The commercial heart of Chinatown revolves around its markets and food shops. Noodle factories, pastry shops and produce stalls line the narrow sidewalks, always crowded with cart-pushing grandmothers and errand-running families. An institution since 1904, the Oʻahu Market sells everything a Chinese cook needs: ginger root, fresh octopus, quail eggs, jasmine rice, slabs of tuna, long beans and salted jellyfish. You owe yourself a bubble tea if you spot a pig’s head among the stalls.
At the start of the nearby pedestrian mall is the newer, but equally vibrant, Kekaulike Market . At the top end of the pedestrian mall is Maunakea Marketplace , with its popular food court.
