The produce was not fresh, very wilted. There were expired things on the shelves. Sticky floors and rusty shelves. They have most of the Filipino and Chinese stuff, not so much Korean or Japanese. There is also some Vietnamese and Thai stuff. Considering that it's like the only place in Hilo to get Asian stuff for cooking at home, it's okay read more

Kilauea Market - Entrance - International Grocery Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

See all

It was dark and a bit sketchy inside. The parking lot is full of trash. I really couldn't understand shots here. I didn't buy anything. Just walked in felt uncomfortable and left. It's a shame because it seems like with a little care and clean up, it could be a nice market. read more

I purchased a wok for $65 & realized once at home that they covered the p65 cancer warning label with a price tag. Went to return the wok with receipt and they claimed they "couldn't find my purchase" even though it says the name and number of the card ON THE RECEIPT. Devious store owners. read more

In the town of Hilo, Kilauea Market fills the niche role of Asian grocery store. Granted, we are a place that is densely inhabited by peoples of Asian descent, that's a pretty big niche! They certainly serve it well, though. Kilauea Market carries such a wide variety of foods, it'd be tough to actually name them all. To give you an idea, all of the ingredients that your old Chinese grandma put in her vast repertoire of soups when you were a kid, they have that stuff. They also carry other odds and ends you'd expect in an Asian specialty store. Personally, I appreciate the variety of instant noodles that they have. I am a simple person. But really, if you're in need of an obscure ingredient, this is the place I'd look for it. Other things of note with Kilauea Market, the staff have always been friendly and helpful, you'll never have a hard time finding parking, and they're located quite conveniently a little ways down the road from Hilo Shopping Center. read more

Lots of local and tropical fruits and veggies! I always check it out when I'm at Big Island! Support Locals!

Make dang sure to check the expiration dates on all the items you wish to purchase before going to the checkout. Told the cashier about specific expired items (I previously wanted to buy but didn't want to pay for any expired food items) but am really unsure if they actually got pulled off of their shelves after I left since the guy never wrote anything down. It's not the first time I noticed outdated expired food items for sale there and always made it a point to inform an employee about it so the next customers don't end up paying for expired food items. Another thing to mention is if you ever see food items that don't have any expiration dates on them and you know they're supposed to have dates on them then it is definitely safer to just not buy them. I noticed how easy it is to rub off expiration dates and some items have stickers for dates that can easily be peeled off or changed. I bought couple cans of unagi that weren't expired which were priced raleally cheap (Japan unagi sold elsewhere was close to $20 and theirs was under $4 that looked like Japanese writing on the label but said was from China). They sure didn't taste anything like unagi. I would not purchase the Chinese canned unagi ever again nor recommend it to anyone regardless of the cheap price. I honestly don't know what kind of fake Chinese eel they were. Another thing worth mentioning is many imported foods aren't food safety regulated especially when sourced from China and other places in Asia and the lowest bidder gets to export the bulk of their foods to the USA. I'd trust foods imported specifically from Japan where they actually take pride in what they sell and the overall cleanliness of their culture. I can only imagine the unsanitary conditions in China with flies cockroaches and rodents cohabitating on and around the food before they are canned or packaged that we don't know about. No USDA nor any regulated food inspections over there. For example dried seafood cuttlefish and crack seed and other food items sourced from China you don't know if they were dried outside out in the open where all the flies lay their maggots eggs on. A group of us got really sick eating crack seed and cuttlefish and mixed popcorn from Munch n Joy in the mall. Only two who didn't eat anything didn't get sick. My grandparents used to dry fish and mango outside sandwiched in fine mesh screen holders left out for days. I witnessed some days they got rained on as they hurried to bring them all inside. I often wondered about bird droppings and piss and that was when I was a kid. Imagine people doing it without the screen how many flies would land on them. The USA food regulators and inspectors here actually allow a small percentage of rats spiders roaches and bugs etc to be processed and mixed into your store bought national brands of bottled peanut butter (this is a fact go look it up). Just imagine the countries that have zero oversight for their food processing and packaging. Safer to make your own home made peanut butter roasting your own peanuts. At least you have your own choice if you want to knowingly add some finely ground bits of rats roaches spiders etc yourself. read more

I can't believe this place isn't shut down by the Hawaii State Board of Health department! Expired merchandise, Freezers that are smelly, building falling apart! The vibe in there is weird. What a sad look for Hilo. read more

it's a standard hole in the wall shopping market. it looks like an old and dying market thats struggling to stay afloat but carries inventories that are unique and desirable to a specific niche (think asian supermarkets - 99 ranch or lions) nothing too special as far as Supermarkets go, but if you're looking for something asian specific, this is your place read more

This is a specialty Asian food store with some products that you wont find anywhere as far as I know. We tried the roasted coconut juice and it was unreal! Actual chunks of real coconut floating in the juice. Not the transparent stuff but real coconut. Tamarind juice? Oh boy if you like tamarind, this juice is for you! All kinds of different Palm Corned beef in various flavors. I bought a adobo corned beef but didn't try it. Yes adobo corned beef. Theres a isle with all kinds of jelled fruit to make some halo halo or you cam make a mean ass almond float. The store is not that big but its definitely worth visiting this store and just walk around and look at stuff you wont find in your regular supermarket. read more

See all

I love this freaking store!!!! It's cheap and they have great sweet snacks if your sweet tooth has a random need.

This place offers and interesting collection of Asian goods. Probably the largest collection of Asian products in Hilo, we often stop here to see what's new in the market. The large collection of heat and eat items would be great, if we lived in Hilo, but the frozen selections offer items that can be packed and taken inter-island. Check out the large selection of snacks and sauces available here. The pre-mixed sauce packages are great for quick home cooking and the market offers convenient grab and good foods along side heat and eat items. This is not a "convenience store" type of location where plate lunches are available, but there is a dining area with hot food located upstairs. When in Hilo, take a look at Kilauea Market for a fantastic collection of Asian goods! read more

Kilauea Market - Entrance - International Grocery Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

I love this place! High quality, not over-priced. Some things you wouldn't necessarily think of as Asian products but they were things that I happened to be looking for: a strong, bigger granule black pepper for example. I'll go back for sure and this time take my ice chest so I can buy some huge frozen fish and seafood. Very friendly helpful staff. read more

Man, this place just keeps getting more grimy as time goes on. We recently had an incident where we had a funky smell in our pantry room, and no matter how many times we cleaned it and made sure there wasn't a bag of rotting potatoes or something, it just wouldn't go away. It smelled just like Kilauea Market. It was weird. Such a distinct smell, and it was immediately recognizable as the same exact scent that greets me when I enter Kilauea market. Finally we figured out that it was a dead rat in a sticky trap that our pest control guy had set in a place that we couldn't see. As soon as he got rid of the dead rat, the Kilauea market smell went away. read more

The Indian manager with the glasses is very helpful. Lots of things to choose from. Very cold. Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Filipino items to choose from. The Asian store of Hilo. read more

Went to this market for the first time and was shocked. Didn't realize that it was that run down. Very little inventory and the ceiling was in disrepair. The parking lot looks bad with a lot of pallets and a couple of matson containers which really looks bad. Shopping selections were very limited. I'm thinking that people must go there for a rare ingredient that they must need to prepare a dish. Other than that, I really can't see anyone going there weekly to shop for their needs. Not sure how they are surviving. Building looks like it's in bad shape. read more

On first entrance it is small but as for the items carried, they seem to definitely have sourced the most used products in a lot of Chinese/viet/thai/etc asian households. It was nice to find the dried spices/herbs and noodles to make pho and also some items to make eggrolls and noodle soups. It was perfect timing as we needed some calcium hydroxide ($2/ 4-5 tablespoons container folks, but when you need it you need it) and didnt want to drive around town in search of it. Cute selection of housewares. Would love to see more variety of fresh asian produce here for complementing the lack of things not available in the kta/sack 'n save. read more

The best place we've found for canned jackfruit. What do we do with it? Make the best vegan pulled pork!

The new Asian market in Hilo. Why does a predominately Asian area with Asian supplies in the standard grocery stores need a specialty Asian grocery store? Even growing up in Hawaii with grocery stores that have standard Asian supplies there are always ingredients that are harder to find. Or perhaps you like a different type of shoyu then Kikkoman or Aloha. Maybe you can tell the difference between dark soy sauce, black soy sauce, soy sauce, and light soy sauce. This grocery store has a wide variety of supplies for Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino dishes. There are also fresh fruits and vegetables. But best of all there are specialty cuts of meat for Asian cooking. The staff is friendly and helpful. The parking is easy and convenient. read more

This is a good little market to get your hard to find asian foods and spices. They were able to pack in a lot of items in the store. Everything from seafood, veggies, drinks, asian spices, and canned goods. What I also like is the big selection of frozen asian foods like: mandoo, manapua, noodles, and frozen seafood. I like to go there to get my asian ingredients that the super markets don't carry. It is true about what some of the other reviewers said about the store. The store is set up strange, but not a big deal because it's a small store. The "fresh fish" didn't look so fresh the times that I've been there. They have a lot of the same items, just made by different brands. There are hardly any customers there at any given time. Maybe it's because of the workers walking around like zombies. It seems like they have no guidance. I was looking at an item on the shelf in the store a few days ago and a worker stepped in front of me and started to stock the shelf! No excuse me, or do you need any help finding something. The only person who has helped us in the past is the cashier, who seems to be the only cashier working the register. If not busy at the register she has always helped us find things, and has a great attitude. The good: Hard to find asian spices and ingredients at a reasonable price. The bad: Not so fresh seafood. Confusing set up. Workers who don't have tact or personalities. The only reason Kilauea Market gets two stars from me is because they have a few things that I need for cooking that the big markets don't carry. Other than that they need to hire better workers, and have a professional re-set up their store. read more

I like being able to find asian foods here, like fishballs, beef balls with tendon, korean style rice rolls, etc. Most of it is stuff I don't see at KTA or I'm just not willing to pay for at KTA prices. I got bell peppers for $2.75/lb (it was 4.50 at the farmer's market) and a nice 1lb piece of steak for $3.95. So the pricing I feel is fair for the area. The store is divided a little awkwardly. The cashier/checkout is right at the entrance but the store extends to the left and right. So that means if you start out left, and you want to go to the other side of the store, you would have to pass through the checkout counters (not that you would have to buy you items, but you would have to pass through them because they bisect the store. It has sections for ramen, nori, spices. It even has a marinated meat section with kalbi for $4.50/lb. I love kalbi, so i'll probably get some from there later on. The store is a smaller and has fewer customers than KTA, walmart, or one of other big stores. I believe it only has 2 checkout counters. Inside is a bit cramped, which is why they have the small shopping carts. Overall I would say a 3.5 star place, but I give it 4 stars since I want this place to stay open, and i'm hoping they get some more business. read more

A small market, but with a good selection of packaged Asian foods. and some interesting fresh foods. Note the pork snouts. Has things not found in the regular Hawaiian markets. The poke didn't look too good when we visited. read more

See all

The first thing that popped into my head when walking into this grocery store was: "Oooh, a miniature 99 Ranch Market." I miss the now defunct 99 Ranch on Oahu that used to be in Mapunapuna. So what a nice surprise that Hilo has a similar Asian grocery store to call one of their own. All sorts of interesting products from all over Asia packed into this tiny little store. It's not a very busy looking store so I hope they're doing okay. Kind of hard to compete with all the big chain stores concentrated in one area of Hilo and this store is away from all that action. Wish them well and hope they stick around. 31 Yelps Review Challenge (17/31) read more

Pretty much everything I needed for Pho was here. I even found a cover for my wok! Amazing assortment of food and random house hold cooking supplies! Like a Asian market.. read more

Been here a few times and Ugh this place is such a disappointment, it's so run down, and the smell is disgusting, I can barely even walk in there without getting some sort of head ache. This place is ghetto, open holes in the ceiling and there is NO AC, all of the freezers are not working, it was hot as hell, I can never find what I'm looking for, and everything is just scattered and thrown everywhere. Not to mention that most of their products is expired!!!! WTF!!!! They're customer service is okay, if the workers didn't look like they hate their job. This one girl always looks so irritated, makes me wanna just walk straight out. Ohhh and P.S. Get some fucking hoy hoy traps or something for all the fucking cockroaches running around read more

I'm so glad this place opened. You should have seen the blank looks I used to get at other grocery stores when I was asking after things like shaoxing cooking wine or pre-made XO sauce. Finding anything in the store is a bit of a challenge, but you can eventually find pretty much any specialty item you might need for Asian cooking. I think it's safe to say, this store is pretty much Hilo's Chinatown. read more

This has been our "go to" place for any specialty Asian food we need from a condiment to duck eggs. They also carry alcohol, fresh produce, frozen foods and kitchenware. There were a couple times they were out of stock for a certain item, but they're usually pretty good about giving is a timeframe on when they expect to receive more. Will definitely be back. read more

Check expiration dates before purchasing! Almost ALL ITEMS ARE EXPIRED!!! They should sell only non food items.

Great Kubano sandwich. The best! The food is excellent here and the portions are generous. Very happy with this place and we will keep ordering to go. I'm so happy to have found this place. read more

Love this market, great selection of tea, spices and noodles at affordable prices.

This was a GREAT find for us! All of the condiments we like to cook with are there, plus humongous crab knuckles and fresh poke at great prices! If you're in the area, well worth checking out! read more

This was my first time coming here and now I know why the parking lot is always empty. The place is so run down inside. The small produce section is really gross and has a weird smell. It looks like they never wash or wipe down that area. There is a wide variety of Asian foods which is nice. The store is literally like a ghost town. Upon checkout the cashier asked if I wanted to buy a bag for 5 cents and I said yes. When I asked to BUY a second bag for my groceries the cashier told me no because "we lose money selling the bags." Ummmm ok? read more

1st time here and we love it! Extremely wide variety of Asian products, decent pricing and plenty of parking. Expanding my taste buds in the canned juice section. Great place for Asian noodles for any recipe. Coming back guarantee! read more

I got turned off when I came here a while back because they were selling ahi poke that was gray in color and it didn't look fresh at all. Lots of Asian merchandise, like a hundred different types of shoyu. read more

The best Asian market in town! You can just about find everything you need for Asian cooking here. Prices are pretty decent for hawaii

Great selection and prices! It would be a shame if they went out of business for lack of customers. I make a point of waiting to get all my Asian food products here. You can choose between an assortment of soy sauces, Thai curry, oyster sauces. It does not seem to be very busy which is really a shame. read more

Excellent roast duck and roast pork, very authentic, ive been a cook for 15 years, never have i came across the old style, original taste of what chinese roast duck should be. Take elavator stairs theres a great view looking down hilo city. This place is clean and creates a cozy atmosphere. Would recommend to anyone. read more

A great place to shop if you are cooking Asian style. Large inventory of you name it Asian. You'll need to ask on some of the stuff unless you read chinese/mandarin/vietnamese, but they can be very helpful. And don't miss upstairs! Take the elevator up to an entirely different store. Chinese medicine, herbs, teas, cookware, and glassware. A little pricey but hard to find items are in stock. One of our favorite shops in Hilo! read more

Stopped in for he first time looking for some hard-to-find ingredients, for a special dish. The employees were very friendly and extremely helpful, answering all my questions and helping me find exactly what I was looking for. Overall, a great shopping experience with wonderful customer service! I'll definitely be back and will be sure to recommend to friends and family. read more