monsoon poon

early dinner at monsoon poon - i've been to the auckland restaurant many times, but this was my first visit to wellington.
great service & welcome - all staff i encountered were very friendly. nice environment as with auckland's branch. the booth seats are particularly good for 'people watching' & the kitchen is open with a reflective mirror above the bench enabling you to see some of the food prep.
decided to ask for a recommendation from the cocktail menu - was told about the $10 special (they are normally $14) & it was very nice & refreshing - similar to a mule.
was deciding between shaking beef which is a favourite & the pork belly which is quite new. went for the pork belly. it was a good choice!
flavours were well rounded with salty & sweet. it comes with a chinese cabbage/apple sticks slaw on top & a black vinegar on the side. everything was well cooked & presented although the pork needed a bit more rendering - on some pieces the fat between the meat & crackle was tough rather than melting & i had to cut it off.
a great meal & experience - will be back.

went here for dinner with friends the otehr day and had a great time. for a wednesday it was absolutely packed out. we ordered firecracker sliders to share and a main each. the firecracker sliders were phenomenal. although really really hot, they managed to retain a gorgeous sweet, fruity flavour to them. the chicken inside the sliders was delicious, tender and just perfect. i ordered the duck mee goreng. the duck was perfectly cooked, and the noodles were great too- subtle flavours, but all worked harmoniously together. also, their non alcoholic cocktails are gorgeous. our waitress was attentive and extremely friendly- refilled our water twice without asking and came around to check on us frequently despite it being busy. great atmosphere, great food and great service. would recommend.

i'm not a fan of fusion cuisine and that's because i'm the kind of person who likes to separate everything into its proper place. needless to say, i prefer my asian food wholly and completely asian and my european food likewise. also, i've been put off in the past with fusion type places for their exorbitant prices for a plate of ersatz dumplings and spring rolls.

anyway, it was sunday night we were entertaining a friend of ours from christchurch and laid it upon our guest to pick a type of food. i inwardly groaned a little when he said he wanted fusion. so i suggested monsoon poon and i'm not going to lie - it was simply because their prices were the most reasonable. there was no finesse involved in the decision making.

so we arrived and were seated by the friendly maitre d'. the first thing that catches your eye when you arrive at monsoon poon are the bright, almost garish looking decorations, but it actually kind of works. it was like i had sort of stepped into a place that some crazy asian grandma of mine had decorated - which i guess is the whole point. 

we were handed the menu - drinks completely and utterly filling up one side, with food on the other side. their cocktail selection is extensive and mouthwatering. i had trouble deciding which ones to select and in the end, we went with the salted caramel hard shake and rosebud. they arrived fairly fast and i was impressed with the salted caramel hard shake. imagine salted caramel rum (from cgr in wellington) in a milkshake, topped with cookie crumb. is your mouth watering? it should be.

between the three of us, we chose:
- shaking beef: this was probably my favourite. tender beef pieces with the most delightful sauce - it was like someone had decided to make steak and then added some soy sauce based dressing. beef was slightly crispy on the outside and this contrasted beautifully with the slightly undercooked interior.
- 25 herb and spice indian lamb curry: most indian curries have a really awful fatty aftertaste due to the massive cream content and it makes you feel quite ill. this one had all the flavour and none of the oiliness coating the inside of the mouth. the lamb had been slow cooked and pretty much dissolved in my mouth. fantastic.
- sticky pork belly: served with slaw, this one was actually quite spicy. while i prefer my pork belly made the cantonese style (i.e. with super crispy crackling), this one was still pretty good. 

so, while monsoon poon is more asian than fusion, you have to admit that it's not your traditional asian cuisine. the slight twist on the classics makes the food exciting with that hint of freshness that sometimes is lacking in traditional asian food.

came here for an early dinner one night. while the atmosphere is top notch, i was really underwhelmed by the food. we had the yellow curry which, while very aromatic and flavourful, wasn't above other yellow curries i had had. the firecracker chicken delivered on the heat, but had a strange barbecue type
sauce instead of the traditional flavouring. again, i preferred this at other restaurants (wagamama makes a great firecracker chicken). while the meal wasn't bad, it absolutely wasn't worth the price. go to your small local malaysian restaurant instead.

there aren't many places i give a five star to.. 4 star sometimes, 4.5 occasionally. but monsoon poon is certainly deserving of the five star i give it.

from the moment i entered the building i was greeted by smiles and friendly staff. the decorations are superb, with curtains, chinese lanterns and oriental statues and the like really set the scene for the type of food you are about to eat.

to start i had the fried squid, a particular favourite of mine and was seasoned perfectly. all other entrées looked delicious as well and the main courses did not fail to impress, the bali prawns in a coconut sauce went fantastically with the coconut rice.

i was also able to discover one of my new favourite sauces, a sweet soy sauce called kecap manis. and has worked its way into my own cooking adventures.

if top quality asian food is what you want with the possibility of trying and finding new tastes and smells then monsoon poon is the location for you :)

hadn’t been to monsoon poon for about 5 years or so but decided it would be a good place for my birthday dinner. i made a good choice, this place is still fantastic. we were a group of five and ordered some entrees to share: rice paper rolls and chicken tacos. the tacos were absolutely divine and the rice paper rolls were pretty good too. one of my friends and i ordered a cocktail which was amazing! for main i had the salmon which was cooked to absolute perfection: translucent and falling apart at the slightest touch of my fork. my friends all enjoyed their meals as well. the service here was attentive and polite enough; they could have been a bit friendlier though. i love the decor of this restaurant and all the little detailing. i really recommend this place for a special occasion: fantastic food and amazing atmosphere! i’m pleased to say this is still one of my favourite restaurants in welly!

yummy food, interesting drinks, friendly service and funky decor.
highly recommend the firecracker chicken sliders. not my favourite asian restaurant in wellington, seeing that there are so many, however they never disappoint. the open kitchen has mirrors for customers to watch plating and garnishing which is intriguing! will definitely recommend to others.

nice place to go for dinner, it's always consistent in terms of food and service alike.

my picks are the firecracker chicken sliders (for those who want that spicy taste but not for their whole meal!) and the beef rib. the meat just falls off the bone so lovely and delicious!

first thing to say is that monsoon poon has amazing service, the staff there were absolutely attentive, quick and polite. the food was amazing, my partner and i ordered a few entrees; wontons, chicken satay & little dragon tacos with a side of coconut rice. they were all delicious, we got so full from just that but i'll definitely be going back for a main. the desserts however were exceptional, i ordered the whittaker's triple choc trifle and it was simply devine. very happy.

first time back in years and i was not disappointed. my partner and i ordered spiced grilled chicken satay, money bag wontons and little dragon tacos. they had all the flavors packed into these little dishes. my favorite was the spiced grilled chicken satay, it was amazing. feeling like we could tuck a wee bit more in, we ordered dessert i got the vanilla bean, hazel nut and cappuccino cinnamon gelato and i have to say this blew my mind, best dessert i have ever had. i would go back just to reorder it .

i would highly recommend this to others, we were looked after very well, the food was great and we had a fun night out. cheers

i must say that the service at monsoon poon is just as outstanding as the restaurant's wonderful thai cuisine! we ordered our food and it was brought out to us in such a timely manner that it completely took us by surprise. we will be back again soon!

great atmosphere, amazing flavours! always busy and always up to standard. perfect curries!

i'd love more parking but that's a pipe dream haha...

came in with a friend last night! drinks were really delicious! however found the food slightly disappointing. had the thai noodles vegetarian option - was expecting tofu as a replacement for the meat but found it to be mainly noodles with a few vegetables. taste was also really different to what i had expected. would definitely come back for drinks and to test out one of the curry options. really lively, fun atmosphere!

we had seen monsoon poon at beervana, where they served delicious food. we then saw an advertisement for unlimited fire cracker chicken.
we've been there in 2014, with a couple of friends.
the chicken itself was good, but it was way too spicy, absolutely ridiculous. i am used to spicy food, but this was 100 times over the top. one of my friends was sweating like he had run a marathon.
the entire next day i felt sick.

we only had one extra plate, so not really profited that it was unlimited.

i understand that you don't want people to order too many plates in an unlimited offer, and/or make it more salty, but this was just disgusting.

went on tuesday, 9 june 2015. group of 8 people. rang up with 5 mins notice asking if they could squeeze the group in. not a problem. arrived and were seated straight away. the place was humming with diners, so surprised we got a table given how busy they were. various dishes ordered. i had the chicken fire (or whatever it was called - you can also get this dish as an entree slider!! go for it i reckon!!). it was explained that it was a hot dish and was i ok with that. yes i said. well it was hot and fantastic. had it with brilliant roti and rice. others had a variety of dishes and not one complaint. highly recommended. one negative, which is really not a negative but a gripe with some restaurants, don't charge 4 or 5 dollars for plain rice. it's overpriced for what you are offering and most people would rather you increased you price by a couple of bucks on each main to cover the rice. anyhow, minor issue and would definitely go again.