Pau's Asian Kitchen

I tried Pau's last year and was marginally underwhelmed. It was OK and they seemed open to suggestions by other customers, so I didn't yelp about it because I thought I would wait a while and come back.

I waited, came back, and it was delicious! (I'm ordering as I type this on the Ferry)
Experimented with mild, medium and spicy orders and each was done perfectly without being under whelming or overbearing. Fantastic balance.
The seasoning and spices were so much improved, everything I had was delicious, inventive and tasty without being obnoxiously hot. The Kung Pau shrimp had a hint of secret ingredient that gave it a sneaky little zing, ... or maybe I imagined it.
Broccoli beef I ordered was tender, well marinated and expertly prepared.
I enjoyed it very much and have begun making it a regular stop as I exit the ferry! Well done. The portions are ample and we always hope to have leftovers but always seem to graze to the empty container.

I'm giving it 5 stars to help balance out other early honest but more negative reviews. I'm guessing it's hard to serve a clientele that may vary from those that like their fare bland to those that prefer unique authentic. Pau's seems to have done that in a tough location. They listen,respond, adjust and improve. I'm a big fan.
Yes,do eat at Pau's.

I really enjoyed my pepper steak and the egg rolls were right out the fryer and crispy. However, my husband and mother had the shrimp fried rice. The shrimp were over cooked and the fried rice had very few veggies. Also even though the egg rolls were delicious the dipping sauce was too sweet and looked as if it came out of a bottle.

Decided to give them a second chance after coming shortly after their opening in 2018 - unfortunately, their food really just seems to range from "ok" to mediocre. As noted by a number of other reviewers, just about all of the Chinese takeout staples - fried rice, chicken and beef stir fries - aren't particularly memorable here; not terrible, definitely a step up from Safeway's food bar across the street but maybe not by enough to really justify spending more.

None of their appetizers were particularly impressive either. Tried the wonton soup - very simple-tasting but not in a good way; The taiwanese popcorn chicken - decent salty peppery garlicy flavor (hard to go wrong) and "karaage-like" texture but fairly overseasoned. I didn't dislike the crab wontons but the texture was a little tough rather than light and crispy and the filling was much more cream cheese than any noticeable crab.

While everything seems more or less competently executed and nothing - save the "authentic" mapo dofu - was outright unpleasant to eat (not on account of being too spicy but just because under all the ginger and pepper it really just didn't taste very good), at best their food seemed pretty much on par with what you could get frozen at the store. Would be nice to see them maybe narrow down their menu and refine their seasoning/core dishes a little bit to make them feel a little more worth the price but I'm not holding my breath.

To their credit, the portion sizes are decently generous - assuming you aren't a super big eater, you could get away with ordering 1 dish for dinner and spreading it out over multiple days with rice. As far as the quality of food goes compared to the price... unfortunately, it's pretty much par for the course here on Bainbridge.

Tasty food! I stumbled upon this restaurant as I was driving around Bainbridge looking for something else. Glad I found it.

The wonton soup is my new favorite of all wonton soups in Kitsap. Full of fat wontons, as well as chicken and veggies.

I liked the flavor of the chicken bites but not sure what the meat actually was. They claimed white meat chicken but it had the look and feel of chicken gizzard.

Easy ordering and curbside pickup was nice.

Awful food, might as well go to Safeway. I've eaten here about half a dozen times. I always hope it will be better than the last time. With so little options on Bainbridge I stay hopefully optimistic. Today was the last straw. My mom and I ordered wanton soup, egg rolls, chow mein and orange chicken. The meal cost $50. The wanton soup used to be the only saving grace but it tasted like dirty dish water. The egg rolls tasted of frostbite. The chow mein was watery and so sweet. The orange chicken was horrendous. The chicken was the consistency of a potato. This frozen food being passed off as good take out is a shame. I would have rather gone to Safeway and gotten frozen food. Would have been cheaper and tastier. This place makes Panda Express look classy.

If you think Panda Express is the worst "Chinese" food prepare to be proven wrong. You'd be hard pressed to name each dish by taste alone, even if you found some flavor. I'm not a purist and usually enjoy American Chinese. This isn't even that.

ALWAYS EXCELLENT! Orders have always been available on-time, for pick-up. And over the past 18 months of my patronage, I have never received food that has not been thoroughly enjoyable.

A wise TikTok once said: "if a Chinese restaurant has 3.5 stars, that means it's good and authentic".
I don't know how authentic the food here is but it sure is good. I always stick with the beef dishes, cause they never miss. Mongolian Beef is great and basically everyone would like it, and I love the Sichuan Beef even though it's an acquired taste and a lot of the people here on Bainbridge (if you catch my drift) won't be fans.

General tso's was sixteen dollars, good amount of food for 16, except the food was decieving, the actual pieces of chicken were huge balls of fried batter with a little piece of chicken in the middle . Tastes like an elephant ear, so much fried batter so little chicken .

This place is outstanding. Honestly the best garlic eggplant I've ever had! Can't wait to try out all the menu!

I think people are sleeping on Pau's. I agree that some of their typical "Chinese-American" dishes (general tso's chicken, etc.) might not seem great, but I thought it was okay/good. Yes, the breading on the general tso's chicken was reminiscent of the sweet and sour chicken breading, but the sauce was still general tso's sauce... and guess what? The chicken was crispy and crunchy, even under the sauce. Also it was white meat!

Additionally, here are some other dishes I thought were pretty good. The mapo tofu (hot and spicy- yum!), Taiwanese popcorn chicken- (I have missed those flavors!), and beef chow fun. Admittedly the beef chow fun was just okay, but I'd still get it again!

I'm actually excited to try some other dishes like the salt pepper tiger prawn, pork belly noodles, and dry sautéed green beans with minced pork.

In all, I think if you go with the more "authentic" cuisine on the menu, you'll fare better. I would say give them a try, the food is pretty good.

PS- The lighting was not great in my pictures. The food tasted so much better than it looks in the pictures!