If you’ve taken a drive around the island, chances are, you’ve passed by Coral Kingdom in Hakipuʻu Valley — and seen huli huli chicken (and the accompanying smoke) outside on the grills fronting the restaurant.
Having the grills fronting the road was only something that started after the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Thomas Yip, director of operations and vice president of Yummy Huli Huli Chicken.
“We’ve been cooking huli huli chicken for about 10 years,” he says. “Before, we used to have the grill in the backside to service the restaurant for catering. Before the pandemic, we had a lot of tour groups on tour buses that came in; we had a buffet (in the restaurant). Since the pandemic, we had to change our menu — we concentrated on our bestsellers. We moved the chicken grill out to the front so people can see it.”
The business recently rebranded and is now known as Yummy Huli Huli Chicken, according to Yip, who says its focus is still on the chicken.
“What makes it unique is our marination, and we do a dry rub,” he says. “We use the kiawe wood; most places probably use charcoal or some other wood. Of course, we also have our special huli chicken sauce that’s housemade and very popular.”
It takes about 30 minutes for each batch of chicken to cook, according to Yip.
“We can have a batch ranging from 10 to 25 or 30,” he says. “It takes about 30 minutes for the chicken to be fully cooked outside.”
The huli huli chicken plate ($16.95) is the eatery’s signature dish. It includes a half kiawe wood-roasted chicken, along with macaroni salad, rice and huli huli dipping sauce. Whole chicken plates ($21.95, no sides included) are also available.
The chicken boasts that smoky flavor from the kiawe wood, and Yip is right — that signature dipping sauce is necessary, giving the chicken a slightly sweet flavor.
Other popular dishes include barbecue teriyaki beef plate ($18.95) and garlic shrimp plate ($17.95). The latter features shrimp sauteed in garlic butter and onions; customers can choose from shell-on or off, and spicy or mild. All shrimp plates come with macaroni salad and rice.
“The teriyaki sauce is our own recipe, too,” Yip says. “For the beef, we have slices of rib-eye steak, which makes it very popular; it’s tender and juicy. For the spicy garlic shrimp, we cook a local chili pepper together with the garlic butter. It’s not like a hot sauce we use.”
Of the plates we order, I’m partial to the pan-fried fish ($16.95), which features three pieces of egg-battered, sauteed white fish served with a side of tartar sauce. The fish is moist and flaky, and the batter is light and not overly greasy.
In terms of drinks, strawberry banana and mango smoothies ($9.75 each) are popular takeout options, especially on sweltering summer days.
If you’re dining in, Yip encourages customers to check out the eatery’s selection of draft beers, house wines and sake.
CONTACT
Yummy Huli Huli
49-132 Kamehameha Hwy., Kāneʻohe
Yummyhuli.com
Instagram: @yummyhuli
Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
