Hawaiian H Mart – Honolulu, Hawaii

It was big deal in Austin when H Mart — the ever-expanding Asian Supermarket — finally arrived. I blogged about that back in 2018, and have featured a couple of subsequent photos (here and here). I was pleased to see that this chain had made it out to Hawaii too.

The Hawaiian version is substantially smaller but architecturally somewhat more interesting. I prefer a converted warehouse-like structure over a nondescript suburban tilt-wall building any day. However, Austin’s suburban store is cavernous in comparison. The Hawaiian version had the same things but on a smaller scale befitting its urban location.

As a purely theoretical exercise, I analyzed the livability of the Kaka’ako neighborhood. In addition to H Mart, there were a couple of other large supermarkets in the general vicinity. The Salt at Our Kaka’ako mall was a couple of blocks away. The mega-Ala Moana Shopping Center was even within walking distance. All and all, I discovered a convenient living arrangement without a need for a car.

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