Chinatown Market Place

This place is awesome. I take my mom here once a week to stock up on fresh veggies. The prices are reasonable. At one of the vendors, when you spend a certain amount they’ll throw in a free bag of cut up veggies. The fish selection is huge and fresh.

Sometimes you wonder if the cashier/​owner of stall gives price of things based on whose asking or buying. A lot of things don’t have prices posted.

Love that it’s indoors & you don’t have to worry about parking like Chinatown. Affordable prices for fresh products. I’m waiting for someone to open their stand with charsiu too.

This place is an indoor local farmers’ market/​asian foods store equipped with air conditioning. They have a well-​stocked variety of fresh produce, seafood and meat– really a one-​stop shop! Often times, it’s a lot cheaper than going to a regular supermarket.
When you walk in, you’re met with the sweet scent of exotic and tropical fruit stands. Then, a little further down and you’ll see loose or pre-​cut and prepackaged (all done right there in front of you) ready-​to-​cook vegetables. Next, you’ll notice the sounds and aroma of the still live catch of the day, such as crab, catfish, prawn, tilapia and so forth. Fish can be bought pre-​cleaned and sliced or as a whole at competitive prices. Then, as you walk toward the back, you’ll see freshly slaughtered meats, such as pork belly, pigs’ ears and snout as well as the whole head, cow and chicken feet, gizzards, tripe, oxtail, etc. They also have regular white and brown chicken eggs and even quail eggs and freshly cooked balut available. There’s also a variety of asian sauces, chips, noodles, etc. as well as fresh-​baked goods, such as bibingka (filipino butter mochi), tupig (filipino rice cake), cascaron (filipino sugar-​glazed mochi balls on a stick), etc.
Like I said before, there’s really no need to go anywhere else for your grocery essentials– the best part is that it’s all at an affordable price!

Located in the Dillingham shopping center, the Chinatown Marketplace is at a disadvantage for parking. Sure it is a large lot, but you’re faced with people going to Chuck E Cheese, DMV, etc. We came on a Sunday mid-​afternoon and parking was okay except for bad drivers.
The layout is very similar to that of Festival Market in Waipahu. You have your fresh vegetables/​canned goods/​seasonings as you enter and meats/​fresh fish in the back. Each stand sells independently so make sure you pay at the right register. Bring cash. Bring your own bags too! Restrooms are in the back. Bathroom was somewhat clean with the exception of those who don’t wash their hands. Yuck! Vegetables seem pricier than festival but maybe that’s just me.
Overall a one stop shop for your Asian but more so Filipino meal prep.
# 45 of 100 2015

Good for veggies and fresh fish not so good for parking because this place shares it’s parking lot with Chuck cheese and other places that gets busy. park on the street boo park on the street save you some time and headache.

This is the place to go for fresh veggies, and maybe some seafood. I don’t venture too far in because the smell of fish gets a little overpowering lol.
It’s open M-​Sat from 8 – 6 and Sun 8 – 5. I was told vendors get replenished in the afternoon so you have a great selection all day. Different vendors so shop around and see whose prices are better.
This place is located in the City Square Center on Dillingham. There’s the DMV and Chuck E Cheese in this area as well. If you go before the other businesses open, you can find parking easily. Later on in the day, you may have to drive around once or twice but it won’t be too difficult getting a spot.
I come 2x a month to stock up and I never spend over $ 20 each time. Grocery stores charge so much! Bring cash, but if you are spending more than $ 10 — credit cards are accepted!

Note to self: When the title of the store is CHINATOWN Marketplace, EXPECT the marketplace to have a CHINATOWN feel. Old chinatown. Full of flies Chinatown. Busy chinatown, but not TOO busy since there isn’t an excessive amount of parking stalls chinatown. Not-​too-​Friendly salesmen chinatown. Full of fresh goodies chinatown. Variety of produce and random treasures chinatown. Love love LOVE this chinatown. Less expensive dragonfruit, huge variety of fresh, organic produce, a fish and meat section towards the back, some frozen and dried and prepackaged food options and canned goods. The fish appeared to be very fresh… perhaps too much for my tastes since their wriggling around threw my appetite. I was actually so very thrilled when I found pumpkin/​squash flowers for $ 2.50 per bag! That made my year! I stuffed them with ricotta, pepper and parmesan and dipped them in beer batter and fried those suckers! They were the next best thing to zucchini flowers which are impossible to find.
Tip? Come with cash unless you plan on spending more than $ 10 dollars as card is only accepted after so many dollars are spent.
Walk in if you are in the area! It is so much more interesting than a classic supermarket.

I attempted to try this place out but the smell is overbearing. It smells like they mop the floor with seafood juice & animal guts. I’m aware there should be a smell of course, but this one smells so unsanitary.
**The produce was appealing (hence the 3 stars), but I didn’t buy anything because of the smell…

I was referred here by a co-​worker who said I could find Asian ingredients here and she was right. They had a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. They also had fresh seafood, sauces, and ingredients for cooking. I brought the silver swan soy sauce and Filipino vinegar to make adobo. I will definitely come back if I need Asian ingredients for cooking.

Located at the City Square Center which is where the Dillingham DMV is, right next door to Chuck E Cheese. You’re welcomed with that familiar asian market smell (which I am not a fan of, but i have to stick it out) as soon as you walk in. The marketplace is sectioned off by different owners, but pretty much offer almost the same thing as each other… and this is where the price comparing would have to take into affect.
I often come here with my grandma cause this place has the cheapest apple bananas, which my family goes through really quickly. They have fruits, veggies, raw meat and seafood! Some of the people that work here is really good fun to talk to, and I tend to favor this one lady who’s there cause she seriously knows how to make people laugh! I enjoy coming here for the cheap fruits and veggies!

Chinatown Marketplace is cleaner than going to the open markets in Chinatown. You can get fresh vegetables of all kinds, fresh cuts of meat and fresh fish. There’s also fresh island eggs. Everyone is helpful and friendly.

Unilocal 365 CHALLENGE 2014−(225÷365) «The Mini Market»
Stopped in to check it out, and it reminds me of a very condensed Chinatown without being in Chinatown, and a bit cleaner too. Oh and A/​C inside to keep you cool too!
You got your fresh produce selections tons of meats to choose from and a pretty good selection of seafood that saves you from going to dive for it yourself. Although we didn’t buy anything, I’m sure it’s very convenient for people who live in the area. There’s also a KICK-​ASS Boba Tea shop a few doors down too.
Produce changes on availability, and the same goes for the ever changing assortment of locally caught fish. ALOHA!!!
Shaka Meter: \uuu/​\uuu/​\uuu/​3

OK– if you have to wait for people and know exactly how long they will be at Chuckee Cheese or the DMV (yeah right how would anyone know how long people take at the DMV except for the info on their toe tags?) This is a great place to wait it out and look at stuff.
STUFF is the right word. There are the meat cut up stuff that I would not know how to put back together into the animal nor which animal I should be trying to put it back into– but it looks freshly killed. and all cut up nice to boot. Neat new vegs that I didn’t know there were and fruits that I hear about on Thai cooking shows from the food network but have never seen in real life yet. Really neat stuff.
There are clean stalls with great looking fruits and vegs. And then there are the normal onions/​herbs and good cooking items all looking great and fresh.
There is even Kalei eggs– treats and fresh eggs. It is a great little pop up location and some great service too.
The best is seeing the live seafood jump and hop out of the tables– watch the old aunties pick up something like live crab with claws by their bare hands and throw it back onto the table before the keiki grab it.
There are some of the normal Chinatown sundries that you can find. the canned this or that, the saracki sause the kim chee the hot sauses and the ilk.
Just an ok little place– hence the 3 stars. It is cleaner and nicer and better than Chinatown but it is not the wow factor or being a great place that I need to do or go to weekly.
It is weird in this shopping mall area. I would have never expected it.
Parking is ok at normal times of the day– students from HCC try to get away with parking here so they do watch the lot more than a normal lot.
It is a unique area and take advantage of being able to park and get things that you would normally need from Chinatown without all the headache of the area and people.

Lychee in season now! $ 5.99/lbs.

Chinatown Jr. Next to Chuck E Cheese Dillingham.
It’s not a bad place to shop. There’s a decent selection of fresh produce, seafood/​meats and Asian groceries. The prices are higher than C-​Town but you pay that premium to be in an air conditioned market and cleaner environment.
Although I still prefer to shop at the real Chinatown because I think it’s fresher there, I find myself here often due to convenience.
PS: Don’t come during lunch time. Trying to park will just make you mad.

I wanted to love this place, but in the end, I still prefer Chinatown. Here’s why:
— Variety. Chinatown Market Place (CMP from now on) has the staple veggies, but Chinatown still has a lot more.
— Freshness. Chinatown wins. CMP stuff was on the riper side. You wouldn’t be able to keep the stuff in the fridge much longer after purchasing.
— Prices. The higher prices doesn’t really make up for anything, when I have to pay more for worse quality. I rather use that money for parking in the Chinatown municipal lots (which I never really have trouble in…)
— Quantity. There isn’t a large selection (of a single item), to choose from. I like to pick my veggies; if it’s a small selection, and they all suck, then I’m kind of out of luck.
However, as others have already mentioned, there are good reasons to choose CMP:
— Still way cheaper than regular supermarkets.
— Cleaner; no funky smells.
— Convenient parking lot in front.
— One stop shop for produce.
CMP would probably be sufficient if I needed only one or two things, but I think driving the extra 5 – 10 minutes to Chinatown would give me better goods. Honestly, I haven’t been back to CMP after the first time. I guess the scary things about Chinatown aren’t enough to deter me!

If your familiar with the smell of Chinatown, this place is the same with the exception of char siu pork, roast duck and the occasional whiff of you know what when walking down the sidewalk.
This place has a lot of nice looking produce and fish but not so much on the meat and poultry.
I always go to Brian’s all the way to the back and on the right if I’m buying fish. Its always kept iced down really well and they also have coolers under the display table too with fish and crab if the display doesn’t satisfy what your looking at.
Remember when buying fish. If the eyes are clear its fresh, if its cloudy, its not fresh and should be avoided. Make sure its iced down well too.
The parking here is kinda sucky. If there’s something going on at Chucky Cheese when you come, parking will be hard. You will find one eventually maybe not close but you will find one.
The customer service is ok. You will find the occasional stern monotone vendors but you will find some very polite and courteous ones as well and that’s where my money goes.

Who would’ve thought that there’s a Chinatown Marketplace, but not in actual Chinatown?
Truth be told that this satellite location arm of Chinatown is a decent location for those who want the Chinatown prices, but not the ambiance of Chinatown itself. The Chinatown Marketplace is basically a farmers market that’s just seems to be out of place when it’s not really Chinatown, but it is good to have. There were a few local merchants that I did recognize, including Jessie’s and Ka Le Eggs. This simplified version of a Farmer’s Market in the Chinatown /​Kalihi vicinity can be what works for you, without going into the urban Chinatown corridor and not having to experience the sights and smells (I emphasize smells) of Chinatown. Chinatown has gotten kind of bad in recent years, but I kind of venture away from that aspect of it and do other places for my shopping needs.
This Chinatown Marketplace is located at City Square, on Dillingham Avenue, pretty much next to the City and County Driver’s licensing office is. That strip mall in back of the office is City Square and Ha Long Phở Vietnamese restaurant is part of the merchant listing. But anyhow, getting here is like getting through downtown and Chinatown. Best bet would be to drive and park inside City Square and walk up to the Marketplace to shop, but if you are like me, most of the major bus routes pass through here traveling on Dillingham Avenue to and from downtown and Chinatown. From Chinatown, it’s about maybe a 1 mile walk or so. The prices here are what you can expect in Chinatown, although from the other vendors that are there, they charge whatever they do to make money. The options here for takeout meals are limited, but they are there for the taking.
The overall experience was pretty good. There can be bargains here when you are looking for them. Plenty of parking here and while I do enjoy a good deal, anything is possible here. Don’t expect to pay for your purchases here with plastic, as Farmer’s Markets rarely deal with that. So bring cash, as I did, since I always think that these Farmer’s Market set ups seem to deal with cash only mostly all the time. It’s simpler that way, but sometimes when you want to charge, it’s not feasible to. The Chinatown Market is open 7 days a week, beginning at 8am, and closing on 7pm Mondays through Saturdays, and on Sundays at 5pm. I very much agree that it’s very much cleaner than that of Chinatown and the prices are on par with what Chinatown does anyway, at least with the open air vegetables and produce options. Give this place a try and you may find some good deals.
Thinking of shopping here more often.
Support local!
B+

My mom loves coming here to do her vegetable shopping. Most of the stores are similar to what they have in downtown with even more pros!
+parking is way easier then the limited offerings in Chinatown
+less crowded
+this market is cleaner and does not have a funky smell
+no hobos to scare you!
Even with the +, there are some negatives:
–a bit pricier than chinatown
–not as big of a selection of merchants to shop from
Overall, we love it here because it’s more convenient and we are willing to pay a couple cents more for the convenience.