Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken

Located in A Tent

Look at all those chicken!

Cruising down the main strip of Haleiwa, we came across one of the biggest clouds of smoke outside of China I have ever seen. When we left our car, we smelt a smoky flavour coming from Ray's Kiawe Chicken. It was one way to find a place we planned to eat at. Walking up to the tent, there was a massive grill outside, grilling  the contents of a chicken coop cooking over some wood. Of course we had to buy a whole chicken, and it was a very wise choice indeed. They have a couple of other items such as adding some special sauce, pineapple coleslaw and some other items. This place is located in the parking lot of what I think was a grocery store. Thus, you have to get it take out, and find somewhere to sit. However, this was no problem because there are a bunch of beaches a minute or two away. Once you have waited for the guy to grab your chicken, and chop it up, you are now the owner of a Kiawe Broiled Chicken. Personally, I find it really weird that they chop the chicken up behind a cover, like they don't give you the whole chicken.

Chicken + Secret Sauce $10

The Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken costs ~$9.50 for the Whole Chicken itself, and $10 for the chicken and "secret sauce". We start with the secret sauce, which  tasted like soy sauce and vinegar. Those were the only 2 flavours I could pick out, and went well with the chicken. I would give that a 3.5/5. The chicken, however, was pretty damn good. It was very juicy, with some nicely rendered skin. Said skin had lots of flavour, and was crisp in a chinese barbecue way. Probably because the people that made the chicken were Asian. Very delicious though. The smokiness was very subtle, but you could taste it along with the salty flavour of the chicken. I would rate the chicken a 4/5, because it isn't perfect, but very nicely prepared. 

Bottom Line: Good Chicken

Tip: Get the Sauce

Overall: 4/5 

Waiola Store (Mokihana)

Storefront and Menu

           After freezing at Hanauma Bay, the sun On our way to Ono Seafood, we made wrong turns on wrong turns and by some virtue had ran into Waiola Store, which specializes in shave ice! Maybe luck was on our side after all...  This was actually the second store to open, and now they have 3 different locations. If you didn't know this, Waiola Store is a Hawaiian institution famous for their shave ice. If you don't know what shave ice its, essentially it is like a finely shaved snow cone with all sorts of sweet syrups. Actually, they are a store that sells a couple of weird goods and Waiola Shave Ice merchandise.  Pretty cool, but I was here for the Shave Ice. You can see them making it, and there was only one person in the store making shave ice. This made it so there was a long wait, but you could see them take the blocks out and take their time. That was a good sign.

            

Rainbow Shave Ice with Azuki Beans and Ice Cream $4

         I purchased a large rainbow bowl with Azuki Beans (red bean like beans) and ice cream. This is supposedly the way locals get it, and have to trust the locals, right? Anyways, the rainbow bowl cost $3 and the toppings each cost 50 cents, so our bowl came to $4. This was ages above snow cones, with the smooth finely shaved ice and everything, Too bad the syrups were just the normal stuff, as this could have been a really good bowl if it had more real fruit flavour. The syrup was overly sweet and used lots of bright colouring agents and artificial flavours. Not good at all, in comparison to Matsumoto on the North Shore. Still, this was a decent dessert for a hot day in Hawaii. The ice cream on the bottom made the bowl really good when you got both the things in your mouth, with the creaminess and flavours making an impact in your mouth. Azuki beans seemed pretty normal, but I don't know beans so I can't say much. They went well with the shave ice though. All in all, this was a good bowl of shave ice, although it didn't blow us away. Should they have used better and less artificial syrups, the fineness of this ice could have been really good. In the end, this syrup really messed up the Shave Ice, so I give it a 2.5/5. Too bad, hopefully this isn't what the original store is like...

Bottom Line: Mediocre Shave Ice

Tip: Get the Ice Cream and Azuki Beans

Overall: 2.5/5

Highway Inn (Kaka'ako)

Sorry for the Trash Lighting

          After a failed adventure out to Pearl Harbour and the museums and attractions, we were sad and hungry. The main attraction was cancelled due to high winds, even though we had reserved our tickets. Although we ended up going to one of the museums at the memorial, it was decided we would have to get up at 6 am the next day to get tickets. So with the disappointment, we headed to Highway Inn for a traditional Hawaiian meal. Highway Inn is now known as one of the best places to get Traditional Hawaiian Food as Helena's was closed. Upon arrival, we found out that the only parking was pay parking. You can only imagine the happiness when we discovered that you could validate the ticket if you ate or went to any of the stores in the strip mall. As we entered, we were seated immediately in the last table next to the live music! Woo hoo! We were given a brochure which led us through the pronunciation of the names and what they were. On the menu were local plate lunches, sandwiches and breakfast. As the line formed outside, we ordered two combo plates which had everything. Oh, and the photos were messed up because I dropped the phone on it's camera.

Lomi Salmon, Sweet Potato, Haupia, Lau Lau, and Poi ~$15.50

Chicken Long Rice $3.75

            The first order was the Lau Lau combo plate. All plates came with choice of rice or poi (fermented pounded taro), lomi salmon (raw diced salmon and tomato) or a salad, and sweet potatoes and haupia (a coconut dessert). We got the Lau Lau Plate with poi, lomi salmon, sweet potatoes and haupia. This was about $15, but we added a chicken long rice for $3.75. This was just a bunch of clear chinese vermicelli  noodles that came with shredded chicken and chicken broth. Starting with the Lau Lau, or pork and butterfish steamed in taro leaves. They had a chicken Lau Lau, but they were out, and who doesn't like pork belly? The pork inside was so good, melting jn my mouth. However, I couldn't taste any butterfish at all, but what do I know about this? The taro leaves were something new, which was a bit bitter but still very soft and edible. I would give this a 5/5, because it was just really really good and seriously tender. Moving onto another part of the plate that I liked, the Sweet Potato. This resembled a french fry cut thick and diced. The outside was a little bit crisp, while the inside was very soft and potato like. I'm not sure if it was deep fried or what, but lets just say it was really good. I may be a bit biased because I like practically anything resembling a potato, but this was another solid 4.5/5. Moving on to the big bowl of purple stuff. This was poi, and poi, was it thick. I have no idea it would be hard to get out of a spoon, especially when it looks like grape juice and milk. This is without a doubt an acquired taste, with a bit of sourness and bitterness, this was more of a sauce than anything. More on that coming soon, but anyways, it was thick, sour and lacking an appealing flavour. A 3/5 in my books. The final part of the savory part of the plate was the lomi salmon. This was a fresh mix of indistinguishable raw salmon and some very salty tomato. I have no idea why it was so salty, because it hurt my taste buds. You could still feel the salmon and tomato, but it was really hard to eat on it's own. This is where the poi came into play. While the lomi salmon would be a 1.5/5 on it's own but with the poi soaking in some of the saltyness, the poi now gained flavour and the lomi salmon became less salty. If this is the way you are supposed to eat it, they would be a 4.5/5. Onto the savory item that wouldn't fit on the plate, we have the chicken long rice. It was normal in a way, with some nicely cooked noodles, but the shredded chicken was a bit dry and the broth was a bit salty. It wasn't as bad as the lomi salmon though, a 2.5/5. Onto the final item, we have the haupia, or coconut pudding. It looked like a big piece of jello but definitely didn't eat like one. This was one heck of a rich dessert, creamy in a way and filled with some real coconut flavour. Everyone liked it even though it was a bit heavy. In the end, we gave this a 4/5, and the whole plate and side was good.

Pipikalua $3.75

        Unfortunately, I somehow forgot to take a picture of the kalua pig plate. Oddly I took a picture of the item that didn't come on the plate but not the plate of food itself. It looked about the same though as  the other plate, except with some shredded pork, rice, and a salad. Anyways, for this plate which came with the kalua pig, we got the salad, sweet potatoes, rice, haupia, kalua pig (duh) and a add on of pipikalua, which was like grilled beef jerky. This plate ended up at about $20 just like the last one. To get the rice out of the way, I can just say it was pretty good, but people have different preferences so I can't rate this. A bit dry for me though. Moving on, the kalua pig was lretty good when it went with the rice, and especially well with the poi. Very tender, with a bit of salt in a generous portion. It is a 4.5/5 without poi or rice and 5/5 with the poi. The salad consisted of some nalo greens and a citrus based dressing. The greens were pretty fresh like they should be, and went pretty well with the dressing. However, this was nothing special, a 3/5 so stick with the lomi salmon. Now onto Highway Inn's "most popular" dish, the pipikalua. This was a nice portion, for around $3.75, but I can't say this was their best item. It was pretty tender, but couldn't achieve the fatty melt in your mouth feeling even though it was pretty fatty. However, this didn't mean that it wasn't good, because it definitely was, with some pretty tender flavours and a bit of fatty juice. You could eat it on its own with the flavourful but not overly flavourful beef. A solid 4.5/5. The other 2 items, the sweet potato and haupia were consistant with the other plate. A very good 4.5/5 plate. In the end, we got a food filling meal at Highway Inn at reasonable prices. A good way to cap off an unlucky day.

Bottom Line: Good Food and Prices

Tip: Try Poi Dipping

Overall: 4.5/5

Sansei Seafood and Sushi (Waikiki)

Same Entrance as D.K Steakhouse

                     One evening, we were chilling at the hotel when we decided to go for a nice meal at the Waikiki location of the Sansei Seafood and Sushi. We also found out that they had a 25% discount for Happy Hour between 5:30 p.m and 6 p.m, so that was a nice bonus. Too bad it wasn't Saturday of Sunday for they have a 50% discount on everything. The Sansei was located in the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa in practically the same restaurant as the DK Steakhouse which was operated by the same Japanese chef by the name of D.K Kodoma, who is quite well known in the Hawaiian Islands. We got the option to sit out on the patio or inside the restaurant. Of course we went for the patio overlooking Waikiki Beach with a nice view of the sunset on the third floor. There were some torches outside to provide some heat, and the Hawaii weather wasn't cold at all. D.K Komoda has won some awards for his dishes, so as always, we went for the award winning dishes on the menu. Before I start, Sansei Seafood and Sushi is a more modern take on sushi, and may offend people who like quality fish and just traditional sushi. It is like the Miku of Hawaii, except a bit more modern and club-like. This is because they have Karaoke from 10 p.m to 1 a.m. That is enough rambling, so time to get on to the food. 

Sansei Special Roll $10.25

Crab Ramen 

                       The order of the items that came out was very odd. Normally you would have the appetizer, the entree and then the dessert. At least the dessert came out last, which was good, but the order of everything else was freaking out. Thus, this blog post will be written in the order the items came out. I have no idea how this would happen, because if everything made fresh, the items are made in the order they should come out, but should they be premade, they could be brought out in the order they should be too. The first item that came out was the Sansei Special Sushi Roll for $10.25. This was a mediocre roll that came with Spicy Crab, cilantro, avocado and furitake, which is a Japanese seasoning. The sauce was the kind of Spicy Thai Sauce that you can get at the supermarket. This really ruined the roll, as the spicy crab was delicious, and wasn’t so spicy so you could actually taste the crab. The furitake didn't have too much taste which was good, and I would give it a 3/5. The next item to come out was the Crab Ramen in Truffle Broth for $17.25.  The best thing about this restaurant is that it goes family style so you can try a bit of everything and share some dishes. The dishes are pretty sharable too. Truffle ingredients are one of those things that can add a nice touch or completely overpower whatever flavours or ingredients are in the dish.  At the very least, this broth was very good with a hint of truffle and went well. If it was a little bit hotter, it would have been even better with the perfectly al dente ramen noodles, cilantro, and slightly spicy Jalapenos rings. The crab was very fresh, but was cooked very well. Easily a 4/5, as it was really good with nothing amiss, but just didn’t have the “blew me away factor.” Also, it was very expensive for the price, even at 25% off. 

Panko-Crusted Ahi Sashimi $13.25

Tempura Shrimp Dynamite $12.25

Japanese Calamari Salad

                      After an entree came out, the server brought us the signature Panko-Encrusted Ahi Sashimi, for $13. This is another one of their signature items (we ordered most of them), and had some butter like sauce on the bottom. That's the yellow like liquid in the picture. The first thing I noticed was that it was a bit greasy with the butter, panko and the combination was very greasy. This made the dish rather heavy with all of the butter. The tuna was not as fresh as the tuna in the poke I had prior for lunch. However, it was still fresher than the tuna we have here in Vancouver. The vegetables were fresh, and helped alleviate some of the heaviness. I would consider it filler, really.Next up was the Tempura Shrimp Dynamite for $12.25. There were 6 huge shrimp. Cooked perfectly, they were plump and juicy, with some extra crunch coming from the batter. Some mayo was added, which added a little more flavour. The batter was very thin, which allowed the shrimp to come through with the crunch and flavour. To add a lot more crunch, there was a deep fried wonton wrapper which had no flavour other than from the mayo. This was one of my favourite dishes, and I would rate it a 4/5. Another appetizer came out next, which was the Japanese Calamari Salad for $11.25, and had the same wonton wrapper which contained the calamari. The salad component was the little bit of greens on the bottom of the dish. They were soaked with some sweetish sauce which didn't exactly go well with the calamari, but added a little bit of flavour to the wrapper. The calamari itself was not very good. The batter was very thin, crunchy, and was a lot easier to eat than the calamari.The squid was very hard to eat, and overcooked to no end. I could barely eat this dish. Thus, I would give this a 1.5/5 due to the hard to eat squid.  Finally, we capped off 

Tempura Ice Cream $10

a meal at Sansei with a dessert that would qualify as a meal in itself, the famed Tempura Ice Cream for $10. This was a large tube of ice cream with a tempura batter. The batter wasn't very crispy, but was rather more cake-like, and there was a bunch of syrup on the bottom, chocolate and caramel flavoured. There was also a strawberry and whipped cream. Of course, this was a very heavy plate of dessert, as you would think. The sauces were sweet, and added some flavour to the Vanilla Ice Cream and the pound cake dressing. I(t tasted good though, even though it was very sweet. The tempura pound cake was still warm, but the ioce cream melted very slowly  even though it was warm. In the end, this was a novelty item that actually tasted pretty good, although it was a bit heavy. This was a good 4/5 dessert, since it did taste good.However, there was one thing that made everyone not like this restaurant: they charge a minimum 17% tip, and even though our server was friendly, that rule is not so great. 

Bottom Line: Good Food, Service, Atmosphere. 
Tip: Tempura Ice Cream
Overall: 3.5/5