Kung pao chicken is a solid order if you are watching things, and I do not say that about most zi char plates. The chicken is cubed and stir-fried, not battered and deep fried, so you skip that whole layer of flour and absorbed oil that wrecks dishes like sweet and sour. At around 480 calories with a genuine 30g of protein, the macros are actually not bad. The fat number looks high, but a good chunk of it is the wok oil and the handful of peanuts or cashews tossed in, which at least bring something to the table besides empty calories.
Where it goes wrong is oil-heavy versions and the nut load. Some shops are generous with the wok oil and the dish arrives swimming, which can add 100 calories easily. The cashew version is richer than the peanut one because cashews are denser. And like every dish here, the rice is the real trap, not the chicken. If you treat the kung pao as your protein anchor and keep the rice to one scoop, you are eating well. Pick this over butter prawns or marmite chicken any day if you want flavour without the deep-fry tax.