Ray’s Kiawe Broiled Chicken in Haleiwa, Hawaii

By Mark Wiens 15 Comments
An entire flock of chickens roasting!
An entire flock of chickens roasting!

Located next to Malama Market, in the heart of Haleiwa, Hawaii, on the North Shore of Oahu, you’ll see smoke pouring from the dirt parking lot (on the weekends).

You’ll get a blast of the aroma of fresh grilling chicken, and if you’re like me, you’ll probably lick your lips without even thinking about.

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken
Ray’s Kiawe Broiled Chicken

Approach the tent and trailer, and you’ll see a truly majestic display of chicken, slow roasting over charcoal, and sizzling away in a harmonious symphony.

The most amazing thing is the grill, which is created from a giant construction sized trailer bed.

It’s an absolute man-made wonder of a grill.

I think an entire flock of chickens can be cooked at the same time – it’s the chicken equivalent of that bus sized satay grill in Bangkok.

The van that pulls the grill
The van that pulls the grill

In Haleiwa, if you’re looking for fried chicken and SPAM musubi, you should eat here, but for grilled chicken, Ray’s Kiawe Broiled Chicken is the place to go.

They’re famous for making Hawaiian style huli huli chicken.

The chicken is normally marinated in a blend of sweet and sour pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic and ginger, and perhaps a hint of chili or Siracha sauce.

Huli huli chicken
Huli huli chicken

At Ray’s, as the name suggests, the huli huli chicken is roasted over kiawe wood, which is the Hawaiian word for mesquite – a great wood for smoking and barbecuing – and it adds some lovely flavor to the chicken.

Ray's Kiawe broiled chicken
Ordering chicken

There’s plenty of parking at Ray’s Kiawe Broiled Chicken, it’s a big lot, though plenty of cars go in and out frequently.

You walk up to the main counter, and order from the simple menu that includes a whole chicken ($9.50), a whole chicken chopped in a foam box ($9.50), special sauce ($0.50), rice ($1), and pineapple coleslaw ($2).

I decided to get the whole chopped huli huli chicken, the special sauce, and pineapple coleslaw on the side.

After paying, the chicken is all ready to go and it just takes a few moments until you’re happily the proud owner of a Ray’s chicken.

Another view of the beautiful chickens
Another view of the beautiful chickens

The majority of customers will get their huli huli chicken for takeaway, but there are also two tables set up under a couple of tents where you can eat, if you’re lucky enough to grab a spare seat.

There are a lot more chickens and eaters than there are tables and seats – but when you’re in Haleiwa, it’s nice to get your chicken and go to the beach or the park.

Whole huli huli chicken
Whole huli huli chicken

The time I went to Ray’s, I was actually planning to sit there and gobble the entire chicken down myself right then and there, but since there wasn’t any seating, I wasn’t going to wait around, so I headed off to find a nice spot to eat.

Packed into the foam box, the chicken was neatly chopped, and served with that extra special sauce that I ordered.

The skin was golden brown, and the chicken itself was cooked nicely, not overdone.

Beautiful chicken skin
Beautiful chicken skin

Just take a look at the skin, shining in the light, and just packed with flavor.

The marinade wasn’t extremely strong, but just had enough of a sweet, sour, and light salty flavor to make it lip licking tasty.

The “special sauce”, which I ordered separately from the chicken, tasted to me, like a mixture of mostly shoyu and vinegar.

Dipping bits of the huli huli chicken into the sauce, was an excellent combination, the sauce was just salty enough to make it perfect, and that hint of sourness also added an extra touch of flavor.

I ate the whole thing in one sitting
I couldn’t help eating the entire thing

I managed to eat the entire chicken myself in one sitting, without taking any breaks. Actually my wife had about 1 piece.

The Thai in me couldn’t help but want some som tam and sticky rice to go with this chicken though.

It wasn’t a huge chicken, but it sure was flavorful and cooked nicely. After downing the chicken, I felt quite fantastic, and felt a lot more like taking a nap than taking a swim.

Pineapple coleslaw
Pineapple coleslaw

As for the pineapple coleslaw, I’m not a huge fan of any kind of coleslaw really. This one was mostly sliced cabbage with small pieces of pineapple diced in. The dressing was mayonnaisey and quite sweet.

I enjoyed the chicken a lot more, but if you like coleslaw you’ll want to have the pineapple coleslaw as well.

How to get there:

Address: 66-160 Kamehameha Hwy, Haleiwa, HI 96712
Open hours: 9 am – 5 pm only on Saturday and Sunday
Prices: $9.50 for a chicken

Just remember that Ray’s Kiawe Broiled Chicken is only open on the weekends, on Saturday and Sunday.

Driving in Haleiwa, along the main Kamehameha highway, heading north you’ll see Malama Market on your right, and Ray’s is just to the side of it.

15 comments. I'd love to hear from you!

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  • High Rated Gabru

    3 years ago

    Great job. Awesome writing skills.

  • sankar singh

    3 years ago

    nice food blog

  • Vishal

    5 years ago

    Keep it up guys..

  • Tamara Ireland

    5 years ago

    I had it in 2001, 2003 and again just now in 2019. The bomb!!! The best chicken I have ever had in my 49 years!😋

  • Monnette

    10 years ago

    The moment I saw the image of the grilled chicken (without reading the title) I thought it was in Cebu, Philippines. I was surprised, though, that it is in Hawaii. Grilled chicken and barbecue are common sights here in Cebu. They’re commonly stuffed with lemongrass, onions, shallots and other spices. The best-tasting ones are juicy, which you can find roasted on partly-enclosed (with glass) grills along the streets. They also come with sauce with chili (which only becomes spicy if you crush the chili).

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Monnette, thanks for sharing. That Cebu version of grilled chicken sounds amazing – would love to visit in the future!

  • Caroline

    10 years ago

    God that chicken looks so juicy … considering the marinade, $9.50 seems like more than a fair price!

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Caroline, thanks, it was nice and juicy!

  • Anwesha

    10 years ago

    Ahh, the crispy golden skin… As always, your pictures set my stomach rumbling 🙂

  • Gary

    10 years ago

    If “Sams Cafe” is still in LAIE[north shore], you’ll find the best “local” food in Hawaii..
    Sam is a famous chef, but still remembers his roots in LAIE..
    LAIE[pronounced:LIE-EEE-AAA]

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Thanks for sharing Gary! Haven’t heard of Sam’s Cafe, will have to check it out the next time!

  • Jonathan Look, Jr.

    10 years ago

    This looks like my kind of place! Can’t figure if I want to go there now or back to Roatan for chicken. Okay, Hawaii is closer. My mouth is watering.

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Good to hear you love grilled chicken too Jonathan, enjoy!