Asian Restaurants in Kahului

“Balai Pata is an absolute gem, and absolutely needed on North Shore / Central Maui in what’s otherwise a restaurant abyss of tourist forward formulaic burgers & fish tacos. Part of me wants to keep it a secret, but it deserves way more recognition than it has received. I’m honestly shocked it’s not packed every single night. Their innovative fusion menu is both playful and thoughtful, with fresh, farm-to-table dishes that change often enough to keep every visit exciting. The staff are the sweetest aunties, making us feel like family and doting on our toddler every time we come. Our little one (and the rest of us!) can’t get enough of their malunggay (moringa) handmade garlic noodles. No liquor license yet, so it’s BYOB, which makes for an even more relaxed, homey vibe. Easily one of our favorite spots on the island - and I’m sure it will become one of your favorites too.“

“It is part of a food court and in the kau kau market complex. Seems pretty popular as most people in the food court were ordering from this store. Portion sizes do look larger for the pho. I didn’t see that with the vegetable vermicelli that I got. However, the flavors, sauce and overall meal were authentic and tasty. I would go back maybe and try their vegetarian pho.

Update: went back and tried their garlic vegetable noodles. Too sweet in my opinion. The lemongrass garlic stir fried tofu was great but whatever they put in the noodles should not be used or a lot less of it… kind of ruined the dish. Would not recommend this dish. Portion size was good but I couldn’t finish it due to the overwhelming sweetness of the noddles.

Maybe I will try the vegetable pho still…“

“Excellent night place for a later dinner, family friendly staff and atmosphere, good variety of food, group of 3 of us, shared unagi don, tonkatsu ramen and a katsu chicken plate all were good, the unagi was so so, a little to mushy,like it firmer and prefer it really cooked over a fire grill, but overall we enjoyed it!“