since their old Palama location and even since they’ve opened. The food bar has far less peculiar offerings and far more delicious-​looking options. The snack foods and Korean rice cake counter, my personal favorite, is well-​stocked and I even managed to score some brown rice buns after the sun set! Score! The shelves are bursting with product, the prices are cheaper than if you shop at Don Quixote, and if you ask, one of the ladies will point you towards the best kochujang/​whatever else. They may not smile or be remotely warm, but hey, it’s a Korean market. Scowling is par for the course
I don’t love their kimchee, but I do quote enjoy the mandoo, dukbokki, kimchee fried rice, pork belly, fried chicken, potatoes, other cold sides, and, of course, the rice cakes.
Go there late so you can park wherever you want. Or really, really early. But then there will be no food. So just go late.
Yes.

The inner yobo in me gets sucked in here once in a while. They have all the Korean products you can possibly want — ramen, makeup, sauces, Korean bean paste, kochujang, etc.
I love the food bar, where there are assorted kim chee and other delicatessens available and sold by the pound.
The veggies are fresh. You can find ordinary veggies and the veggies that are mainly used in Korean dishes.
I usually come here once in a while to get my ingredients if I’m going to make a miso or kim chee chigae. The other times I come here is if I am in a rush and craving Korean food.
There is a snack corner that sells plate lunches — kal bi, bbq chicken, etc. with the typical Korean sides. I usually opt for the grab and go prepacked foods such as the delicious kimbap, or fried mandoo. :)
The new location is clean, and organized. I like it better than when it was in the Dillingham Shopping Center. The parking lot is much better and there are always stalls available. Just watch out for the bad Korean drivers.

I would say a large part of my diet consists of Asian food! If I’m not eating it at a restaurant, then I’m certainly cooking it at home. Palama Supermarket has tons of ingredients to make loads of different dishes. Granted, most of it is for Korean food, but they do sell Chinese cooking sauces and drinks too.
My shopping lists always includes fresh won bok, glass noodles, frozen mandoo, tofu, kim chee, seaweed/​gim, ice cream and of course can’t forget the Korean snacks!

I first found out about Palama Supermarket when watching KIKU channel as the commercials would advertise here. Previously they were located in Dillingham and recently re-​opened their «Kalihi» store at this current location earlier this year.
I pretty much have been a fan of this supermarket as you can shop here with great prepared foods and fresh produce at reasonable prices. I pretty much LOVE the kim chee, or prepared foods bar as you have a large assortment of Korean side dishes that you can purchase via weight. They are not pre-​packed where you wonder how long has it been sitting there… Varies according to demand and supply, they also have green papaya salad, orange chicken, sweet & sour pork and chicken wings to pick-​up!!!
The produce here are pretty fresh in my opinion. Definitely better than your supermarkets as great prices. They also have 1-​day old Saint Germain bread and pastries that you can purchase as reduced prices. Need some good toast bread or going to make french toast? This is the place to buy them peeps!!!
I also enjoy going through the isles of Korean snacks and instant noodles. My mouth waters and see myself giving in to trying new items I find here. In the far back you have the meats section, where they also have available pre-​marinated meats. Sooooo convenient!
In the far left you have Tae’s Teppanyaki (where I am NOT a fan) and the Palama Snack Corner to get plate lunches to go. They also have a small dining area for you to eat should you want to eat right away. They also have a cell phone kiosk (Mobi PCS) and a cosmetic corner here in the supermarket.
Compared to the previous Dillingham location this store is very spacious, bright and clean.
The one thing I dislike is the PARKING!!! Where does one start with the headaches associated with tandem parking. A HUGE MESS!!! During peak times you can find cars double-​parked and sometimes boxed in. AUWE!!!
The cashiers here are very friendly and usually greet with a smile and thank you as you leave. I really like how the cashiers extend good customer service which makes a FAN of here.