The sweetest lady helped us! Her seeds were excellent!! Can't wait to go again!! Her recipe does not include saccharine which gives us headaches! They were delicious! read more

Love this place on Bethel Street. Have been going here for their pickle mango. The owner makes the pickle mango and always call me and say hello nice lady she calls me that I make pickle mango how much you like i save for you. I normally buy 1 pound tell her I be down later in the week or that same day. I love the lemon peel strips it doesn't have a taste where other c mui places carry does. So I go there all the time. If you in town on Bethel Street go and get some seeds. She even have candies too all ready bagged. read more

C-Mui Center - Lemon peel strips - Candy Stores Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

The aunty owner is super friendly. She shared stories on how the snacks are limited in their store because many of their younger-genetation ceased to provide prepared snacks when the Covid pandemic hit Hawaii. Aunty store is very relaxed and has a cozy back to the 80's feel. And she gave a couple different samples. Since I liked one of the samples, I switched Cherries instead of my usual Rock Salt Plum, Sweet Li Hing Seeds, and Mango. I will definitely return for other flavors. read more

C-Mui Center - Tamarind, Haw Flakes, Dried Cherries - Candy Stores Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I went to my Eye appointment near by and parked right in front of the office and next to the C-Mui store. It was on Saturday morning then I realized the parking rate in Chinatown is a quarter for 5 minute and the max amount for the meter is one hour! I was too lazy to re-park it across Walmart where my doctors office gives validation for and on Saturdays it's only a flat rate for them $3! After the appointment I picked up some food and decided to check out the C-Mui store! There's only a few old school crack-seed store left and I wanted see what they have and support the small local business. The owner/lady was really friendly and also promoted her dried lemon slices. She said it'll help with digestion so tasted her samples which was not bad and got a bag. I took some pictures and asked her if i can get one of her with her seeds and explain that I post it in yelp and it'll promote her business so more people will see what she sells. She was so touch that she gave me a bag of dried ginger that she mentioned it has health benefits also. I was so blessed by her kindness & generosity! I did buy & try the naturally sweet Li hing mui but it was on the tough side and not soft how I like it but perhaps it doesn't have aspartame inside. Oh well, but I do appreciate her sweetness and trying to make a living. She seems to enjoy working and meeting people and that will keep her business going strong. If you're in the area on Bethel street, her store is right across the Hawaii Theatre! She has a lot of cool snacks and it'll be nice to support her business! Thanks for reading my review =) read more

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Snacks before a show at the historic Hawaii Theater in Downtown Honolulu... This little shop, C-Mui Center (c-mui or see mui is also known as crack seed and li hing mui), is located conveniently across from the Hawaii Theater on Bethel Street. My mom, my sister, my niece, and I had an hour before the show started, so we walked over to take a look inside C-Mui Center. The "aunty" (with a Korean accent) working there said that she opened up shop - special - for an hour before the performance. Very smart move on her part! We had fun checking out all of the candy, preserved fruits, and snacks. The old school glass jars of see mui were enticing. However, the "aunty" sold me a bag of preserved lemon after she have us samples of plain and spicy lemon. She said it's good for digestion and clear skin... Haha! We'll see... PARKING: metered street parking is free on Sundays. read more

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I come here for the pickled mango. The owner said she uses Chinese mango. It has a hint of li hing mui flavor. Please limit you purchase (ha ha ha) so I get some on my next trip to town. read more

C-Mui Center - Candy Stores Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

C-Mui Center is located on Bethel Street near Hotel Street, between downtown Honolulu and Chinatown. It's across the street from the iconic Hawaii Theatre. It's an old fixture. Such cracked seed stores used to be a lot more common in Hawaii. You can satisfy your fix for various Chinese preserved seed here. The proprietress is friendly. They don't have a huge selection but they get extra credit for having dried guava, my personal favorite. You can find more seed shops in Chinatown but if you want seed and you're in downtown Honolulu, check this place out. read more

C-Mui Center - Dried guava. - Candy Stores Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Even though I am downtown every week, I have never stopped in here. Yesterday, I felt like crack seed so I stopped by to check it out. They have a pretty good selection, and not the pre-packaged stuff from the grocery store....it's all hand done. No company logos or ingredient listings on the bags....just a clear bag with a price on it. It is on the expensive side, but hey...there are not too many inexpensive things in Hawaii... The nice lady allowed me to try a few items I had questions on...and steered me in the right direction when it came to choosing. Of course, I couldn't choose, so I bought a few tasty treats... Li Hing strawberries. Probably the best item here. The strawberries have a little li hing mui on them, and they are hard to the touch, and small. Once you stick it in your mouth, you will notice that they are slightly soft...but dense. Then the strawberry flavor explosion happens in your mouth...and you are reaching for another one, even though you haven't swallowed yet. It tasted like candy.....but it was fruit...at least I think it was fruit....because it tasted like candy.... Li hing pineapple. I love pineapple and li hing pineapple, but it was just ok here....get the strawberries.... Sweet kumqwat. This was different. It has powdered sugar on the outside and it is sweet. I was waiting for the real sour hit of kumquat but it never happened. It is sweet on the inside as well......but get the strawberries. Lemon peel. There were two types of lemon peel available, strips and slices. She gave me a sample of both, but said I should get the slices, so I did. They have a nice salty, bitter, and sweet taste to them that really satisfies. Keep in mind, slices are much bigger than strips, so it can be a power-punch-to-the-face if you eat a large piece......get the strawberries. I will be back here...probably to try a few different items, but when I do go back, I will get the.....well, you know..... read more

C-Mui Center - Li hing strawberry, lemon peel, li hing pineapple, sweet kumquat - Candy Stores Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

The owner is so sweet, always smiling and great to talk to Only concern is for her safety Please help keep watch over her She's a jewel in China town And don't forget she has the best seeds ever and the candies are the best deals Take care of our mom and pop stores their our history Feels good to walk around inside the atmosphere is so cozy read more

I think prices are a little expensive here. Idk why you'd come here instead of just getting crack seed from Long's. But if you do find yourself here, you might as well get the unique stuff you can't find at Long's. I happened to walk in when the Korean Aunty was packaging the dried lemon. She offered me a piece because apparently people love it. It was a nice gesture and I actually did really like it. There are two types, a spicy one and a regular one. They're less lihing tasting compared to normal lemon peel. I liked the spice in the spicy one. I didn't like that they buy this stuff in bulk and repackage it without the ingredients list. You can get everything from lihing powder to chocolate covered gummy bears and haw flakes. It's worth checking out if you love lihingmui, just be prepared to spend a bit of time looking for street parking and spending a little more on snacks than at longs. read more

The owner she is very friendly and knows her stuffs. Reasonable price. The taste brings me back of my childhood memories. My new favorite place to go now. read more

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C-Mui Center is definitely one of those shops that take you back to your childhood days. Bottles of seeds sit on the counters that line the shop and when you finally decide what you want the aunty will scoop it out and weigh it. The shop is really clean and organized and not to much clutter. You can easily browse and take your time looking at the different crack seeds available. The aunty who owns the shop enjoys meeting and talking story with her customers which gives the shop a unique Déjà vu kind of feeling. read more

Little hole in the wall Chinese seed shop in china town. The owner is a cute little Chinese lady . She always offers samples and is willing to share all of the popular snacks. I enjoy their rock salt plum. The best in town! My daughter loves the dried strawberries. We make a visit at least monthly read more

C-Mui Center - Rock salt plum - Candy Stores Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Wide range of seeds and candies to select from. Mama makes her seeds herself. She is a kind and gracious woman of God. That's what attracted me to this location was Gods spirit. Thank you, mama for sharing the word of God with me and allowing me to share with you. read more

C-Mui Center - She's a beautiful Godly woman - Candy Stores Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I went in looking for sweet seedless li hing mui, I asked the lady and she guided me to the package. As I was gonna pay I saw the dehydrated lemon and she asked if I wanted to try. Which I did. She said it's good for the stomach and pointed to me and said that smart people buy and said I have big stomach so good to buy. I told her next time, she said oh not so smart, it's OK. I walked out and called a friend and told her what was said which I thought was funny, so back in I went and said I wanna be smart too so I bought a bag. I had just eaten a big breakfast which kept me feeling full. Believe it or not I ate 2 slices of the lemon and the feeling of overfill was replaced with contentment. Omg That Aunty was right it worked on my stomach. Gonna have to buy again!!! read more

Do I go in there enough? Funny it may be months at a time but the owner always remembers me and tells me I haven't seen you in a while do you need more Lemon peel? ohh do I buy that much Lemon Peel I wonder... nah not that much, but I love the small mom and pop store feel with the owner always ready to help. it is a bit more expensive than Chinatown but on the other hand I noticed after reading some of the labels (When there are ingredient lists) that a lot of the seeds in Chinatown have aspartame which I don't like, Give me the Real stuff! and besides the owner is always friendly and lets you try something new. Oh, did I mention they have pretty good fresh Pickled Mango. Augh!, my mouths watering I feel like Pavlov's dog I've been conditioned :-) read more

Whenever I come here for my crack seed fix the owner of the shop is super helpful and gives me samples. My favorite thing by far is the pickled mango, but I've tried the seedless li hing mui, li hing cherries and lemon peel and thought that they were all good. I have yet to try the li hing strawberries that everyone talks about in their reviews and she didn't have any today so maybe next time! read more

C-Mui Center - Seedless li hing mui and pickled mango - Candy Stores Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I love this little shop. My fave treat from here is the seedless rock salt plum. Yummo!

Owner is a sweet Korean lady with the best li hing mui pickled mango! She has all kinds of assorted seed, dried fruits and nuts. These crack seed stores are hard to find now. read more

C-Mui Center - Best li hing mui pickled mango! - Candy Stores Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I really like this place. It is a little bit pricey for crackseed but it's such a rarity nowadays that it makes sense. There are very few of these snack joints around so you really have to appreciate the ones that are still in business. Oh, to be a kid again and run to the corner store to grab a little bag of seeds with your weekly allowance! But I digress. The selection is good and the lady is nice. I always stop by here when I'm downtown. And that's the final thing, I wish I lived closer so that I could visit more often! read more

The Korean lady at the C-Mui Center is very hospitable and loves to talk. She makes you want to go back and I will go back when the pickled green plums i bought for $13 a lb. are in my tummy. I searched every where for these and on my walk through Chinatown, I stumbled on this shop on Bethel St. She had it in a typical C-Mui glass Jar. I love it :) The God i serve knew my heart's desires and guided me straight there. WOW, now isn't that amazing? read more

For any tourist looking for exotic treats, this is a pretty good place to venture. Really nice lady and if you're lucky enough to go in there while she makes some home-made whatever, she'll let you sample it. read more

C-Mui Center - Candy Stores Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Best pickled mango ever! Owned by a Korean auntie. So much to choose from! I just got pickled mango, but definitely have to try other things! She was making a huge batch. It's $13 a pound and puts them in little plastic baggies. She asks if you want them sealed or want to eat them right away! She accepts credit cards, I believe only Visa and Mastercard, which purchases over $10 read more

Don't mind the korean news on the radio and the mix of VHS tapes, K-pop CDs and other used items on display. There is a strange mix of things for sale at this shop. But there is solid seed. One of my faves from this place is the li hing mui strawberry. For some reason, this one is the best. $10 minimum for credit card purchases. I just grab an extra couple bags of strawberry :) read more

Old-time-style crack seeds. Loading up to take back to L.A. Parking can be difficult (street parking,) but not so bad on the weekend. read more

I have bought their pickled mango a couple times before. All I have to say is DON'T GET YOUR CRACKSEED OR PICKLED MANGO HERE. The lady never remembers me even when I buy lots of her delicious pickled mango. However, last time I went to buy some pickled mango, the old Chinese lady said that she "remembered" me from last time and that she mistakenly charged me for pickled mango at $2.40 when it should have been $24.00. She showed me a random receipt listing lots of prices for little things ($4.00, $2.40, $9.00...etc) and the total was $43.93. She said that last time I was in the shop all by myself and she mistakenly undercharged me. However, last time I was there I was with my boyfriend who you can't miss because he is 6'2" big guy, haole surfer and we went in there quickly, purchased some pickled mango and left. I actually paid $56.00 for all the pickled mango I got. And I specifically remember NOT buying anything else because we didn't want to pay for parking so we chanced it and parked (without paying) and ran in real quick and paid and left. So when I was trying to pay for the new pickled mango this time around, she said, "You owe me $20 from last time, no worry, it was my mistake and I'll just add it to your bill." By this time she was holding my cc already and then just swiped my card and expected me to sign for this extra "$20" I owed her. I tried to explain to her that that was NOT my receipt, but she kept saying that she "remembered" me and that I had bought lots of little snacks and pickled mango. And when I was telling her that I didn't buy lots of little snacks and that I paid $56 last time, she kept changing her story and talking about random things about how some guy had purchased from her the day before...blah blah blah. She kept arguing with me and finally I just said, "keep your pickled mango, I'm not paying for my things plus some random extra $20. It's not fair that I have to pay $20 extra for something that supposedly happened a long time ago and thats not mine." She has completely lost my business and I will never recommend anyone to go there. I will never go back despite the delicious pickled mango. Their prices are expensive and it seems that the old lady there will do anything to overcharge anyone. It's too bad that crooks are people of all ages. Don't get your crackseed there unless you want your bill to be $20 extra because I guarantee she tried that on the next people that walked in that day to buy her pickled mango. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. read more

A friend of mine turned me onto this place when I told him I was jonesing for some of that old school crack seed. C-Mui is located across the street from and slightly makai of the Hawaii Theatre. There is a pretty good variety of seeds in the nostalgia-inducing jars, and the couple times I've been in now the lady manning the store was quick to help in getting me what I wanted and even offered me some samples. I've so far picked up only a couple of faves--seedless cherry and seedless lee hing mui, but I'll eventually get to some of the others I am sure. read more

They have candies of all kinds, mainly the Asian kind though. Some things are a little on the expensive side but other things are super cheap! The candies in the jar goes according to weight. The lady in the shop is always so nice and willing to let you sample a piece of candy. May look a little sketchy at first but I didn't hear of anyone getting sick from that place yet. *fingers crossed* read more

By far the best crack seed store. They have a lot to choose from. My favorite is the picked mango and spicy lemon.

Great little crack seed store in downtown. The lady was really nice and let me try some samples. Got variety of crack seeds and nuts. Also my childhood favorite Haw flakes. read more

When your at Hawaii Theatre on a Sunday. It is the only place open within Walking distance to grab snacks at during intermission. Kinda a last resort. The Lady that works there is nice. read more

Nice and friendly lady serving. Free sampling. yumm

So far this place is the winner when it comes to crack seed. Cut the corner and just squeeze out the goodness.

Korean operated old-school crack seed shop. Directly across from the Hawaii Theater Box Office on Bethel. Loads of jars on display with various flavored dried fruit...But don't touch! Ready made bags are at the ready, just ask for what you want. Flavor is much better here than the more common crack seed offerings at various candy shops and convenience stores. Prices are generally $3.50 for 1/4lb. read more

Crack seed is a dying tradition in Hawaii and this one of the best places out there. The pickled mango is oh so Ono, that I stop there every chance I get. I highly recommend this gem of a place to anyone who is looking for a trip down memory lane. read more