Crack seed. For us locals in Hawai'i, these snacks were childhood staples. The crack seed store, a classic place where vibes of nostalgia are generated every time I walk into one. 'Cause I grew-up with li hing mui and arare. There's a small number of locally-owned crack seed shops on the Big Island of Hawai'i and in Hawai'i in general. This is one of them, the "local-style candy store" for an island boy like me. I enter 5-Spice, located in East Hawai'i after the intersection of Kilauea Ave and W Puainako St, heading south. I remember frequenting this business when it used to be at Puainako Town Center. Their popularity over the years gave them the ability to move to a larger space. Now independently located in their own building with ample parking. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Would I be able to control myself, holding onto what's desired without adding anything extra? It's always impossible for me to do so. Everytime. Yummy preserved items in large display jars, others placed in vacuum sealed bags. All priced by-the-ounce. I become curious, wanting to taste it again. I go to my favorites, seeking them first while browsing through the visual display of many others. Cracked seed goodness on one side, bagged candies and sweets on the other. I've seen this all before yet, I stand still with the desire to place it all in my hands. And I sure do, my hands are full. I mail them to the U.S. mainland in care packages, travel to the neighbor-islands as omiyage, and personally enjoy them at work or at home as snacks. They make great gifts for friends and coworkers too. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Let's talk about food, where mouth-watering plates and yummy burgers are prepared. Bentos are packed to-go on the countertop. Offering an extensive menu for a take-out, all made to enjoy outside on picnic tables or elsewhere. Daily specials are available along with catering + platters too. Front service by the team at the counter is pleasant, attentive. Gratitude is always extended for every purchase. Comfortable, courteous, welcoming. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "Meat Jun Plate" A light egg batter and thinly sliced beef served in an upscale fashion due to care in preparation and quality of flavor. The soft and indulgent texture of each meat jun piece, perfectly seasoned + cooked. Your choice of tossed greens, purple sweet potato or macaroni salad. "Honey Chicken Plate" Featuring a crazy yummy sweet and savory glaze, sticky and glossy. This sauce, this recipe creation is glorious. Chicken pieces are tender yet slightly crispy on the exterior. "Bibimbap" Freshly made Korean banchan, thinly sliced seasoned beef over white rice. I pour the gochujang over everything and mix-in the sunny side egg, bringing forward a creamy texture along with heat + depth. Choose the sweet potato salad as your side. "Gravy Burger Combo w/ French Fries" This massive burger patty is filling, satisfying. Charred and smothered in rich brown gravy served with lettuce and mayo. Choose the sweet bread bun, the seasoned salt on their fries makes all the difference. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Delicious food to-go with generous portions, sealed bags of cracked seed items + sweet treats at 5-Spice. For enjoyment at home, to share at work, gifts or omiyage. Find this charm, this unique and tasty experience on the Big Island of Hawai'i - East side. Locally owned and operated. read more

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Everything is amazing! Parking - awesome Staff - super friendly Food - omg, delish And while you wait, browse the crack seed area and buy some snacks! Love this place!!! read more

Stopped here while visiting Hilo and got to-go. There was a lot of food in a serving and we thought we wouldn't eat it all, but we did (besides the rice). I got the Furkaki fish with green salad. If i was basing my rating only on this dish, I'd give it 5 stars. Yum! It was piping hot and it came with a thousand island dressing that i think was home made and it was way better on the fish than the tartar sauce. So i ate the salad and the fish together with that sauce. Amazing! My husband had the chicken with curry on it. This was good, but not great. The Chicken was sliced too thin so there was more breading than chicken. And there wasn't quite enough curry sauce on top of it to really get a good curry flavor. There was a lot of it so my husband didn't even eat all of it. He got the Ube side and it was really interesting for someone not from Hawaii. But I really liked it. More about the place: it's a little market and they sell all kinds of dried fruit and other spices and things. The have a counter in the back you order at. It took a bit to make the food, but it was fresh! The seating area is outside and they have picnic tables with umbrellas. We ended up taking it to eat at the beach. If I'm ever back in Hilo, I would definitely go back for the fish! read more

5-Spice - Chicken with curry and ube side. Comes with rice and pickled mango - Specialty Food Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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Hilo work day trip. Stopped here for lunch and crack seed!! Where else can you get such a combo? Picked up lunch for a small crew and everyone enjoyed their meals. I had the HUGE Kim chee hot dog, friends had the fish burger, furikake fish, jac chae and Kim chee burger. Then I bought crack seed snacks to bring back to Oahu as they had combos we don't have like licorice apricots, sweet sour kumquat and hot li hing mango. I didn't get photos of the seeds as my sons quickly grabbed them and devoured when I got home! The service was also so kind and friendly as is typical of Hilo. read more

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5-Spice is a traditional Hawaiian crack seed shop with a fully functioning kitchen, offering freshly made bentos to-go. Crack seed is dried plum with lihing powder, a signature Hawaii snack that is bold, savory, with lip-pluckering tartness. There's plenty of dried fruits, gummy sweets, and candies of all kind. We stopped by for gifts to take home, and purchased arare, lihing powder, and picked up dried lihing guava that we are excited to try for the first time. 5-Spice will sure to satisfy any Hawaiian snack craving and highly recommend this location! read more

5-Spice - Crack seed candy - Specialty Food Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

This little mom and pop type place (which are always the hidden gems un my opinion growing up in Hawaii) has great plate lunches and bento (the teriyaki chicken karage with green onion, rice and mac salad was so good and made to order) and grabbed a few bags of crack seed treats. There are picnic tables out front, you might get approached by the king rooster there but he kept his distance. Everything is pre packaged as the allotted ounces (so you can't request a custom amount), however the jars are there for sampling, just ask. read more

5-Spice - teriyaki chicken bento - Specialty Food Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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Good local kine grinds (local food) and good price. All sorts of preserved fruits (crack seed, li hing mui, etc.) and snacks from my childhood days. read more

Lady at the counter is so sweet. I love going to a restaurant and your initial interaction is a pleasant greeting. Food was great I ordered a 5 spice special which included Kalbi, meat Jun and fish Jun for the bf. He must have enjoyed it because he finished the entire plate. I always order the jumbo hot dog. It's served on a giant sweet bun. It's always neat and tidy there. They have a selection of different types of crack seed in those large glass jars and other snacks and goodies. read more

5-Spice - Jumbo hot dog - Specialty Food Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Amazing local food with a Korean twist. This place is a definite must visit. Spicy pork plate was fantastic. read more

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Started and end my mini trip to Hilo here. The portions are huge and that sweet potato salad that comes with the plates is a must! I tried the Korean fried chicken, fish jun, and furikake fish. All good flavors and the fried well. It's also a crack seed store so you can buy some snacks and drinks. There are also seating areas with umbrellas outside if you want to indulge in your meals. read more

5-Spice - Specialty Food Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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My family and I absolutely LOVED 5 Spice! We got three lunch plates and ono crack seed. The service was incredible and the ladies at the front were so sweet. We will 100% be coming back for more. This has to be your next lunch and snack stop! read more

5-Spice - Specialty Food Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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Great seed selection and great plate lunches. We got the meat Jun and fish Jun plates and both were excellent

There are not too many places that have a cracked seed collection like 5-Spice. And you know that it is locally made! I know the food is right on and tastes great. I can tell by the amount of construction workers that come by. My favorite though is the Jap Chai Bento Box. Great tasting glass noodles, but what puts it over the top are large juicy mushrooms in the Jap Chai. It's my go to place when I have visitors coming over from the mainland! read more

Decent Spot, But Could Use a Little More Aloha We stopped by for the first time and while the food options looked interesting, I have to say the customer service was just okay. No one really greeted us or offered help, which made it a little confusing since it was our first visit. The place was super busy with lots of traffic, so maybe that's why - but still, a friendly "aloha" would've made a difference. We ordered the chicken eats, and while it was on the pricey side (like most places in Hilo), I personally didn't find the flavor to be anything special. Also, we grabbed a musubi, and unfortunately, the rice was on the hard side, which was a bit disappointing. Highlight of the visit? The pickled daikon - SO ono! Tangy, crunchy, and full of flavor - I'd definitely come back just for that! We also picked up five different types of seeds. They were okay overall - nothing too exciting, but the kids enjoyed their candies, and that was a win. All in all, it's a fun spot for local snacks and treats, but I hope the service and food quality improve with time. A little more warmth and attention to detail would really elevate the experience. read more

Ahhh 5-Spice! When Aunty was running the shop there were incredibly delectable bentos. The kind that you immediately knew took tons of time and care to create. When you gave them away, people always remarked at how beautiful and tasty they were. Well the next gen has taken over and they have a beautiful new building and it really looks great. They are efficient and the store is run smoothly. Breakfast can be ordered as you like and there are plenty of bentos available on the counter. The bentos are stuffed with rice and protein and they look like bentos that most other places also have. The breakfast I got was not much to look at but tasted good and the eggs were cooked as I like them. Delicious seed and snacks all around. Decent parking. Everything's there except Aunty with the beautiful bentos that took so much time and care to create. read more

5-Spice - Deluxe breakfast! - Specialty Food Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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Still enjoying the quick high quality breakfast plates with crispy bacon, perfectly done eggs, savory sweetbread French Toast, even the breakfast sandwich on sweetbread buns...way to start our day! read more

So glad we stopped here during our visit. We found it on Yelp and it didn't disappoint. They have a bunch of candies, snacks, dried fruits and other items available to purchase. We placed our order and bought some candies and browsed while we waited for our food to be ready. We ended up ordering the Loco Moco and Korean Chicken and both were delicious. We ate both in our car and had fun sharing bites of each. The portions were perfect for a hearty lunch and we snacked on some coconut candies as a dessert. If you're in the area looking for a bite, this is a great spot to stop. Friendly staff and great portions at a fair price. read more

Five spices another place that I've been meaning to try for a while. I heard it could get busy so I tried this just before lunchtime. Glad I did because by the time I left, it was really busy. I perused the menu and decided on the Katsu chicken with rice and salad. 1799 and I thought well, while I didn't want to spend that much let me give it a try. I waited about 15 minutes for my food. Now, remember this is a small place with no tables for eating inside and only two outside. There's also lots of spices and dried fruits and Korean noodles for purchase while you wait when they called my name for my order I took it to my car to eat. I open the box and really was surprised by how well presented it was and how much food there was. I thought there was only one layer of Katsu chicken when there was really two. This is definitely a male that two could've shared with no problem. The Cassie chicken was delicious perfectly cooked. The salad was good and the rice of course with rice. It came with a sauce for the chicken and some dressing for the salad. I really enjoyed it, and I was able to have the rest of it for dinner that night. The menu is extensive so I'll be trying different things when I come back. The Good: my Katsu chicken was delicious, the service is very friendly, and it was a good value. The Bad: it can get very busy. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but if you come at the wrong time, you're gonna be waiting a while for your food. Chances I'll Be Back: YES! My food was delicious. And a very large portion. Definitely recommend. read more

5-Spice - Katsu Chicken - Specialty Food Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Food is okay. Not enough flavor. Meat Jun sauce is weak. Like the quantity of food though. Place is clean, and workers are nice.

Best selection in Hilo of Li Hing Mui type products, either pre-packaged or by the pound. Plus huge menu of take-out food.

Oh I do like their Hamburger Steak Plate but I definitely love their Papa Hamburger Steak Plate. There is a difference. Papa's is very tasty & quite delicious! It's in the mixing and their special seasonings. Gravy & fresh cut onions! That's outside of just the regular Hamburger Steak Plate. Will definitely come back to order again! read more

5-Spice - Meat Jun! Delicious!! - Specialty Food Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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We eat here often as we love so many of the things on their menu; Fish jun, meat jun, chicken katsu, kalbi are our faves. All the platters are great for parties. Service is straight forward. Bonus that we can pickup our favorite crack seed before picking up our takeout orders. read more

Every thing is perfect, I prefer the fried fish set more,and you don't need pay the tips. I like the place

Food is always amazing and they give huge portions. Their kimchi they have in the refrigerator is legit Kimchi! So good! The lady at the register is always friendly and helpful when asked about different items on the menu. I love walking around and checking out all the snacks while waiting for my food. Everything looks so good! read more

When you choose to close for 2 weeks, PLEASE update your hours online. We understand that small businesses can't always be open, but we were really hoping to visit your store/cafe. read more

Highlights: Huge portions, great taste, not a typical restaurant (no seating) Food: Chicken Curry Katsu for the win! Ambiance: Cute little store with bulk Asian food items. No seating, to-go orders only. Experience: Really tasty food, great packaging for to-go eating. read more

5-Spice - Chicken - Specialty Food Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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5-Spice is a small building on Kilauea Avenue across from the back side of KTA Store. You have to look good from the road for the store as it's easy to miss. After getting the scoops about this crack seed/drive-in store we had to check this place out. It's a nice white building with the 5-Spice in blue with parking in the front. As you enter you'll see jars and jars of seeds and candy lining the walls. Smaller prepackaged seeds and candies hanging on display, ready to purchase. My mouth was watering just looking at the variety of seeds. They also have delicious pre-made bentos on the counter to go or a large menu of food to order from. I love the different plate lunches and burgers that they offer. This is a must stop while in Hilo to pick up snacks or food to go. You'll won't be sorry you did. read more

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I'm slowly attempting to clear a few drafts here on Yelp, and as it happens this review is exactly 22 months delayed. 5-Spice is a small mom and pop shop that dually functions as a retailer of Asian snacks/spices/seeds and roadhouse for island comfort food to-go. They offer plate lunches for individuals as well as large platters for parties. Prices were very reasonable as of February 2022. Lunch was made to order. It looked like we had arrived past the prime lunch hour too as there were only one or two others. We chose three plate lunches and a soup: Furikake Chicken, Meat Jun, Furikake Fish and Chicken Long Rice Soup. Each plate lunch came with two scoops of white rice and a choice of macaroni salad, sweet potato salad or a toss salad. We were so lucky to even score the last scoop of purple sweet potato salad - super thankful as it was very good! Both the Furikake Chicken and Fish were fried perfectly and tasted fantastic with or without the accompanying sauce. Barely any oil drippings. The Meat Jun was absolutely mouthwatering and the Chicken Long Rice Soup was to die for (it was way too hot to drink especially with a small plastic spoon, but I had never heard of this soup and of course had to try it). It's essentially Hawaii's chicken noodle soup. So simple, yet so flavorful. Each plate was $13.99 with the soup being only $6.25. The main entrée for each plate lunch was quite generous, particularly the meat jun portion. Service was standard, but I'm giving 4.5 stars because even though they had a few foldable chairs inside (looks like they're for customers waiting on their orders), they don't have any outdoor seating, so as visitors we just literally squat out in front to eat our lunch. When it got too hot and our legs started cramping, we shuffled into the car with the AC running to finish our lunch. I don't know how to describe it, but it's just not easy drinking hot soup in a car. Maybe 5-Spice should really re-consider including an outdoor area for guests to dine before departing. read more

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Great spot for bentos and seeds! As former locals who were born and raised in Hawaii, we miss bento lunches and seeds! But today we got our fill here and were pleasantly surprised! We'll be back on our next trip! read more

My favorite place to eat in Hilo. The kalbi 5 stars. The katsu top knotch. Mac salad do good and that little coco salad was my favorite I couldn't help but drink the juice. I enjoyed buying crack seed and it was excellent. Can't wait to go back read more

Great service and excellent food! We wish this place was closer to our hotel so we could go back before we leave! Def the best loco moco I've had so far. read more

5-Spice - Specialty Food Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

I remember when 5 Spice used to be a small shop at the Puainako Shopping Center but that's not the case anymore. Along with all the great seeds and candies, they also serve food! They have a bunch of bento options and sizes that they keep up front on the counter but they also make plates on order. The bentos have awesome variety and the boneless Korean chicken plate I got was HUGE! Don't let the prices deter you...you get so much more than what you pay for. This plate gave me about 2.5 meals! If you haven't stopped by for the food, you're missing out! read more

5-Spice - Boneless Korean Chicken plate with Mac salad - Specialty Food Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Bought a chicken katsu plate for ~$18 Rice & sweet potato salad we're ok, but unfortunately i got yesterdays chicken katsu. Terrible read more

5-Spice - Specialty Food Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Always money when you need to cater a party. Massive portions, great quality and good pricing. read more

5-Spice - Catering menu - Specialty Food Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Didn't expect this place to be this good haha. We had the boneless Korean fried chicken and a breakfast plate. Both were great! Short wait time and friendly staff. Everything was good. And big portions. Would def recommend. I love the sweet potato salad!! read more

5-Spice - Specialty Food Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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Thank you Yelpers for recommending me 5-Spice! I was on my way up to Hilo from the volcanoes and my buddy saw this joint on Yelp with almost 5 stars. I read a few reviews and I said heck yeah let's do it! The spicy pork was on point super flavorful with a handful of spices, lemongrass, peppers, carrot, and onions! The spice level is about a medium it isn't HOT HOT but enough to feel it! Sweet potatoes (Ube) salad was on point! Sweet, salty, and creamy ain't nothing like it. My boy had the bulgogi burger and I have no pictures but he tore that thing apart. One thing I wish the place had was a place to sit and eat which would've made it easier for us to enjoy our meal. The joint is super clean and the staff is extremely nice. They also sell a lot of Li Hing and fermented fruits. read more

No dine in. We ordered meat Jun, and chicken curry katsu... both are amazing and can be good for 2 people as the portions are generous. read more

5-Spice - Specialty Food Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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Got the bento with a friend. I thought 2 bentos with a drink were overpriced about $20. The taste of the meat Jun and the other items on the bento were bland to me. I am not sure how the food taste for my friend. I would not choose the bento if I were to go there again. read more

Amazing 100% of the time I order from here. NO COMPLAINTS! Food awesome, portion awesome, you get what you pay for. Hands down my favorite take out local food! read more

If you're around Hilo, this is a must visit place. The whole store is a magical place :) you get all sorts of candied stuff- candied plums, dried mangoes, lemons, and a whole assortment of candies! They have a small cafeteria where they sell food. We got chicken katsu curry plate with mac salad and loco plate with sweet potato salad. The katsu was just perfect - seasoned well and perfectly cooked with the crunch! Ah so delicious. Oh and the mac salad was so good, I could eat a giant bowl with just that. The loco plate was also delicious and we were delighted to have the purple sweet potato salad. This is a hidden gem where everything was reasonably priced. Highly recommend this place! read more

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