When I first briskly walked past this place at the beginning of the year, I initially thought the name of this restaurant was “Monsoon”. It seemed a bit odd that they would use the same name as an Indian restaurant also in North Adelaide. After a bit of research, I discovered they were “Moonsoon”, a fusion restaurant that combines both Vietnamese and Thai cuisines. The menu is predominantly Vietnamese with a handful of Thai offerings.

I walked past this place a further 6 times while dining at other nearby restaurants, and I always noticed this place was empty. There could be all sorts of reasons for an empty restaurant, but in my mind, I thought the food possibly wasn’t good. The Vietnamese dishes on offer are also what I grew up eating, and if it wasn’t like how Mum used to make it, it just wasn’t going to be right.

The place itself is beautifully decorated. I loved the patterned wallpaper on the main walls and the low hanging light fittings. The use of black is quite prominent, but it’s done without making the space feel too enclosed. The black leather seating is quite comfortable and the black table cloths add a touch of class. For me, this place has style and sophistication.

We ordered two entrees to share and a main for each of us. The presentation for each of the dishes was simply outstanding and is consistent with the decor of this place.

There were 3 skewers in the serving of Chicken Satay. The chicken was well marinated and the meat was tender and succulent. The chicken was lightly fried to an nice golden brown and then topped with satay sauce and crushed peanuts. The satay sauce had a thick consistency, however it could have done with more salt. Mum usually uses crunchy peanut butter and that seems to do the trick.

The other entree was the Beef wrapped in Betel Leaves. The beef is initially fried with garlic, onions, peanuts and shallots before being wrapped in the betel leaf. The beef was lean and well marinated and the meat was nice and juicy. The use of the betel leaf was similar to wrapping something in spinach, and it was quite firm in holding all the filling together. The traditional dipping sauce was well made and it gave the dish more balance.

The mains came out 10 minutes after we finished our entrees. The dish that I ordered was the Roast Duck Red Curry. I also ordered a side serving of steamed rice which was quite small when compared to the main. The dish itself was beautifully presented. It was bright and colourful, and the serving size was considerably generous. On top of the red curry was tender and succulent morsels of roast duck breast fillet. The duck was perfectly cooked and you could taste the rich flavours coming from the roasted skin. The curry itself was also fantastic and it was unique because had grilled eggplant and lychee. The eggplant really didn’t have much of an impact on the dish, however the lychee added a wonderful natural sweetness which complimented the mild curry sauce well. The vegetables were fresh, crisp and perfectly cooked. It had an all star cast of capsicum, carrot, coriander, green beans and bamboo shoots. This was an amazing dish and all the ingredients worked really well together.

My friend had the Crispy Soft Shell Crab. The crab was fried in shallots and spices and then served with a watermelon and ponzu dressing. I was told the dish was good, however, a little too spicy for her liking.

The staff were friendly and the service was very good. Drinks were constantly refilled, our entree plates were replaced and dishes were cleared as we finished. We did notice they interrupted us during mid conversation several times, so if anything, they were a little too attentive. The atmosphere was relaxed, although the pleasant surroundings and easy listening background music had a lot to do with it. The restaurant is also currently having a 20% off the total bill special, which was a deciding factor in dining here. Both my entree and main ended up costing me $28 which ended up being quite reasonable. I probably wouldn’t order the satay chicken again, but I would definitely come back for the Roast Duck Red Curry.

Verdict: I came here with low expectations and left pleasantly surprised.

WHERE: 143 O’Connell St, North Adelaide