Upcoming Events
Rosé Roust! May 28th Monsoon Wine Dinner
Our world is in bloom, if you haven't noticed, which means that it is time to let the big reds settle into the cellar for the summer and commence guzzling Rosé!
Imagine this:
you're sitting on the patio of a small neighborhood restaurant on a quiet street as the day fades into night and the sky turns the color of the chilled glass of Rosé in your hand. A dog barks, some birds twitter. An asian pear, mizuna and arugula flower salad flutters out of the sky onto the plate in front of you. Is this better than falling in love?!
Yes, we can make this happen for you! We hearby decree that Rosé Roust will officially kick off the Rosé drinking season. It has been said that the drinking of Rosé in the spring can significantly increase the possibility of a long, warm summer. Which, if you can remember last summer (did it happen?), is what we all need a good dose of.
We'll be pairing 5 deliciously crisp, clean and bright Rosés with various dishes prepared by Eric and Sophie.
A spring dream for only $65.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 28th
Two Seatings:
6pm 5 wines + 7 courses $65
8:30pm 5 wines + 7 courses $65
PLEASE CALL FOR RESERVATIONS: 206.325.2111
MENU WILL BE POSTED SHORTLY
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Past Events
NON NOUVEAU!
April 23rd Cru Beaujolais Wine Dinner
if you have any doubts about beaujolais as a pairing wine to be reckoned, dont miss this dinner!
The ten sub-appellations of Beaujolais known as the "cru" are responsible for some truly remarkable wines, ranging from feathery delicacy to granite-driven richness. If your familiarity with Beaujolais ends in Nouveau, you will be shocked at how good these wines can be.
Chefs Eric and Sophie Banh will present wonderful dishes that you won't find on the menu. This is a great way to experience all that Monsoon has to offer.
Here is the Menu:
Banh Cuon — rice rolls with ground kurobuta pork, fresh wood ear mushrooms and fresh bean sprouts.
Washington asparagus wrapped shrimp mousew with asparagus consume.
Pan roasted oregon coast petrale sole with turmeric, fresh dill and tamarind sauce.
Nem Chua — vietnamese charcuterie wrapped in rice paper.
Kurobuta pork belly and shrimp wrapped in chinese mustard greens.
Grilled cervena venison with lemongrass, sesame seeds and pineapple hoisin.
Grilled banana wrapped in black sticky rice with savory coconut milk.
Wednesday, April 23rd
Two Seatings:
6pm: 7 dishes + 5 wines $68
8:30pm: 7 dishes + 5 wines $68
please call for reservations 206.325.2111
March is ‘Praise the Pig' Month at Monsoon
There's little that Monsoon can't do with pork, which is one of co-owner Eric Banh's favorite ingredients. For the month of March, Monsoon will feature the special Mangalitsa pork on the dinner menu in dishes that include:
* grilled pork chops, seasoned with five-spice and black bean
* pork shoulder braised in coconut juice
* roasted baby back ribs with ginger and hoisin
* braised and lacquered pork belly
Banh believes in sourcing premium natural meats and Berkshire pork has been the standard at Monsoon for several years. After tasting the Mangalitsa, which has a rich pork flavor and an unctuous texture, Banh decided he wanted to introduce Monsoon diners to this new product.
“I like the pork, because when you smell it, it smells so clean,” Banh said. “The flavor is rich and there is a sweetness. Even though it's expensive for me to serve this product, I feel it is my duty to share it with the mainstream. The bigger the market for this pork, the more sustainable it will be for the farmer.”
The European Mangalitsa pig (which is also known as Wooly Pig) is the newest premium breed that is currently available in the United States only from Spokane-based Wooly Pigs, LLC. Since the debut of Wooly Pigs in fall 2007, the pork has crept onto menus at restaurants including The French Laundry in Napa. It has received media attention from The Washington Post, Food &Wine Magazine and even Playboy Magazine.
The pork is known for its marbling and the quality of flavor in the fat. The pigs are raised on pasture that includes many herbs and given supplemental barley, wheat and hay.
Valentine's Day Dinner
Thursday February 14th 2008
4 courses $65
4 courses + wine pairings $95
Valentines Day Menu
Lunar New Year Celebration
please join us in celebrating the 2008 Lunar New Year !
Lunar New Year is a significant time of year across the spectrum of Asian cultures. For Eric Banh, co-owner of Monsoon, Tet (Feb. 6 is the Lunar New Year's Eve) inspires the most enthusiasm in him. To celebrate, In addition to our regular dinner menu, we will feature six traditional Vietnamese dishes, which will be available a la carte from Jan. 23 through the third day of the new year, Feb. 9.
Lunar New Year Menu
Vietnamese charcuterie with Tet sticky rice cake
Temple braised vegetables and tofu sheet
Steamed free range chicken with ginger fish sauce
Braised Berkshire pork belly with longevity eggs
Roasted Berkshire side belly with Tet sticky rice cake
Sticky rice dumplings with mung bean in sweet ginger soup
Be sure to stop by for our
Traditional Lion Dance Feb. 7th
6 p.m. outside Monsoon entrance
please call for reservations: 206.325.2111
The Local Gamut:
Walla Walla to Willamette
putting the pluck back into January, one wine dinner at a time . . .
Wednesday, January 30th
Two Seatings:
6pm 7 dishes + 5 wines $65
8:30pm 7 dishes + 5 wines $65
Please call for reservations: 206.325.2111
This month we're bringin' it all back home, with a tribute to the vinous delectations of our own back yard. We're still putting the polish on the menu, but you can expect Riesling and Walla Walla Syrah from Washington and Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and a very special sparkling wine from the Willamette Valley.
Eric and Sophie are digging deep in the top secret family cookbook for recipes to match the wines. If you've attended in the past, you know that these dinners are a great opportunity to taste dishes that do not appear on our regular menu.
Here's a sneak peak at what we'll serve:
braised baby back ribs with coconut juice and longevity egg
j albin pinot noir “laural vineyard” 2005 willamette valley
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grilled flank steak with green scallions and vermicelli
braised leeks and asian eggplant salad with crispy tofu paper
poet's leap riesling 2006 columbia valley
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fisherman's soup with morning glory greens
five spice washington chicken "roti"
adelsheim pinot gris 2006 willamette valley
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kurobuta pork belly with pickled cucumber and
banh bo
beresan syrah 2005 walla walla
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mung bean sweet soup with tapioca
argyle brut “extended triage” 1997 willamette valley
Please Note: Upon confirmation of your reservation, you will receive a ticket via email (or snail mail if you don't email). The ticket is non-refundable, but may be given to someone else in the event that you or other members of your party are not able to attend.
New Years Eve Dinner December 31 2007
- Come help us ring in 2008!
- We're stocking the cellar with more delicious "Recoltant" Champagne in preparation for this event. Bless the rest of the world for making wonderful sparkling wine, but tonight we'll toast with the true bubble, which can only be raised in the deep chalk of northern France.
- The term "Recoltant" designates Champagne made by grape growers. What we're seeing from Grower Champers is not only a very high level of quality (you can be guaranteed that the grower is using his best grapes for his own label, and, if he sells at all, sending the rest to the big houses), but also very fair prices.
- If you know us, you'll know that this will be, above all else, a DAMN GOOD TIME. We believe that good times are born of great food aptly paired with exceptional wine. Given these conditions, to quote a respected elder, "if you don't have a good time, it's you're own fault!"
- Here are the numbers:
4 courses $65
4 courses with Champagne and wine pairings $95
New Year's Eve dinner december 31 2007
braised Manchester farm quail with honey and star anise
-OR-
lobster bisque congee with honshimeji and white truffle oil
-OR-
pan seared diver scallop with butternut squash and ginger
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asian pear salad with green papaya, fresh mint and candied almond
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muscovy duck breast with fuyu persimmons
-OR-
roasted berkshire pork belly with tet sticky rice cake
-OR-
braised strawberry mountain farm beef short ribs with daikon
-OR-
pan roasted alaskan black cod with lemongrass and pickled greens
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sticky rice dumplings with cara cara orange and sweet ginger soup
-OR-
monsoon banana cake with savory coconut cream
-OR-
pandan leaf and vanilla bean creme brulee
- Rhone Wine Dinner
- Wednesday, November 28th
- two seatings:
- Same method as last month -- come early for the deal, come late to stay late:
- 6pm 7 dishes + 5 wines $55
8:30pm 7 dishes + 5 wines $65 - please call for reservations 206.325.2111
- Ok, Ok,
- We talked up Beaujolais Cru in last month's newsletter . . . and now we're sending you further south to the Rhone -- what's the deal?!
- We figure your Beaujolais thirst will be slaked by the Pichet-Presse-Campagne Nouveau celebrations, so we'll save it for a later date.
- On to the Rhone!
- Pack your bags, we're going to Avignon! We'll be pouring wines from the Southern Rhone this month, which means instead of Beaujolais you'll be stuck drinking Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Poor you.
- There will be Gigondas and Tavel and Rhone blanc and something sweet as well. Sophie and Eric will whip up some heart-warming dishes to match. You pitch in a little bonhomie, we take care of the rest.
- Reserve your table now
- Due to high demand, reservations will be held by credit card, which will be charged for the full amount of the dinner if reservations are not canceled at least 48 hours in advance of the event.
- Loire Noir Wine Dinner
- Wednesday, October 24th
- Two seatings:
- 6pm 7 dishes + 5 wines $55
- 8:30pm 7 dishes + 5 wines $65
- With the advent of cooler weather, we'll be pouring red wines from the Loire Valley this month (though it'll likely be impossible to not include a white from Savennieres or Anjou). Cabernet Franc, said by ampelographers to be the father of Cabernet Sauvignon, will play the patriarch this month, with a (perhaps) unexpected supporting cast member or two.
- The Foucault brothers (Clos Rougeard), of whom none other than Jancis Robinson says, "this is a seriously great producer of seriously great wine", will be represented, as well as Francois Chidaine and Bernard Baudry, two other terrific Loire producers. Seriously.
- Expect Sophie and Eric to be up to old tricks putting fresh spin on traditional Vietnamese soul food.
- Reserve Your Table Now
- Due to high demand, reservations will be held by credit card, which will be charged for the full amount of the dinner if reservations are not canceled at least 48 hours in advance of the event. Please call for reservations: 206.325.2111
- "Into the Vietnamese Kitchen” Luncheon
- August 14, 2007 12:30 p.m.
- $35 per person plus tax and gratuity;
- $60 for lunch plus a signed copy of the cookbook
- Author Andrea Nguyen, who received a James Beard nomination this year for her book, will be the guest of honor. “Into the Vietnamese Kitchen” poignantly recounts Nguyen’s escape, with her family, from Saigon before it fell. Luckily, Nguyen’s mother grabbed her notebook of recipes. This family heirloom is the base from which Nguyen develops her own collection of recipes for the modern home kitchen. Monsoon honors her work and her cooking.
Reserve by calling 206.325.2111.
- Vietnamese Soul Dinner
- August 22, 2007 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. seatings
- Featuring rieslings and rosés
- $45 per person plus tax and gratuity
- On every third Wednesday of the month, Monsoon offers a five-course family-style dinner that showcases dishes customers won’t find on the regular menu. It’s a chance to experience more traditional flavors and an unhomogenized version of the cuisine. Each course is paired with wines from a featured varietal. (The September 19 dinner will pair dishes with grüner veltliner – or “gru vee” – wines.)
Reserve by calling 206.325.2111.
- Valentine's Day Tasting Menu FEB 14, 2006
- Join us for a four course tasting menu and bring that certain special someone. Hugs and kisses! Call for reservations: 206.325.2111
Download a copy of the menu (56kPDF) - The Art of Pairing Mon August 29
- Our next dinner in the popular Art of Pairing series is Monday August 29th. This time we feature wines from the Loire valley. We will pair 8 different courses with 8 different wines. Call now to reserve your table as this event sells out fast.
- Terry Thiese Imports Dinner Wed August 3
- Many great austrian and german wines. 8 courses and 8 wines for $100. Open to the public. Event sold out.
- The Art of PaIring Mon Jul 11
- Vietnamese cuisine meets rieslings. Event sold out.
- James Beard Dinner Feb 19 New York City
- Eric and Sophie give New York gourmands a taste of Monsoon. Learn more about the event.