Not gonna lie. One of the most exciting things about planning to elope in Hawaii was discovering there was a new two-story H-Mart in Honolulu! We spent way too much time checking out YouTube videos to find out more. When we finally got there, we knew exactly what we wanted to do, which made it such a great experience (thank you, YouTube creators!).
Did it live up to our expectations? We’re going to share our thoughts on two aspects of this H-Mart in Honolulu — the actual grocery store and the second-story food hall. Just thinking about it now makes me sad that we’re so far away. If we could afford Hawaii, we’d move there in a heartbeat!
What’s in this post:
- Where is H-Mart in Honolulu?
- Where Can I Park?
- H-Mart Grocery Store
- Home Goods
- Food Hall
- Overall Impressions
Related: What to Eat in Waikiki and Honolulu: Best Cheap, Local Eats
Where is H-Mart in Honolulu?
To visit the H-Mart in Honolulu, you’ll have to drive to 458 Keawe St, Honolulu, HI 96813. The building looks a little more industrial than a typical grocery store, so be sure not to miss it! Also, the entrance is on the side of the building (the side facing the green space).
The location opened in May 2020, in the middle of the first year of the pandemic. It must have been so crazy! Keep in mind that Asian grocery stores (including the one in the mask-hating state where I live, Idaho), have maintained solid restrictions through the pandemic, which is one of the many reasons why I prefer to shop there.
Please make sure you know and will follow the requirements for entering the store. We observed everyone even maintaining social distancing in the checkout line by standing on the little circles on the floor.
Where Can I Park?
There is on-street parking near the H-Mart, but if I remember correctly you’d need to pay the meter. We didn’t have any change, so we drove around. There was a great parking garage directly behind the store.
If you validate your parking inside (either at the grocery store or food court), you won’t have to pay for parking when you leave. Josh used the stamp at one of the restaurants in the food hall to take care of our ticket. It was super easy!
H-Mart Grocery Store
We could have spent two days looking at all of the grocery items at the H-Mart in Honolulu, but we only had about an hour. Sigh. Anyway, it was definitely smaller than the one we saw in Los Angeles, but the Hawaii-based location had everything we’d normally be looking for.
The produce section was amazing. It was hard for me to really spend time there, though, knowing I couldn’t take anything home. We also saw a lot of fresh, ready-to-eat foods including mandu, steamed corn, and different types of rice cakes. Again, would be absolutely amazing if we lived in the area and could just grab that stuff and go!
The freezer section was another area that left me with intense envy. Our local Asian market does its best but it rarely has any of my favorite Korean items in stock. We’ve been waiting for the Mozzarella Corn Dogs to restock for a year now, but I digress. The thing that made me drool the most? All the different types of rice cakes. We make Tteokbokki on a regular basis and it would be great to have more variety. Sigh.
We were really happy with the ramen and instant noodle section, but there wasn’t much we hadn’t seen before. It was just nice to imagine that kind of availability, though. Again, we run out of stock at our local market (and even online Asian grocery stores) all the time.
The same goes for everything else. We saw all of our favorite snacks, chips, cakes, and cooking ingredients. The only thing we were shocked to not find was Chilsung Cider. Josh really wanted to have some with his lunch, but they didn’t have any which was both surprising and sad, but our meal more than made up for it.
H-Mart Home Goods
There’s an entire section in the H-Mart in Honolulu for home goods. This was another area that left me nearly in tears because there were so many things I would have loved to bring home. Dolsot pots. Serving trays. Beautiful teacups. Cookware. We even spotted BTS’s BT21 Universtar toilet paper!
Really, I could have possibly found a way to bring things home but I didn’t want to risk anything being broken. Yes, I can order these things online but many were way more affordable in-store, especially without shipping fees.
H-Mart Food Hall
In the home goods section, you’ll find the staircase leading up to the H-Mart Food Hall in Honolulu. We made our way up to the second floor and found a large, open eating area with a sign advising patrons that they needed to be fully vaccinated to eat indoors. There were many tables (well spaced out), and a lot of natural light from the huge windows. It was so bright and lovely!
Much like any food court or food hall, the restaurant stalls were located around the outer wall. We were already familiar with the offerings since we had already done our research, but it was still amazing to see everything in person. The variety of shops and foods is really impressive. So much food, so little time!
We settled on gyoza from Natsu Boshi and a small Korean fried chicken from Left Wing. The gyoza were really standard, nothing special, and came with a packet of soy sauce. I was underwhelmed. We chose the Sweet & Spicy flavor for the fried chicken which came with steamed rice.
It said we were supposed to get nine pieces, but it felt like a LOT more. The two of us worked to finish one small order, so keep that in mind. The portions are generous which was a good thing because it was sooooo good. The chicken was juicy and flavorful, and the right level of crunchy. Take me back!!!
If we’d had more time we would have more, but we had to keep moving. We are very picky about cleanliness and quality, and we would definitely return to the H-Mart Food Hall. If you’re in the area, we highly recommend checking it out because it’s a great way to sample a lot of different foods if you’re new to Korean or Japanese cuisine.
Overall Impressions
The H-Mart in Honolulu is really fantastic. Even if it’s not the largest H-Mart we’ve ever visited, it’s still large and well-stocked with all or most items you could possibly need for your Korean cooking adventures. From fresh produce to staple ingredients and kitchen supplies, this really is a great grocery store.
Whenever I go shopping, I try to eat at home first to avoid buying too much stuff but you don’t need to do that here. You can just head upstairs to the H-Mart Food Hall and fill your belly (and your soul) with a delicious meal before continuing on with your day. It’s a win-win situation. We highly recommend the H-Mart in Honolulu and hope you enjoy your visit!
