Monsoon

10/04/09

NOT Fast Food Vietnamese

by jlimt at Citysearch

Okay, sorry for all the reviews about the bad service that has been written up. Personally, my husband and I have always received very professional and attentive care during our dining experience.

Comparing this restaurant to Tamarind Tree or Green Leaf in the ID - ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!

That's like comparing Nishino's to Blue C.

Sure, save a few bucks in the ID and get okay food for your money. McDondalds also serves a Filet-O-Fish that's gonna fill a hole. I'm not above that...

But, if you want a real treat, taste wise, check this place out.

• Pros: Just darn good food

02/16/09

Brunchtime Seattle! - Monsoon

by manjum at Citysearch

Monsoon, in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood has a very simple (almost zen-like) yet an upscale ambience.

The menu that was there online promised atleast a couple of vegetarian dishes to choose from, but their menu changes on a daily basis and unfortunately there wasn't much of a vegetarian choice. I pretty much had only french toast or waffles to choose from. (I wouldn't recommend this place, if both of you are vegetarians!) I had the Brioche French Toast with Caramelised Pineapple and Creme Fraiche ($11). AJ had the Organic Egg Benedict with Spiced Pork Patty and Fried Potatoes ($12) and we shared the Scrambled Eggs with Hedgehog Mushrooms, lap xuong and truffle oil ($11). We sadly, didn't order the dim sum and later realised that they seemed to be very popular among the regulars there.

The french toast was good but there was nothing extraordinarily great about it, Ive defenitely had better ones. The pork patties were an interesting combination with the egg benedict and the fried potatoes and stir fried bok-choy and onions completed the dish. We were not very happy with the scrambled eggs though, I had only the eggs as the lap xuong is a chinese sausage. But AJ did feel that the combination of the eggs with the mushrooms and lapxuong was good. Overall, it was a good meal - the food was good, we loved the simple ambience, the service was upto the mark and the prices were reasonable. But, if you are just looking for good food at really low prices, then this is not the place. This is the kind of place you go to, to experiment the cuisine and to have a good experience!!

More at my blog superchef-mirchmasala on blogspot.

01/11/09

Great Food and Excellent Service

by trucktruck at Citysearch

We recently ate at the new Monsoon East location in Bellevue. The food was great and 4 dishes was enough for two people with most of the prices in the low teens. Overall a very good value and the food gives Wild Ginger a run for its money.

The service was far and away the best I've had in years, with a helpful and friendly staff. The Bellevue location also had a nice ambience and will hopefully help revitalize the Old Bellevue area. There wasn't a bad thing about this place, would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an Asian fusion type menu.

• Pros: Great Vietnamese Food with a Fancy Twist. Stellar Service.
• Cons: Hidden Location, Parking.

05/27/08

Not worth the price

by valentinel at Citysearch

I had brunch at Monsoon this past weekend and was excited by all the rave reviews it had gotten. The dim sum style dishes were good - we had the shrimp/chive wontons, daikon cakes, nem nuong, & sticky rice/pork. The fare was your standard dim sum -- good, but not any better than what you would get in the ID, and at Monsoon you pay twice as much. Service was poor. We were seated quickly, considering we had a party of 10, however, the food came out sporadically over a period of two hours -- needless to say, members of our party had finished their appetizer AND entree before others had even gotten any of their food! The entrees, while presented beautifully, were miniscule and some of our party were still hungry after the meal was over! I had the pork belly & french toast (great flavors) - other entrees ordered were the banh xeo (crispy and delicious), steak & eggs (tiny - do not order if you are hungry), lemongrass chicken vermicelli (really good, but miniscule), and congee (average). The food is good, but not $20 and entree good. For instance, if I want vermicelli in the future, I'm going to Huong Binh in the ID, where I'll pay $6, be satisfied, and have the best grilled pork in town. Monsoon just isn't worth the price for average Vietnamese food. For Vietnamese I'll still go to Green Leaf, where it is 100 times better or else home, for mom's homecooked Vietnamese meals. Pretty sure I won't be trying dinner at Monsoon.

• Pros: Location, ambience
• Cons: Vegetarian substitutes weren't available for brunch, service, average food for high $$, no reservations taken for brunch

04/22/08

Below average vietnamese food

by europeanfoodie at Citysearch

I read about the restaurant on its site and it sounded really exciting. I love Vietnamese food and I thought an upscale Vietnamese restaurant would be a great date spot for me and my husband. After 10 minute wait we got seated and ordererd two appetizers: stuffed calamari and five-star pork ribs. The tastes weren't balanced, too sour, not enough spice or sweetness. Food texture was pleasing, I liked the combination of jicama with mushrooms in calmari, but overpowering vinegar ruined the experience. Pork ribs were just OK, again not enough spice and way too much vinegar. For our entree we ordered clay pott catfish, which was quite nice except it had a slight burnt taste to it. The chefs forgot that clay pott catfish should boast sweet and smooth caramel taste, not burt and a bit bitter aftertaste... Needless to say, we were paying a lot for a very average Vietnamese food. To tell you the truth small family owned restaurants in International discrit serve a lot more pleasing food for a fraction of the cost. I would not recommend the place.

• Pros: Service, ambience, wine list
• Cons: Food