Join Monsoon East for a spring dinner with Walla Walla’s Dusted Valley Vintners, recently named Washington Winery of the Year by Wine Press Northwest.

Dusted Valley has made news from their inception in 2003 for being the first Washington winery to use screw caps on all their bottles and for introducing the use of extra-tight-grained Wisconsin Oak for their barrel-aged wines.

Eric and Sophie Banh will create a delicious 7-course Vietnamese dinner paired wines from their notable collection of Chardonnay, Viognier, Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvedre and other lush blends.

When: May 16, 2010 6PM
Where: Monsoon East
Price: $99, all inclusive

Purchase tickets at Brown Paper Tickets.

Menu highlights include:

• English Pea Soup

• Sugar Cane Shrimp

• Poached Alaskan Halibut, Hon Shemeji Mushrooms, Bok Choy, Buerre Blanc and Herbed Panzanella

• A Dessert Trio of Ganache, Caramel Apple ‘Pops’ and Banana Cake

For the complete menu visit the Monsoon Restaurants blog.

Great multi-page spread on Monsoon East in 425 Magazine’s May/June issue, available on newsstands now.

Monsoon East has been selected as a Top 3 Finalist for 2010 Haute Picks Award in the category of “Best Seafood Restaurant” by the Bellevue Downtown Association (BDA)!

This is BDA’s 8^th annual “Best of Downtown” competition. Previous winners include Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar for best seafood, and Monsoon East’s neighbor, La Ree, for best boutique.

Online ballots were collected from February 27 through April 2 and the winner will be announced on April 27 at The Westin Bellevue.

Fingers crossed and good luck!

Geoffrey Smith

It’s finally spring and Monsoon is excited about two new addition to the menus at both locations.

Song Be Salt & Pepper Dungeness Crab

Enjoy the bounty of the region blended with the flavors of Vietnam (it’s what they’re good at!) with a succulent, flavorful and truly “finger licking good,” Song Be Salt & Black Pepper Dungeness Crab every Sunday and Monday night for $28. This whole, two-pound Dungeness crab dinner includes a Mango Papaya Salad, which, with 30 percent off their noteworthy wine list, makes a perfect dinner for two.

Lemongrass Brick Chicken

This delicious spring dish features half a Washington-grown, all-natural fryer, seasoned with Monsoon’s special Saigon salt and shallots, served with a sumptuous side of stir-fried green beans and mashed taro root. This transcendent dish is available daily.