Camouflaged against linen-blotched stone, Alicia’s is what you would call a local “mom and pop” market, literally busting at the seams with Kams of all ages. I‘m greeted with Leonard Kam, son of Raymond and Alicia Kam who originally opened the shop in 1949. He’s dressed in an apron, wearing rubber gloves and filling a large silver pot with potatoes. “You know, the road outside used to be all dirt, and this building was actually a small wooden shack. I remember one Halloween where I was running through the wet dirt, excited to see that they were building a road! So much has changed since then, but our food is still as good as ever!”
The inner workings of Alicia’s market remind me of a well-organized symphony: the pounding of meat tenderizers against the wooden cutting boards; the clamoring of knives as they slice through the carcasses of various animals; the sounds of the cashier ringing up orders, and people calling back and forth to each other. Leonard beckons to his mother and out comes an elderly Chinese lady wearing a wide grin. We shake hands and I immediately inquire about the market’s humble beginnings, when she replies in broken English, “I opened the shop because I got to make money to live! [laughing]. You know, I only start with my husband…how many times we moved? Oh…I forget already! So much we moved. I have six children you know? We try our best, so far from the beginning we do the same things, but before we only had meat. Now we have seafood. I like the fish plain with shoyu, but people like poke and BBQ meat. I still cooking. You know, soup or something they like. I make only for my kids, not for myself. Got to take care of my family, not myself. That’s what I’ve been doing my whole life!”
In a seamless blend of Far East meets Pacific, the market divides itself into two sections: the produce area and its main attraction, the “Pupu Bar.” Here’s where it gets exciting. Chinese-style roasted meats, poi, pickled vegetables, salads and seafood fill the air, immediately have your mouth watering with desire. I spot roast and shoyu-glazed chicken, char sui spare ribs, turkey tails, squid luau and kalua pork on the menu, but then my eyes fixate on the shoyu poke (which I’m told is the best in the islands), and my stomach begins to grumble. Leonard makes me a mixed plate of shoyu poke, wasabi masago poke, smoked taco, shoyu-honey glazed chicken and beef brisket beside a mountain of rice, mac salad and kim chee. I take a bite of the shoyu poke and immediately enter a state of nirvana. The crispy crunch of the chicken, the robust flavors and buttery texture of the beef - all of it was simply magnificent.
