monsoon

seattle, wa

website

for seattleites, the only thing they have to know about this capitol hill restaurant is that it has its own parking lot in the back. (capitol hill is a popular area in seattle for good food and fun hangouts and it is notoriously difficult to find parking). monsoon has great food too. the prices on the menu look like new york prices, but the portions are larger. the menu also resembles new york menus in that it lists the source of all of the meats like "painted hills filet mignon" and "fulton valley farm crispy drunken chicken" (which were both very good).

the fancy vietnamese-inspired dishes are meant to be shared. in addition to the luc lac and chicken, we ordered the papaya and prawn salad, squid stuffed with duck (pictured), crispy tofu, and asian long beans. there's also an excellent wine list and the waiter was able to explain the differences between the whites available by the glass. derek's mom chose a vouvray and i had a sauvignon blanc. my favorite part of the meal, however, was dessert - we had banana cake, cassava cake topped with a roasted pear, and the coconut creme caramel. amazing.