I have fond memories of dinner time while growing up in the heart of Chinatown. My father and paternal grandmother would shop for groceries on a regular basis in Chinatown as they would check out what's in season and/or what looks good. Many times, they would come home with a whole fresh fish and cook it for dinner. The preferred way of cooking a whole fish is by steaming it and dress it up with julienne green onions and fresh ginger, Chinese parsley with soy sauce and some sesame oil. Last week a group of us celebrated the birthday of 2 February babies at Lagoon Chinese Restaurant near the airport. We have dined there many times and often order their steamed fish fillets where the chefs execute this dish excellently. However, we were celebrating a special occasion, so I wanted to get a whole fresh fish and have the chef prepare it for us. I arrived in Chinatown shortly after 7am and was on the hunt for fresh fish. I was saddened to have witnessed so many empty stalls in Chinatown and found myself coming across just a few places that had fresh fish, one of them being Troy Enterprises (TE). Troy Enterprises started in business around the mid-70's and I do have recollection of my father coming here for whole fish as often I tagged along with him. They are located deep in the C Q Yee Hop Building with neighbors of Lee's Bakery and the New Hong Kong Supermarket. As I grew older and inherited culinary skills by my father and then refined by watching a chef from Hong Kong cook when I helped at my buddy's family restaurant in Chinatown, I learned how to prepare steamed fish. I've cooked whole fish a lot where I prepared it for my family. It's been YEARS since I last purchased a whole fish and TE is still at the same stall location but immediately noticed very few staff working. To be exact, just 2 people, perhaps a husband-and-wife team. Previously, there were easily over 6 staff with a lot of people hovering over the fresh fish checking out to see which one would be best on their dinner table. TE is quite spacious and well organized and clean. I was pleased the area didn't smell fishy when it had a lot of seafood displayed in the area. I was the only customer at that time, so I had free range of checking out their inventory in leisure. I did want a whole fish to be steamed Chinese style, so I was looking for a snapper or UHU (parrot fish). There were just 2 UHU but they weren't appealing to me, so I started to look at their snapper inventory. The male staff showed me a beautiful ONAGA (long tail red snapper) but it was quite large. The dinner was for 9 people, and we usually order an array of dishes and worried that the fish would be too big. I then glanced around and came across a beautiful OPAKAPAKA (pink/crimson snapper) that was slightly smaller than the ONAGA. As a rule of thumb, you check the eyes of the fish to ensure its freshness and after it passed the test, my decision was made. I asked the staff to have it cleaned (gutted and scaled) for me and the female staff rung me up. The OPAKAPAKA was about 2.92 lbs at $18.95/lb and the staff was kind enough to round it down for an even $55. She was kind enough to also include a small bag of ice placed with the fish for me to carry back to my car. I took my prized fish to my part-time job where my colleagues eyed on it and constantly joked with me during my shift. Many kitchen staff commented on how they should prepare it and have it for that day's employee meal. Hahaha.... I brought the fish to me to Lagoon's later that afternoon where I asked the staff to prepare it steamed, Chinese style of green onions, ginger and soy sauce. I ended up ordering 10 dishes that day with the steamed whole fish making it 11 courses. The fish was the las thing to arrive on the table and regardless we didn't have much room left in our stomachs, our table to 9 whacked the OPAKAPAKA with very minimal leftovers. One of our friends surprised us by picking up the tab so I am unaware of what the kitchen fee was to prepare this monster fish. The OPAKAPAKA was indeed fresh and prepared so well that it was worth waking up early and shopping in Chinatown that Saturday morning. Overall, a great reunion of TE where I wouldn't hesitate to come back again. As part of due diligence, it's always great practice to shop around but I'll be sure to stop by TE to see what they have on hand. My OPAKAPAKA may have costed pretty pennies, but the money was well spent. I am already looking forward to coming back to TE to get a whole fish and have Lagoon's prepare it for my family as they love steamed fish, as well as picking up some fresh seabass to make Chinese style sashimi that my father often made for us. read more

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I've been marketing for fresh fish at Troy Enterprise in Chinatown as I've always found them to bring in fresh daily catches. They have a good selection of locally caught fish, provide quick service (they'll efficiently clean, gut, bone or fillet your purchase) and are reasonably priced. CASH IS KING so make sure you bring your "ke kālā" (money). Recently, when we were invited to a family potluck dinner, our nephew specifically asked me to prepare a Chinese-style steamed whole fish. So, I went out to Troy Enterprise at its opening hour (7:00AM) just so that I could assure myself and family of a fish worthy of the occasion. My husband and I arrived at 7AM sharp and found their door was already open and a crowd had gathered in front of the fresh catches. I paced the displays to see which type and size of fish would be best for steaming. My Chinese family has always relied on kūmū (goatfish), opakapaka (pink snapper) or uku (gray snapper). I didn't see any kūmū but my eyes zeroed in on the opakapaka. As I donned a pair of disposable gloves to select my fish, I "eyeball estimated" a 2 - 3 pound fish. I picked an opakapaka then handed it to one of the workers who weighed it (2.52 pounds) as I told him I wanted the fish cleaned. He told me how much my fish cost, we paid him and he gave me a claim number. The worker took my fish over to the cleaning station and we waited for our fish. While we waited, another fishmonger cleared an area in the display and dumped in a batch of kūmū(goatfish). There were other Chinese shoppers who swooped in for the kūmū . I started to wish that I had waited a few minutes before selecting my fish. But, just then, my claim number was called and I collected my fish. We left happy with our pink snapper and thought to ourselves, ah, next time. We'll be back! read more

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Best fish market on O'ahu! Period! FIVE STARS! I came to Chinatown early one morning at around 6:00 am and was searching for Moray Eel. After searching 30+ vendors and almost giving up, I found Troy Enterprise in the back of the main Oahu Market area. I'm glad I found them! Troy has a huge variety of fish - ranging from Mempachi, Ono, Opakapaka, Opah, White Eel, Akule, Ahi, Parrot Fish, Salmon, Flounder, etc.... All the fish had super clear eyes, so you know that they were super fresh! I found one last white eel (it's a fish, not really an eel) and I grabbed it. I asked the workers behind the counter if they had moray eel, and they went in the back and found a bag of 4-5 of them. When the owners saw this, they told the workers to throw the fish away because the Moray eel is danger to eat. It oftentimes carries a fish disease which is dangerous to humans. The owners apologized for the confusion and told me that they didn't want me getting sick. Phew! THAT was customer service. They were mainly concerned with my health, rather than to make a quick buck. I bet other stalls would have just sold me the moray eel without remorse. I ended up getting the white eel (not really an eel, but looks like one), which the owner said tasted just like eel. I'm super happy! I'll certainly be back to get more fresh island fish! Love this place! Food / Product Grade: A+ Service Grade: A+ Worth the Money Grade: A Overall Impression Grade: A+ read more

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A large variety of fresh fish to choose from and they'll scale it for you too. In my opinion it's one of the best places to pick up fresh fish for dinner. Make sure you grab a number or you'll be skip over to another patron. Parking is tough as most places are in Chinatown. It's located way in the back as you pass the fresh noodle store. read more

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Freshest fish in Chinatown. These guys know what they're doing and take pride in their work. This is the only place to go if you want the best island fish. read more

Troy is probably the biggest fish market in Chinatown. I have been shopping here for a long time. They have flounder, Uhu, snapper, mullet, steak salmon, Aku & whatever is in season. They do clean and cut the fish for you. You can also ask for bag of ice if you have a long way home. And please use a plastic glove to pick out your catch and dispose it properly too! It bothers me when people are slobs. It's also good to come early for good fish selection. read more

Where my parents shop for their fresh fish (when they're in the neighborhood). So many fish. Quite a selection. Smells a bit fishy. Clean, no clean the fish? Up to you. Cash only? I think so. read more

They have huge variety of fish selection, gonna come back more, just would prefer they clean the fish more a bit... read more

Troy Enterprise - Seafood Markets Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Best place to get your fresh fish for the day. Moi, akule, papio, opakapaka are one of my favorites to get here when available. Parking is good too, just make sure to get there early before the good fish is sold out. read more

One of the best fish markets ! Has Many selections. Clean and fresh ! We always come here to get our fish. Also the service is always friendly. read more

Troy Enterprise - Fishy fishy - Seafood Markets Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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I love the variety of fish that they carry, and the service was great, the only problem I have with troy enterprise is there son tony who came to my house and stole my jasmine guitar and amp, I will keep on going there because his parents didn't steal from me I am a veteran of this country and I didn't deserve this from there son. read more

This is a go to place for fish! They have EVERYTHING FISH. The prices are also decent. Pretty smelly but what can you do, you are buying fish. Plus I think every where in Chinatown smells like fish so what ever. My hubby comes here often to get fish, its "OG" as he would say. If you're ever in Chinatown and want fish THIS is the place. read more

Everyone who's been to chinatown will be familiar with Troy's enterprise. They have the biggest selection of fish in chinatown. It gets slippery and crowded during peak hours so watch your step! read more

If you ever find yourself on the island of Oahu and have the desire to cook some local fish head in to China Town and check this spot out. My friend I was cooking for felt a little bad because the fish here are so colorful and beautiful it was kind of like pulling dinner from a really awesome aquarium. She was right. Not being from the Island I wasn't used to seeing such amazing fish. Fresh, local, amazing. And all sorts of wonderful produce and more fish/ meat markets very close. It was quite easy to get inspired. Just try not to take the roaches home with the produce. read more

Working near this place, I often buy fish during my lunch time here. It opens till 13:00. Since they also offer dry ice, it is still very fresh when I cook it in the evening. read more