Images of Old Hawaiʻi

  • Home
  • About
  • Categories
    • Ali’i / Chiefs / Governance
    • American Protestant Mission
    • Buildings
    • Collections
    • Economy
    • Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings
    • General
    • Hawaiian Traditions
    • Other Summaries
    • Mayflower Summaries
    • Mayflower Full Summaries
    • Military
    • Place Names
    • Prominent People
    • Schools
    • Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks
    • Voyage of the Thaddeus
  • Collections
  • Contact
  • Follow
You are here: Home / Economy / Yick Lung

April 12, 2016 by Peter T Young 8 Comments

Yick Lung

“Yum, yum. Yick Lung.
Yum, yum. Yick Lung.
I love the flavor of Yick Lung!”

“Hawai‘i’s Favorite”

Reportedly, Yee Sheong and Kam Tai Leong arrived in the Islands in 1898 and founded Yickco in 1900 and operated under the tradename of Yick Lung.

Yick Lung, which means ‘profitable enterprise’ in Cantonese, was primarily a candy company and was subsequently operated by a couple generations of the family.

Yee brought dried preserved plums from mainland China while traveling to the islands, which became the local snack favorite of generations to follow. (Star Pacific Trading)

A featured item was ‘Li Hing Mui – ‘Li Hing’ means ‘traveling’ while Mui’ means ‘plum;’ hence the name Li Hing Mui describes the tasty treat from the Orient. (Star Pacific Trading)

Daughter, Gertrude Yee, is attributed with coming up with the name Li Hing Mui for the sun-dried, salty-sweet plum. (Shimabukuro)

The Yee siblings (11 children of the company founders) took over the company when their father died in 1944. Shortly thereafter, Peter and Frederick Yee bought out the other family members in 1950 and added crack seed to the lineup of Yick Lung snacks. (Yonan)

In addition to Hawai‘i, the brothers sought expansion on the continent. However, two trucks were wrecked by sledgehammers in San Francisco’s Chinatown – reportedly, not the work of jealous gangsters looking for a payoff, rather the result of widespread car wreckage by juvenile delinquents.

“The wrecking of the trucks indicated one type of the obstacles the Yick Lung Co., has encountered in its program of expansion to the West Coast . Dealing mainly in cracked seed and other types of candied seed derived from the Orient, Yick Lung has not encountered serious competition, ‘Yet.’”

“Though he (owner Fred Yee) declined to mention how wide operations on the West Coast are, he admitted New York might be a target for further expansion in the future. Yick Lung has not moved into Chicago, he said.” (Honolulu Record, March 13, 1958) It’s not clear how expansive the operation was outside Hawai‘i.

Back in the Islands, the company soared in the sixties and seventies through promotions with Checkers and Pogo, the Sunday Manoa (the Cracked Seed album) and Captain Honolulu, just to name a few.

Peter and Fred took the company to its legendary heights, becoming a household name in all the islands. During that time, Peter was known as Mr Cracked Seed. (Reuel)

The Yees discovered that people in Hawaii would buy a whole variety of sweet and sour tastes and began making different ‘sauces’ to vary the flavor. They added new items to the list, such as mango and cherry seeds.

One brother ran a store on Lusitana Streets on the slopes of Punchbowl Volcano just north of downtown Honolulu, the other peddled the seed from a horsedrawn carriage, and later trucks. (Laudan)

Although the brothers weren’t the first to bring in preserved fruit, or ‘see mui,’ from China, they are credited with being the first to mass market it.

In one of the preserved plum varieties the pit of the preserved fruit was cracked to expose the kernel inside. From that grew the generic term of crack seed to describe the whole range of preserved fruit treats. (Yonan)

Unfortunately, parent company Yickco Inc filed for bankruptcy in 1996 as it struggled to pay off tax debts and faced increasing competition from other snack distributors. (Yonan) Yickco Inc, which manufactured Yick Lung products, was dissolved in 1998.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2016 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Yick_Lung_trademark
Yick_Lung_trademark
Yick_Lung_cracked seed
Yick_Lung_cracked seed
Yick_Lung_Delivery_Truck
Yick_Lung_Delivery_Truck
Li Hing Mui
Li Hing Mui
Yick_Lung_shrimp chips
Yick_Lung_shrimp chips
Yick_Lung_Sunday Manoa
Yick_Lung_Sunday Manoa

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Filed Under: Economy Tagged With: Yick Lung, Li Hing Mui, Hawaii

Comments

  1. Vivian Rufh says

    April 12, 2016 at 1:42 pm

    Do I ever remember eating all that good stuff in Lahaina.When we went to the Friday night cowboy film, we’ first went to the store next door and to buy crack seed and any other sweet and sour plum seed…To this day , my mouth waters at the thought it…I make a compote with a similar flavor out of prunes,Meyer lemons, salt, raw sugar, whiskey. If I can find Ling hing mui, I add that to it also… My favorite recipes are the ones I got from people in Lahaina Town…My sister in Houston and I often drool over remebering all those wonderful flavor a…..Every store on Front Street had Ono Kau .Kau.

    Reply
  2. Leburta Kanno says

    June 3, 2019 at 1:36 pm

    Gertrude Yee was not a Yee daughter, but daughter-in-law. She was the devoted wife of Fred Yee.

    Reply
    • Doreen Tavares says

      September 9, 2019 at 5:08 pm

      U r right, Leburta Kanno. Trudy was a friend of mine thru an organization called EWI. Over the last yrs I lost track of her. Do u have any updates on her u could share?

      Reply
  3. Frances Bunny Friel Antone says

    June 7, 2019 at 12:09 pm

    Lusitania street store was a few doors down from our house above Awaiolimu park.

    Reply
  4. Al says

    February 27, 2020 at 4:40 am

    Tell me, what person who grew up in hawaii, doesn’t have that feeling of tanginess, that sweet sour salty sensation, that mouth watering experience when they first pop that red ling hing mui into their salivating mouth. Good with coke…coca cola.🤪

    Reply
    • Renee Aubry says

      August 4, 2020 at 12:04 pm

      Al, I’m a born and raised Kailua girl. Your description of li hing mui was perfect, forgot about how amazing it tasted with Coca Cola! Mahalo for that memory! 🌴🌺

      Reply
  5. Maui no ka oe says

    May 8, 2022 at 3:44 pm

    So sad to see grand old companies and their beloved products fade from the market. As a child, I could buy a sizable packet of red pickled ginger for a mere quarter, it was so spicy hot I don’t ever remember finishing a bag, what a bargain!

    Reply
  6. William Liddell says

    May 15, 2022 at 12:18 pm

    Awwww. Sad to see they folded up. Got to Oahu in 1959 and grew to love Li Hing Mui, dry version, from Yick Lung. I was really addicted to them and leaving in 1970 after graduating from Radford HS I missed the crack seeds and the dried squid back on the Mainland east coast. Thanks for the memories guys.

    Reply

Leave your comment here:Cancel reply

Images of Old Hawaiʻi

People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

Info@Hookuleana.com

Connect with Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • 250 Years Ago … Continental Army
  • About 250 Years Ago … Stars and Stripes, the US Flag
  • Papaʻi Bay
  • Posing for a Statue
  • Kamehameha Statue is Centennial Commemoration Honoring Captain Cook
  • Maui Agricultural Company
  • ‘The Lion of North Kona’

Categories

  • Voyage of the Thaddeus
  • Mayflower Summaries
  • American Revolution
  • General
  • Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance
  • Buildings
  • Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings
  • Hawaiian Traditions
  • Military
  • Place Names
  • Prominent People
  • Schools
  • Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks
  • Economy

Tags

Albatross Al Capone Ane Keohokalole Archibald Campbell Bernice Pauahi Bishop Charles Reed Bishop Downtown Honolulu Eruption Founder's Day George Patton Great Wall of Kuakini Green Sea Turtle Hawaii Hawaii Island Hermes Hilo Holoikauaua Honolulu Isaac Davis James Robinson Kamae Kamaeokalani Kamanawa Kameeiamoku Kamehameha Schools Lalani Village Lava Flow Lelia Byrd Liliuokalani Mao Math Mauna Loa Midway Monk Seal Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Oahu Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument Pearl Pualani Mossman Queen Liliuokalani Thomas Jaggar Volcano Waikiki Wake Wisdom

Hoʻokuleana LLC

Hoʻokuleana LLC is a Planning and Consulting firm assisting property owners with Land Use Planning efforts, including Environmental Review, Entitlement Process, Permitting, Community Outreach, etc. We are uniquely positioned to assist you in a variety of needs.

Info@Hookuleana.com

Copyright © 2012-2024 Peter T Young, Hoʻokuleana LLC

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d