I never review this early lol. Sometimes it takes me months tbh. My on time review is probably bias lol as I am Samoan lol. We were driving around searching every market that pops up on yelp saying they sell hot Samoan food, my mom grew up in Hawaii and remembers a market on the corner in her old neighborhood somewhere that sells Samoan food. I search yelp & end up here first, this wasn't the market, we eventually found the one she was speaking of, but of all the ones we visited today, this one stood out to us the most, as we tried food from every market we visited. They definitely had the most options from the other markets we tried , even sold Vaifala in mason jars. The 4 stars really is for the price. What we got here we would usually pay $100 off top for in the mainland. So to us, the pricing was reasonable. It's only missing a star because the lack of flavor in what I wanted the most lol. The palusami being $7 was def, uhm, questionable. The second market we visited had theirs priced at $3. I feel so many things come into play when you price food. Like ....do it taste like $7? My pops is the cook in our family & early on he tried steaming his luau before baking it. This creates a more soft texture in the luau kalo creating an easier tear when you dip your kalo or fa'i in lol & a better chew. I realized how much that made a difference when I ate the palusami from here today. The luau was tough, hard to tear into with my kalo and when I went to take a bite it was rough. Idk how to explain but I wish it was softer. The faalifu inside also could've used more seasoning. However I'm here for more than that lol , because I HATE Turkey tail. I've always been able to do oxtail because I feel like there's more meat than fat there, But with Turkey tail I feel like it's all fat, little meat. However the Turkey tail from here, best I've had to be honest. I only tried because my mom said I'd like it. She was right. So tasty. I didn't even mind the fat because it was marinated and seasoned well. I also had the vegetables and mamoe lol I mean, we killed that in the car on the drive back to the hotel lol. I kept telling my mom wait I need to take a picture for my review lol but Lol we couldn't stop eating it after tasting it. That should say enough lol. Also, they sell canned spaghetti here lol. The kind they don't sell it in reg grocery stores on the mainland anymore. I have to order it on Amazon for my parents, so it was so cool to see they sell it here lol. So lucky lol. They had sweets too. Pankeke, half moon pie, banana bread. I had the banana bread and it was good, your typical Samoan banana bread. Other than that, this place is def. Worth the time & money. My parents would love to not have to cook Samoan food anymore because it's sold just down the street LOL. But until then our annual Hawaii trips will include Talofa Polynesian Market from now on. read more

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I love this place. Every time you visit, if you don't want to cook but have a fat wallet, you know where to go even early as 8am you get nice hot Poly food fresh and very delicious! Whoever the Chef is, you're doing a great job. So get ready to go and enjoy this Yummylicious hot Polynesian food! MAHALO read more

The staff here were welcoming and kind to my son and me, who came here looking to experience Samoan cuisine. We left with a locally made coconut drink and a coconut-sauce bread desert. The bread desert was not too expensive either. Alofa! read more

When Im missing Polynesian food this is where i come to.Theres a few Tammys around the island.They serve all Types of polynesian food.Its a little store but has so much goodies for polynesian food lovers and locals and whoever else loves polynesian food can find here.Food is made fresh everyday.I love the lamb and luau leaves in coconut milk and taro,Banana,tapioka and purple sweet potatoes is yummy goodness with the food.They weigh the food a pound.It get a little pricey but its all worth it when u are wanting to eat polynesian food price dont matter lol.If u want to take orders of poly food u can ask and they will do it.I love there poke and shrimp poke here to. read more

Talofa Polynesian Market - Poke is my fave - Grocery Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Needed green bananas or plantains for my pastele stew. Mexican store said plantains had bad crop this year. Searched high and low in Chinatown. Finally just googled and Talofa came up. Near Tamashiro Market...everyone knows where Tamashiro Market it. Usually got street parking and if not, little lot in the back. Korean-owned? Weird, but whatevers since they have my bananas so don't really care. The cooked food looks pretty good...may try it one day. Koreans cook Japanese food, so maybe they make Samoan food too? read more

Suuuuuper expensive for Polynesian food!!!!! Staff is friendly but the food is WAAAY overpriced!! $5 for one palusami??!! And it ain't real coconut milk!! But my $5 is real!! read more

Food are amazing,me and my wife have lunch there and we thought that was the best taste of poly food from all the Polynesian restaurants we ever been before even the dessert panikeke and half moon pie it so delicious.After we ate we went back and bought taro,palusami,panikeke,half moon pie,for our kids in California read more

Located on N King St. Family owned business. Once named Tammys is now named Talofa Polynesian Mart. There is two places to park: The front which is the metered parking if you're lucky or you can park in the back. The back is in it's own small squared shape parking lot. And when i say small, It's really small. I like what this store has to offer except for its customer service. I understand it's a family owned business that mainly serves Pacific Islanders. Customer service here lacks as the lady at the counter is always rude. There is cooked foods if you're looking to buy some cooked polynesian food for the convenience, You should stop by here and make a plate. If you're looking to make it at home, This is a good place to buy the food to make it. I buy from here & Tamashiro Market when i'm looking to buy groceries to take home to make Lu Sipi or Lu Pulu, ect. What is also nice about this store is that they sell a lot of Islander Pride items. Country flags, Combs, Bracelets, Hats, Shirts. You typically wouldn't see this at a market which is great so it saves you a trip from having to go swap meet. It's a little bit more expensive than if you went to the swapmeet but you pay for connivence and it looks really nice too. Parking is a bit of a hassle, but i don't mind that. What i can't ignore is the customer service. Rude, and very unpleasant. With the recent name change, I hope they managed to fix that as well. read more

Talofa Polynesian Market - Panipopo $1 something ea. - Grocery Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Soooo onolicious and affordable food. We loved everything except for the lamb ribs which was very oily. Very tasty but oily. However, I didn't let that sway my vote. Stop in and have some delicious food Talofa Samoa! read more

Talofa Polynesian Market - Grocery Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

This is what a Google search for Polynesian food gets you: an authentic Polynesian market with fresh dishes haoles have never heard of! It all started with tasting Lau Lau on Kauai for the first time and almost passing out from its goodness. Upon our return to Oahu, we researched and found out that Palusami was the Samoan version of Lau Lau, so we had to try it , and were blown away. There wasn't even meat , but taro leaves and coconut milk were so flavorful, it was almost incredible. I must admit that we thought we were getting mushrooms when we bought baked Turkey Tail...it was an actual turkey tail, which I somehow did not even consider and am laughing about it now. We are not vegetarians and really enjoyed both the turkey tail and the baked lamb. Personally, I like my ulu browned a bit more, but the baked breadfruit with coconut milk we got was still delicious. The pineapple hand pie was interesting, but probably not a repeat. The filling was a bit to jello-like, but it wasn't too sweet, which we appreciated. The only disappointment were the banana donuts as they tasted like tough banana bread rolled into balls. My friend found the atmosphere a bit sketchy, but I loved it. Authenticity wins me over every time. We are going to stop in again to try their poke and octopus in coconut milk that everyone was grabbing. read more

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Sad to say that I will probably be the "Last to Review" Tammy's Polynesian Market on King Street. It was just a short time ago I was proud of the fact that I was "First to Review" this market. I drove by the other day and the place looked dead and lifeless. Tammy's Polynesian Market is closed. How sad! I'm surprised! I thought the idea of a Polynesian market in Kalihi was a great idea. Tammy's filled a need. Tammy seemed to stock the right kinds of products for Kalihi. For instance. They sold a wide variety of Polynesian war clubs, knifes and spears. I thought that was a fantastic idea. Polynesians are happy and God fearing people but there is always the one or two bad apples that they have to watch out for. Polynesian have to be ready to defend themselves in Kalihi. You could really kick some ass with one of the war clubs Tammy was selling. I thought the food selection at Tammy's was spot on. There are many, many Micronesians, Samoans, Tongans and other Polynesians living within a two mile radius of Tammy's. This place was like a McDonald's to Polynesian. Fast foods in Polynesia is something already cooked. Tammy's had many, many different kinds of Polynesian dishes that was cooked. The business model for a Polynesian fast food restaurant is genius. Polynesians are big people and eat more than average people. At McDonald's the average person orders a quarter pounder and a side order of fries. At Tammy's my 240 pound Tongan friend Lopa for instance orders one and one half pounds of fish and lamb for dinner after work. That means you only need one sixth the number of people to be a successful Polynesian fast food restaurant. That is genius! There was one thing that used to bother me at Tammy's. I thought the aisle were way to narrow for a Polynesian market. Thirty inches wide does not make for two way traffic in a Polynesian market. Thirty inches wide is not wide enough for a guy like Musashimaru and me to pass each other as we walk in opposite directions. Thirty inches wide is one way traffic. What pissed me off was that I was always the one that had to turn around and circle to get to the other side if some big Tita was standing in the aisle filling her plate with taro. And when I was putting the taro my plate, I had to stop and walk in the direction of where Ms. Musashimaru was going and loop on back to finish filling my plate. That used to really piss me off. Tammy's Polynesian Market will always have a special place in my heart because I got a "Review of the Day" writing about this restaurant. But now Tammy's is closed. I really don't know what happened but I will always remember and miss Tammy's. read more

I used to come here often to get panikeke, but on my last few visits, they didn't have any. I'm wondering if they make it at all now. Panikeke is basically a deep fried donut ball, very similar to an andagi only bigger, and in my opinion better. When I first walked in, one of the employees just finished setting up the steam tables with hot food. They have a relatively large selection of food, but I didn't want to lift all the covers to see what was inside each pan. But of those I did, it all looked really good. Maybe next time i'll try something. Not located in the best area of town, and it's not so attractive from the outside, but the inside is well lit and very clean. read more

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The food was good. The only thing I had an issue with is the pie. I was dry and had no taste. Palusami was sooooo good. read more

Talofa Polynesian Market - Pineapple Pie - Grocery Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

So friendly and very tasty food! The staff is helpful and approachable and while prices might not be the lowest, the groceries are high quality. Definitely recommend. read more

100/10. Great Food! excellent service! Staff was super super friendly! Would come here again next time I visit. Slay

Visiting from the mainland and wanted to check out "TALOFA POLYNESIAN MARKET" thinking it was owned and operated by Samoans or Islanders. We wanted to support but walked in and sadly seen it was owned by Koreans. And I wish I would have read the reviews before seeing it was owned and operated by a non-pacific islander I wouldn't have visited. So my husband and I walked in and another Samoan or island customer asking the lady at the register can she mix some what of the fa'alifu with something else and the Korean lady was so rude to her. So that was red flag #2, the first red flag was when I opened the door and seen her at the register LMAO! Moving on...so my husband asks the Korean lady how much was the Tanoa was on display and she rudely said $200 like we couldn't afford it. So I said I'll take the large tanoa and she rudely said "ITS FY HUNNA DOLLA" like I wasn't gonna buy it. I said "Okay I'll take it!" My husband got hella mad at me and said in Samoan "No, don't buy it from her." For the sake of her being rude I wanted to purchase it sooooo badly LMAO! But we just need up buying 4 pankeke and 1 half moon pie hahahaha!! Just FYI I hope if it's our Samoan or any other Polynesians cooking for this store PLEASE PLEASE look into your own store or food truck. Take it up to north shore, Ko Olina, or Kapolei or somewhere where there are tourists!! read more

In all honesty, I'd rather drive to Waipahu to get my Tammy fix. Just a word of advice to the Korean women that are at the register: your family may own the store but you need to learn customer service and good manners, especially if your customer base is largely Polynesian! Your food isn't unique. It's just convenient. Why do I say this? It's because of something so stupid--I don't know what it is about them and their bags! Yes, BAGS, as in the plastic bags they place your container of food in before you walk out. Not once, but twice, on different occasions, I've asked for a plastic bag so I could place a drippy Samoan laulau or a Samoan pancake in and they act like I'm robbing them at gunpoint. One time the lady with the beehive hairdo told me to use a styrofoam container. Cost-wise, it's cheaper if you give me a small plastic bag rather than use a container. Then the taller lady is just as bad. If I'm going to buy one pancake, ok maybe I can use your tiny paper bag that is large enough to fit 2 pencils. But I'm not buying pencils. I'm buying a pancake that's the size of a softball and you want me to stuff it in the tiny paper bag that's going to bust?!! What? You don't want me to buy more? You want to limit my purchase to 1? Not very bright. So don't say you weren't warned. These women are psycho with the cheap plastic bags. Give up the bag and you won't get dirty looks. I never have any issues at the Waipahu store. They're always friendly and when I ask for a bag, no questions asked. And that's how it should be. Geez. You charge so much for your food. It's enough to cover bags for the rest of the month. read more

This place was far better than my expectation. The food was perfect and had a lot of poly selections. My favorites were the turkey tails, Bbq Lamb, Breadfruit, corn beef/cabbage, curry soup and fresh seafood(feke,ota). The food was very tasteful and made with love. This place is a good example of "never judge a book by its cover" lol. The prices are per lb are a little steep but you wound be disappointed. The parking is also tough due to the corner location. read more

Only made a quick walk/thru around 5pm on a Saturday. Most prepared food was low or dried out looking. Lots of can goods well stocked. Clean atmosphere. Little parking. read more

This location is still open for business. Previous yelper reported incorrect information . Still serving baked lamb, lamb neck curry, and turkey tails, three of my favorites. read more

Talofa Polynesian Market - Lamb neck curry. - Grocery Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Stopped here to get some poly food....store was empty yet it took foreverrrrrrs to get what I asked for. Never again!

I always drive by this place & it always looked intriguing! I don't live in Kalihi so I didn't know anything about this place. I finally went in today & I'm so glad I did! I didn't know they would have that much food but it all looked good! They had fresh taro, but by far the best dish they had was the lamb with taro leaves! It tasted just like squid lu'au but instead of squid, it was lamb, & it was SO good! The food is pretty oily/fatty though, so just beware of that. The lady at the counter was nice & friendly with me. The place is small but I really liked it, it felt very welcoming & homey. I don't care what anyone says about Kalihi or this place being "ghetto" or whatever, because this food was good & I really liked the vibe of this place, it was very real. Anyways, I'll be going back for sure! read more

I love this place, especially for the local cooked food like the taro, sweet potato, pangi po po, cabbage with corn beef etc... also they sell beetle nut for the Micronesians and also cater to other pacific islanders, parking is very tight, only two street parking at the store front and three located at the back of the store, aloha. read more

Can't go wrong with Tammy's if you are a fan of lamb and turkey tails! The neighborhood is sketchy and smells like pee, but that isn't Tammy's fault. Food is tasty and a good value. read more

This location is not closed as reported by a previous yelper. we go here quite frequently to pick up lamb flaps and other delicious food items. read more

I was excited to see store with Samoan specialty items. They have a variety of Samoan dishes lime pulasami, taro, green bananas, chicken,chop suey, lamb, octopus, curried and coconut milk flavored as wells as breads, coconut and banana bread. They also have grocery items such as the huge crackers in a square cannister, corned beef and mackeral. They have tortoise shell bracelets for $14ish with a $20 engraving option. A bit pricey overall for the finished result but a nice, broad selection of colors and styles. I wish the aisles were bigger as attempting to grocery shop is impossible if someone is fixing their food at the same time. We got there around 5 pm, most of the good stuff was empty. I was hoping to see more dessert options and even more jewelry oprions but those can be found at the Aloha Stadium swap meets. Everything was by the pound and was a bit pricey per plate. We paid over $10 per person including tax. It is Asian owned. I find it facinating they were able to assimilate Samoan food. I would suggest supporting your local mom and pop shops. These are a dying commodity and need all the support they can get. read more