I rarely come to this Chinese grocery store as I tend to shop at the same ones on Maunakea Street. Just the other day I was heading to Maunakea Street after shopping at my regular produce shop at Kekaulike Market, I was approaching Sun Chong Grocery store and noticed a group of ladies walking in. I then stopped at noticed dragonfruit, which caught my eye because of its bright pink color, and next to it had a bag of dried herbs to make Chinese soup. As a kid my parents would boil soup for us to drink all the time but now that they've both passed on, I recently have started to experiment with soup making at home. When I worked at a Chinese restaurant during my student days, at times I was sent on errands to buy various items, including "soup mixes". So at Sun Chong I decided to "experiment" with this soup mix that I'm not familiar with. It was only $1.50 for the whole bag so I got one and will be making soup in the near future. Very curious on what it'll taste like... As you walk in the store, it's cluttered with so many items with snacks, candy, dried herbs, scallops, mushrooms and the list goes on! Oh, and because it's now in season, there were also tin cans of MOON CAKE. Seems like a mother-and-daughter team working, who are both bilingual. I was amazed on how the daughter was so friendly with this elderly local Asian lady who was looking for coconut candy in green wrappers. While I was shopping there the girl explained the various different hard candies they had on stock with green wrappers. It was a very memorable shopping experience here. I didn't really appreciate the very narrow walkway to the cash register but this store has a lot of Chinese goods and the prices were reasonable in my opinion. NOTE: NO sales tax here. read more

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Got up early this Saturday to go buy goodies in Chinatown. At 8:20, I walked into Sun Chong. A lady shouted at me and asked me what I was looking for. I told her I was browsing. Then she rudely asked me to leave. She told me they're not opened. Serious? Everything is opened in Chinatown at that time of the hour. According to their own business hours, they open at 8 am. The store looked opened to me. I guess she didn't want my business. No stars. read more

Sun Chong is like Chinese Longs drugs or CVS with fresh fruits. This store has all different types of teas, dried fish, herbs, trinkets, seasonal fruits etc. During my recent visit I noticed their store has expanded and it's very spacious. Usually there are 2 mid age ladies working. They're very knowledgeable and helpful if you're looking for something in particular. When lychees are in season, this is one of the best store to buy it from. You can buy either in bags or lychees on bundles. This store is probably the cleanest and neat store in Chinatown. The store reflects two ladies' pride. read more

Sun Chong Grocery - International Grocery Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Wow, what can't you find in this store...?? I found an item I have been searching for many many years...

LOCATION: Sun Chong is located in Chinatown at 127 N. Hotel Street. It's about half a block ewa of Maunakea Street. Look for the red awning with all the wording in front of the store and you know you're there! Parking is limited to street metered, municipal parking lots or private parking lots. SERVICE: The staff are very helpful if you ask for information. The store is packed top to bottom Arakawa style therefore, ask the staff if you want to know if they have a particular item in stock and they will gladly show you where it is or let you know if they don't have it. If you want to taste something, ask and they might/will offer a sample. DO NOT help yourself to sample anything. SELECTION: Sun Chong has crack seeds, candy, teas, shoyu, lozenges, dried fish, nuts, etc. They have a very good selection of crack seed at a very good price. We purchased 2 # of sweet whole seed, 2 # of sea salt and li hing candy and a big bag of peanuts during this visit. We go to Chinatown at least once a month and always stop by Sun Chong to get some kind of crack seed. read more

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I gave this place many chances, i came here to get some li hing mui to ship internationally, i asked the owner if i can have a taste, she look at me with irritation and told me " I can tell you how it taste! it's salty and sour!" I would of brought more but i ended up just buying 1 bag in case it taste nasty! Like her personality! I try to support local first but i guess these guys don't care. read more

Found this place by accident, and boy did we find the mother load of lemon peel gummy bears. That's what I crave and everyone else I know. Bags of lemon peel are big and very affordable. $4.99 to 5.99. You walk in and it looks like an explosion of candy, and other stuff. Shop is very old and nothing fancy, just open boxes with items in it, from candies, to teas. It's like jan packed so if your wanting a modern kinda store, you at the wrong place. They sell crack seed, lemon peel powder, lemon peel, different varieties of gummy bears with lemon peel. Coca Cola lemon peel, strawberry lemon peel, gummy candy. Oh boy, my head was spinning. Many different kinds of other candies. Teas,Chinese herbs, and basic vegetables and fruits. Want to go back and explore more, as it was a Sunday, and store was closing. For me, I have to look and look, and walk around just to cover my bases, lol. If ever in China town and you like the items I mentioned, this is the place. Lady was very nice and helpful. The store is old,but it gives it character and a personality that I dunno just reminds me of back in the day, old school days. Definitely coming back for more. read more

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Customer service was so awesome I had to write a review. My experience is with their online store. I placed an order for this prune candy and ordered 5 bags. I added in additional things but really only wanted the prune candy. I was super disappointed to receive a refund because it was out of stock. However, when I received my order there was a nice note apologizing, along with extra free candy. Good stuff, too! I was so impressed I ended up placing another order for one of the items I got and ended up really liking. That's not the end of it! I ended up getting a discount because I placed the second order, along with a nice email again apologizing for the prune candy being out of stock. This was so awesome because not only did they go above and beyond, they did it without me ever calling to complain. I never once let them know I was disappointed, and I was because I was looking for the prune candy for weeks, and on their own they tried to make me happy. I was good with the free candy, but to get an additional discount for my second order was amazing. This was hands down the best customer service I received in years, and I will definitely order from them again in the future! Thank you so much, you guys are awesome! read more

Great selection of various goodies. The 2 Chinese aunties & their families always provide excellent & knowledgeable service. Beem going there for years. Love their teas selection & li hing mui selections. Also love it when they have Chinese New Year's or seasonal fruits. I try to visit there at least once a week. I really LOVE their Li-hing Mui strawberries! read more

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Very comprehensive grocery for all your Chinese cooking needs. It can be hard to find stuff in there, so please ask an employee for help. I needed shelled mung beans once and the lady took it out from some hidden crevice that I would have never found myself. I needed salted yolks and the lady had to get it from the fridge in the back storage room. The employees/owners are super nice and helpful, they know the English and Cantonese names of stuff I needed. read more

9/21/19 Kaimana lychee is here! $3.99/lb (pre-separated from the branch) or $4.99/lb on the branch. They also had dried Big Island mangoes- so fresh looking- sending them to SF with dried pineapple chunks! They have a whole batch of mini dried shrimp for seasoning. They will pack whatever you desire in the quantity you want. read more

The 2015 Chinese Lunar New Year is coming up on Thursday, February 19th so I decided to get a jump on marketing for several items to make Buddha's Delight (Lo Hon Jai), a vegetarian dish. It is customary to eat Buddha's Delight as our first meal of the Lunar New Year to enhance one's Health, Wealth, Prosperity and Longevity. The Chinese believe that eating a vegetable diet connects one spiritually and symbolizes purification. My parents told me that the meaning of Lo Han Jai represents 500 disciples or principles of Buddha. Our family recipe includes 18 ingredients. The number 18 has lucky significance as it symbolizes wealth and prosperity. Various regional recipes exist from different families yet all are made up from dried tofu, bamboo shoots, oysters and scallops (my family recipe always included these), mushrooms, seaweed, chestnuts, ginko nuts, fried bean curd, golden lily buds and some fresh vegetables such as snow peas and Napa cabbage. I came into Sun Chong to purchase some of these items that I didn't have already in my pantry. Before entering the store, I noticed that it had expanded to occupy two store spaces. The inventory was nicely stacked and shelves were clean and nearly dust-free. The two ladies (mother and daughter?) were very polite and helpful in directing me to the items that I needed on my list. Luckily, the daughter speaks English well and between my "broken" Chinese language, we figured out what I wanted and how much. Marketing for Chinese food stuffs and sweets under this one "roof" was so quick and easy! I didn't feel intimidated by any language barrier and dried items were weighed and priced in front of me. Making the traditional lo han jai is sort of subjective as there is really no exact measurement to direct one with proportions. You just have to rehydrate the ingredients, stir-fry them and taste as you go. When my family gets together to make jai, we usually do it in a large wok over an outdoor gas burner. The "stew" just gets expands as we add the ingredients and allow it to cook. By the time the jai is done, we end up with several gallons of this vegetarian mélange to share among relatives and friends gathered together to celebrate the New Year. read more

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Ginger is yummy. Ginger is tasty. Ginger has many different positive healing qualities. Ummm, I have to admit that I love ginger. I come here to buy different varieties of ginger and li hing mui for my mom. She's very particular (wet, but not too wet or dry but not too dry depending on her mood, not to sweet, the right level of spice, etc.). This store has a good variety of crack seed items that you can buy in volume. The women who work this store are patient, helpful and generous. They don't mind offering free samples and showing you all the different varieties of products they have. This all keeps me coming back for more! read more

Preserved Fruit galore Li Hing Mui, Lemon Peel, Dried Ume, Melon seeds and You name it they pretty much have all the dried fruit and nuts you can think of. pretty decent prices and nice packaging rather than the plain clear wrap they have a clear and foil wrap. Of course being it is Chinatown parking is limited to what you can find on the side streets or in the public parking structures. usually bustling with people both browsing and tourist walking around taking in the smells and sights. read more

Customer service was exceptionally great and selection of fruits were perfect for my high end client! Hard working staff and very cordial. I highly recommend taking a trip in to Chinatown for this grocery store! read more

So if you don't speak Chinese language, this is the only grocery store you should shop at. I have been to many in China town, none of the people working in the other stores even looked at me much less offered to help. Every time I come here they are so helpful. read more

Sun Chong Grocery is my "Go To" Asian Grocery Store. They literally have anything and everything you need. From fresh to dried, sauces galore, candies, snacks, preserves, and even fresh produce. They regularly bring in premium fruits that you'll never find in the supermarket. An excellent source for Cultural supplies as well. The business is family owned and run, always fast, friendly, and efficient. They're centrally located in the middle of Chinatown. Go visit, you won't be disappointed. read more

Best li hing mango, owner Ann is super friendly. Old school Chinatown dry goods store

The woman in her 50s working around in the store exaggerated and bragged about their merchandises with total nonsense, while the younger woman working at the cashier who looks in her 20s~30s was very bossy and manipulative to a customer ready to pay. Do they think customers are stupid that they can easily fool, or did they simply assume some are just one-time visitors from far and will not return soon or naive tourists who must be unfamiliar with local produce that they can irresponsibly make up things to say about their merchandises?! Horrible experiences I had the other day! So no matter how convenient "to find many things in just one shop" this store seems to be, it is not worthy doing business with them! Unpleasant! ***P.S. Apparantly, Yelp is in favor of the business owner, again, therefore my review is placed in this "Not Currently Recommended" area here. Too bad, because Yelp can never earn money from individual customers but getting paid for business advertisements! Yelp has lost its own credibility by using unreliable questionable "filters" in order to protect those who paid, or will pay, yet are actually not doing well nor real pros in reality! Shame on Yelp! Reference: a documentary "Billion Dollar Bully." read more

This is the 5-star go to Chinese grocery store. It is a completely sealed establishment in Chinatown which keeps all those vermins at bay. The store is air conditioned when they are closed so goods don't spoil. The two sisters (owners) and daughters (sometimes) are bilingual and they will answer all your questions about how to cook this or that, what dish a sauce is used for, how to rehydrate all those dried things, where the fresh fruits come from, where in Chinatown to buy something they don't carry......... I've been shopping in Chinatown for over 60 years, and these gals ARE THE BEST! Rudeness is a misconception. Cantonese people are generally curt in their speech....as in many Chinese restaurants. read more

This place is old school and carries my favorite dried lemon peel only slightly sweetened, other places use too much sugar. Also got our picked cucumber threads there, this us a super hard item to find. A must have for a baked salmon recipe I make. read more

They got everything from snacks to food to goodies to health to medicine in Chinese style Great store read more

This is my favorite store in Chinatown. Honolulu has some hidden treasures and this is one of them. A must go and get traditional Asian treats. read more

I've been coming to this place off and on for years. I'm a Chinatown regular and among all the shops there this store has the best quality of goods. The staff is really nice too. Highly recommend this place. read more

Love this place Been coming here for years, my parent and uncles came once a week. they have everything. The lichee in the summer are the sweetest and the best. Anything for chinese cooking they have and a lot of treats too. Go during Chinese New Year. The family business pack everything in there store. Like a place was 50 years ago read more

Love this place. So many things to look at and buy. Friendly workers to show you what you're looking for as it's overwhelming

I have never had the pleasure of visiting Sun Chong in person (one day, I hope!), but I have heard about it for many years from family members. We have also been happy recipients of gifts of preserved fruits and gingers. I was thrilled to know that they will fulfill orders by mail. Louisa was wonderful to deal with via phone and email. My order was filled quickly and delivered within just days. The only thing that I look forward to in the future is a comprehensive list of what they offer along with descriptors and prices. I realize that their selection of preserved and dried goods is extensive and compiling a list is no small task. We're all stocked up for now, but when I run out of goodies, I'll be contacting Sun Chong again! read more

Went in and was interested in buying some honey lemon ginger . Asked if i can sample but she said no and that I had to just buy it in a really rude tone. Geez, i was just asking. Lady behind the counter started ranting in Chinese and told me to leave! They were so rude and mean . Never had such a horrible experience! Such negative energy there. They need to take some of their calming teas they sell. read more

During this Covid times the two entrances are blocked off and orders are taken curbside. Orders are placed and transactions are ended surprisingly quickly. As my turn came I asked for the dried abalone. A few minutes later an employee invited me into the store as they brought out the abalone. They are now storing them in the freezer because their frequent abalone customers, who are usually elderly are not coming out into public as much. They also compt me a container of lemon peel gummy bears. Awesome service . read more

Went there to pick up some Lychee. Their price was competitive with other shops in the area. The staff were friendly. Would definitely go back read more

This place is packed to the ceiling and walls with all kinds of Chinese groceries and crack seed in jars. If you are looking for something, just ask. It's faster. The lady helping me was very helpful, and gave information on what to use for a dish I was making, but had never made before. Only thing is to have your own bag ready before she starts ringing you up, or get charged $1.25 for a bag. I didn't realize this until I checked my receipt at home. read more

Lady asked me if I needed help... Since I had about a dozen items in my list and knew what brands I wanted, I replied that I could find it myself--in English (pretending not to understand Cantonese). She impolitely told me to get out of the section I was in (which wasn't marked off limits in any way, but was out of her direct line of sight from where she was seated). She continued to mumble several rude and insulting things concerning me in Cantonese, to herself and her coworker. Needless to say, I took my business elsewhere and will never shop there again. read more

They have a large assortment of goodies but they are not the friendliest people. I know you are shopping for food and not to make a friend but they are rude when you ask questions. I wanted a jar of lemons and it was in salted liquids. When I said I was hesitant to buy cause I'm not checking in luggage, she went off on me. She ranted she's been selling all the time with no problems with people bringing on carry on. How the heck would she know if they had problems boarding with it or not?! And why get so defensive? read more

Just got back from Chinatown and feel the need to write this review. I had the most horrible experience with this Chinese grocery store today. A lady came out of nowhere start screaming about the way that I am selecting Water Chestnut. She was rude and absolutely no customer service attitude. I tried to calm her down with Cantonese, which is a native language that she could understand. In stead, she became more belligerent and told me do not buy from here anymore. My mother-in-law also told me that she had seen other Chinese folks got yell at and warn me not to do business with this store. They are prejudiced against Chinese and other races that are non-white, although they are Chinese themselves. In fact, she would politely answers a white lady's questions while screaming at me. The white lady gave me a puzzled look. The other Chinese lady in the store heard the commotion and rushed out to join the party. This lady would ignore other customers (Asian) for assistance and told them that they can see for themselves. I should have listen to my mother-in-law and never again will shop at this grocery store. I hope this review will start a boycott to this Chinese grocery store until they change their attitude and service to ALL people, not just white folks. read more

Zero stars! Don't go to this store. The two most rude workers ever. A friend of mine just asked one simple question...what is this? The rude lady said I'm busy working, no ask question. She wasnt doing anything, so i dont know what the foreign definition of "busy" is, lol. Then the other rude lady comes and tells my friend no bother her, can't you see she busy. Haha, luckily we was in a good mood, we pretty much walked away. Haha, she actually kept on mumbling and grumbling something to us but I couldn't understand what she was saying, we was too busy laughing. I still can't believe how rude these foreigners are, they don't belong here! If you want some laughs, go to that store and ask any of the rude women a question. Haha!! read more

Today I walked into Sun Chong Grocery to see if they had dried scallops and dried abalone. I asked a woman who was stocking groceries if I could ask her a question and before I could specify the question... she immediately told me, "no, I'm busy I have no answer I'm stocking right now." There was another person in the store who appeared to be a customer. I then asked if the boss was in? The same woman told me, "no boss is not here, I have no time I'm stocking." I proceeded to look for the items myself. I found them and asked who do I pay but the woman did not answer me did not ask me if I needed any help. This was absolutely the worst customer service not to mention negative attitude that I think I've had the displeasure of experiencing! I think the woman was the boss and she assumed I may have been a tourist. I am born and raised here on O'ahu Kalihi Valley. I'm extremely disappointed with this service and highly Do Not recommend contributing any money to this establishment! read more

I had gotten something stuck in a crevice in my car so I had been walking around Chinatown looking for a store that sells tweezers. After going to about 4 or 5 stores I stumbled upon this one. I asked the lady at the register if they sold tweezers and she told me to ask the guy in the back of the store ( she wasn't exactly friendly where you get the warm fuzzies , but I wouldn't quite say she was unfriendly either). I went to the back of the store and found the guy and asked him if they sold tweezers. He told me that they didn't but then asked me why I needed them so I told him I needed to get something unstuck in my car. He told me to wait and ran out of the store. I wasn't sure what he was going to do but I waited. As I waited I started looking around the store. They have all kinds of crack seed, dried seafood, teas, along with a bunch of other stuff I had never seen before. About 15 minutes later he came back with one of those travel sets with tweezers and nail clippers. I guess he lives nearby and he ran all the way home to get it for me. I thanked him and told him I will bring it right back but he told me I could keep it. I offered to pay him for it but he wouldn't accept my money. On my way out I noticed their wall behind the register stocked full of all kinds of Chinese medicine. Just in case, I asked if they had this Chinese cough syrup I had plan to buy online later that day. Not only did they have it, but it was a lot cheaper than the best price I could find online. All because of this hidden gem I found by accident in Chinatown I was able to get the thing that I lost unstuck from my car, I was able to get rid of a annoying cough that I had had for a long time, I got to see lots of things I had never seen before and I was able to experience the local store, above-and-beyond-for-their-customers service that you only see in movies nowadays. Though parking is a little tough in Chinatown, this is definitely my new go-to place for Chinese medicines, teas and snacks. read more

Went there today to pick up lemon ginger. Service was excellent and courteous. I would go back there again to buy more seed.