Monsoon Siam

First of all-​DO NOT ORDER DELIVERY!!!
It was AWFUL! It came an hour and a half later. I wasn’t honestly as angry over that as I was annoyed.
We are staying at the Lowell center. The delivery woman called and said she can’t come upstairs to the elevator. She described something about a conference room and only an elevator that had no floors on it?
After talking to her, we offered to go downstairs to meet her at the front desk. She ended up just leaving our food on a random bench, we stood there downstairs wondering where she is. After waiting a bit and asking the front desk about the bag, they said they weren’t sure if it was delivery from monsoon or not. I felt weird but checked. Sure enough– it was our food. Who does that? Who abandons someone’s delivery food on a random bench?!
The front desk at the hotel saw the whole thing, asked for the bane of this restaurant to put it on a do not recommend list for delivery. I called and there was also absokutly no resolution for any of this. I’m not asking for free food but I def wanted our tip at least refunded.
Other than this fucked up delivery service– the food was pretty good. If you want food– go there rather than waiting a really long time and getting your food left in a random area. we won’t be ordering here anymore. Food was good but there are plenty of other Thai food restaurants who make tasty food too. It’s such a shame.

This establishment needs to seriously get a legitimate plan for delivery options. The delivery system for this place is inconsistent and arbitrary. Sometimes they deliver, other times they wont, then they suggest calling Mr. Delivery. I can imagine the amount of business this place loses because of their delivery issues. Very frustrating!

PROS: Excellent entrees
CONS: Disappointing appetizers
As appetizers, the cigar rolls and nam tok were underwhelming — not worth reordering. The cigar rolls had essentially no filling — just crisply fried spring-​roll-​eqsue shells, and the nam tok was oversalted. However, the pad see ew and the tofu ball panang curry were pretty amazing, probably among the best I’ve had in a while. So the moral of the story is: Order the right dishes and the food will be awesome.

The place to go for Thai! I just had the chicken squash curry with red sauce. Amazing!!! You have your choice to do green sauce but the server recommended red and boy was she spot on. Also super friendly waitress and good, clean atmosphere. You will not be sorry coming here. And don’t forget to get the fresh rolls.

food is ok, service is terrible. Refused to separate the bill for six of us and automatically put 20% tips.

How have I not reviewed this place, yet???
This place is consistently great! Thai is my favorite food. I used to drive to Rockford if I wanted a decent Thai meal. Now, thanks to Monsoon Siam, I no longer have to make that trek.
Basil chicken (Kao Pad Ka Pow Gai) is my absolute favorite dish on the entire planet!!! It’s pretty close to the real thing that you’d get in a sidewalk café in Bangkok. Nowhere else even comes close… believe me I’ve tried. I can’t get enough of this place or this dish.
I’ve also had their Panang Curry which is also fabulous. It’s a very close second. I highly recommend this place.

I am so glad I live so close! Their green curry is the best I’ve had! Portions are great and nice atmosphere.

I came back with friends and was really impressed with the food this time. After an initial bad experience, it looks like everything is great here how.
Our group had a mix of entrees and they were all great. Some stand-​outs were the River Monster and fried green papaya. Really stunning dishes with great fresh flavors.

I’ve always been a fan of Ha Long Bay for takeout curry in the Wil-​Mar neighborhood but Monsoon Siam can definitely hold its own in a 1on1 battle.
On a Friday night for takeout, the order was ready in 10 minutes and their staff was kind and efficient in quickly saying hello and checking me out both on the phone and upon my arrival.
The chicken red curry was delicious with a pleasing amount of kick. It was pretty slow inside for a Friday night but upon reading another Unilocalers review, I wonder if folks were enjoying the beautiful outdoor seating.

We arrived with the idea of getting carry-​out but noticed they had nice outdoor seating area in the back of the building.
We were greeted right away by a smiling waitress with water in hand.
We ordered the papaya salad ($ 8), pad see ew with beef ($ 9.95), and drunken noodles with chicken ($ 9.95).
The papaya salad arrived with two warm jumbo, skewered shrimp, which is a nice addition compared to other Thai restaurants. The young green julienned papaya were crisp, however was sadly drowned in salt, and too much sauce. There was two shots of juice remaining on the plate. The portion left something to be desired as well.
The pad see ew contained the correct, pillow-​y rice noodles, generous and equal portions of Chinese broccoli, scrambled eggs, and beef. The sweet and savory soy sauce was distributed evenly among the entire dish.
The drunken noodles was done very well. It also contained, cooked to perfection wide rice noodles, and sweet and spicy sauce. It was welcoming to have perfectly balanced vegetables and chicken mixed throughout.
Our dining companions ordered the fried rice dish and really liked it. The spring rolls appeared satisfactory, appearing to have generically identical shape and texture.
I would not think twice about coming here again. Next time I’d skip the appetizers and go straight for the real stars of the show — the entrees.

This unquestionably will be my new fav go to for Thai food.
Took the fam there for late dinner. What a pleasant surprise to say the least. They close at 9:30 and we walked in after nine and they were super friendly and welcomed us with open arms!
We started with fresh rolls like cold spring rolls. They were different and delicious with carrots lettuce and mango with a peanut spread. Then Tom yum soup, thee best I’ve ever had. We all tried different entres which were delicious. Everything tasted fresh and the portions were large.
I had Thai tea with lemon, like an Arnold Palmer with more flavor, it was a real treat.
We will definatly be back in fact my daughter said since they deliver to have the food ordered next time she’s in town. I noticed they have lunch specials for 7.99. Can’t beat that.
The place is small but prices are reasonable and the place looks clean.
They have beer and wine and a large selection of nonalcoholic drinks which I really liked.
Their menu has a great selection for anyones taste buds.

I expected a lot after reading the reviews and hearing raving recommendations from close friends who share the same likings for food. And it was with great anticipation that I came here with a bunch of friends on my birthday for lunch.
The experience was meh. Not that the food wasn’t ok, I thought the food was actually pretty good. We share the lemongrass tofu, the green curry, drunken noodles, yellow curry and red curry. For most of their dishes, especially those curries, they offer custom level spiciness to suit your taste buds and adventure. We were not that brave to try the highest level of spice, but we had a 3 star for the green curry, and 2 stars for the red and yellow. I love spicy food, but that said the 3 stars was a little too spicy for me, bearable, but 2 would make it less painful to go through the entire bowl of curry I feel, just fyi ~~ But that said the curries were delicious.
I love the tofu! It was so soft on the inside. The lemongrass sauce and bok choy really enhances the taste of the tofu being light yet fragrant. I’m glad that lived up to expectations. We also tried their thai iced tea, but were not too impressed either.
So what was the problem? Service. There was only one waiter the entire time. Since it was lunch period they were busy and one person simply could not handle the crowd no matter how efficient you are. He forgot about one person’s orders and also a thai tea as well so we had to remind him. Also, we had asked for split checks, but the waiter mixed up almost the entire table’s orders. So what was written on the receipt was completely different to what we were actually charged on our cards.
It was such a mess, and overall not the best experience.

I guess this place was okay but after reading the reviews for this place I expected a lot more. My first disappointment came after reading that they had a full bar only to find out that they only served beer and wine.
My other gripe was the portion size; everything was a bit on the small side. I asked for extra rice and got a single scoop. Since I’m complaining I will also say that the restaurant felt a bit cramped. In regard to the food I thought most was just okay. We ordered the cigar rolls, tom yum, and a couple other non memorable dishes. The tom yum was good but that was the only thing that really stood out.
With so many great Thai options in the city I doubt this is one that I will be rushing to try again.

We ordered the sun dried beef as an appetizer. I got the Southern Heat and my dining partner ordered the Andaman noodles.
The sun dried beef was just okay. I didn’t love it. I was expecting an intense burst of flavor, and while flavorful, I just wasn’t impressed. The meat tasted too beefy for me and I felt that the flavoring came mostly from marinating in soy sauce. My friend liked it and said he would order it again.
My dish, the Southern Heat, had minced chicken stir fried with lemongrass and other herbs. The menu displayed 4 peppers next to it and it was SPICY! I love my dishes spicy and it was a thrilling kind of heat, but probably much too spicy for most people. The dish reminded me of the Hmong dish laab. I liked it, but found it heavy on oil. It came with some steamed bland vegetables, and the minced chicken was in a fried shell that was dripping with oil by the end. A side of rice helped the spice and oil.
My friend asked for the Andaman noodles to be made spicy. He requested it to have 3 peppers, but there was barely any spice when we ate it. Their spice scale seems to be exponential rather than linear. The Andaman noodles were a curried noodles with shrimp and shredded crab meat. I felt that the crab meat was unnecessary. The curry flavor overwhelmed any crab taste. Neither of us was a fan of this dish.
They have a full bar it seems, but the server never brought a drink list or beer list. I would also really like them to have a stronger fan since my clothes and I came away smelling like stir fry.

Monsoon Siam is the kind of place I’d like to eat lunch at regularly. If only they were in Denver. Gah!
Corey D took me here for lunch on a recent trip to Madison when I said I wanted to eat something that wasn’t too heavy and preferably vegetarian. I ended up ordering a Chef’s Special which was so, so good. It was called the Tofu Angel and came with pan-​fired marinated tofu, Bok Choy. carrots, mushrooms and scallions topped with
spicy, sweet, and sour sauce and was served on steamed wide noodle. It was the perfect portion size and cost $ 13.
We also shared a fresh roll which consists of lettuce, avocado and carrots wrapped with rice paper, and served with a peanut sauce. Also delicious.
The food comes fast, it’s fresh, and the service is nice. It’s all the things I could want in a lunch restaurant and I would definitely go back the next time I’m in Madison.

I went to Monsoon Siam with the Madison Review Crew meetup group with the intention of writing a review. Then, a day before, a member of the group writes that he can’t come, but is looking forward to hearing if it is indeed of authentic Thai quality, since he is Thai, and he cooks traditional foods here at home.
So. Is Monsoon Siam authentic Thai? Is it Thai traditional, fresh, authentic, vivid?
I have no idea! It could be authentic Serbo-​Croatian for all I know — — I have never been to Thailand — — but whatever it is, they should not change ANYTHING, because this is splendid cuisine. The presentation — — just the very looks of the meal? You will be tempted to let it sit getting cold on the plate for 45 minutes, staring at it, just because it LOOKS so gorgeous. If you were really small, or got down really low to the table, and looked at them, it would be like going to Disneyland for the first time — — it would be that colorful and fantastical.
And same with the flavors. The three dishes we got — — one was big, broad, flat, floppy noodles that were sublime delicious (with just a touch of sweetness); another was crispy squid done up luscious with smatterings of fresh herbs and veggie touches, and you just wish that the dish was big as a house, instead of just a regular portion, because you could eat it nonstop for a month; the last was minced chicken with spices in a thin flaky-​formed shell that was super hot but unlike anything else anywhere. All three dishes were electrifyingly interesting, pretty, and delicious.
And did I mention the cigar roll appetizer? No, I did not yet mention the cigar roll appetizer. It was like egg rolls, but actually FUN. The texture was the thing — — it made life more interesting and alive, just sharing one of the three cigar rolls in this appetizer. When was the last time you could say that about an egg roll?
Service was great, because these were (also) real people, enjoying themselves, and being themselves, and loving what they were doing.
(BTW: the company was great too!)

Sooo. I came here on a very empty stomach, after not eating a thing at all for the last 22 hours, I was very hungry. My roommates suggested this as soon as I got home, I was so very down from some Thai food.
We started our meal off with the Chicken Satay, that came with a cucumber relish that to me resembled almost like a vinaigrette, and as well as a peanut sauce, which I wasn’t too fond of, but my roommates loved it. We also got the Cigar Rolls as well which was almost like a spring roll, but had potato, peas, and onion in them, and came with a sweet and sour sauce… fantastic!
I ended up ordering the Kao Pad Ka Pow, a fried rice entrée (with three little chili peppers next to its name… so I was of course drawn to that.) Ka Pow had nice big strips of red bell pepper, and onions, and a few smaller bites of chili atop a bed of jasmine fried rice in a garlic spicy cause and a few basil leaves. So so good.
I ended up eating maybe a fourth of it, probably because I was scarfing down the first few bites. But I gladly have my left overs in the fridge ready for tomorrows lunch at work.
I’m giving only 4 stars because the staff was a bit off to me. One waitress had a leopard head hat on, and was on her phone constantly. But everything else was very inviting, awesome environment, kind of a cozy little place.

Ok, here’s the thing. Monsoon Siam has become my east side jam. I’m here at least once a week it seems for meetings, solo lunches, take-​out, whatever! It’s just sort of a perfect place! And the fact that they totally did the outdoors up for Halloween just makes me smile!
Recently I’ve fallen in love with anything that includes tofu. Not normally a soy fan, I have to say these folks know how to cook it, and they know how to sauce it up so it’s plate licking good! The fried tofu is insane, and the lemongrass tofu on the fist page of specials is just plain nuts. Deep fried lemon grass? Yeeeeeassss. I like that lunches come with your choice of soup or salad and a small lil spring roll. It’s a good amount of food for around seven bucks, and faster than a speeding bullet. I sat down and placed an order last week and could barely get comfy before my order was up.

Monsoon Siam is taking the Madison dining scene by storm, raining down a variety of authentic Thai treats on area diners.
My initial visit to this new East Side eatery left a favorable first impression, with its friendly service and well composed Asian cuisine made with fresh ingredients. While only open for a couple of months, the restaurant has quickly hit its stride, as the chef (Pooh Wonglaka) operated a Thai restaurant in Charlottesville, VA before moving to Madison. I’m not Thai, so I can’t speak for whether the cuisine is authentic or not, but I can state the plates I tried during my visit were well composed, masterfully marrying the flavors of the fresh ingredients in a healthy, balanced manner.
Our group of six had a 7PM reservation on a Monday evening. When we arrived, the restaurant had a handful of patrons. Within 15 minutes, an influx of Thai speaking diners flooded the restaurant to near capacity. Despite the crush of customers, our effervescent server (Kitty Ashi, the co-​owner of the Charlottesville restaurant), visited our table often, making sure none of us ever went thirsty and clearing dirty plates as our group worked our way through the menu. While there was some confusion with some drink orders, our group appreciated the option of getting separate checks. I noticed that Kitty spent the entire night conversing with all the patrons, making sure that they felt right at home during their stay.
The restaurant is relatively small, with a lot of tables densely packed together. Despite that, the it was not difficult to converse with my table mates. The open kitchen allowed us to watch our food being prepared. The restaurant also gets high marks for cleanliness.
Here are some of the highlights of the evening:
* The papaya salad and the sun-​dried beef appetizers were exceptional. The papaya salad expertly balanced the slightly tart flavor of the green papaya with the spiciness of red chili, the saltiness of the fish sauce and the bright citrus flavor of the lime juice. The curing process intensified the beefy richness of the sun-​dried beef. The meat is then deep-​fried, but there is enough moisture left in the beef to optimize the interior chewiness — exterior crunchiness quotient.
* The deep-​fried tilapia served with garlic chili sauce was another exceptional dish. Again, the kitchen nailed the texture equation, masterfully balancing the flaky interior with the well-​seasoned exterior crust. Complimenting the fish was a well-​composed sauce, perfectly melding the flavors of the garlic and chilies.
* The green curry continued on the theme of balance, masterfully layering the warmth of the curry with the aromatic Thai basil. It’s easily one of the best curries I’ve had in Madison.
* The delectable drunken noodles (wide rice noodles stir-​fried with string beans, bamboo shoots, tomatoes, basil, red peppers, and chili, in a spicy garlic sauce) were also a pleasure to eat.
Things I liked, but not loved:
* After the papaya salad set the appetizer bar extremely high, the bland vegetable spring rolls were a disappointment. While well prepared, they didn’t offer that same explosion of flavors provided by our other dishes.
* The same can be said about the Crying Tiger entrée (Marinated flank steak, pan grilled, sliced, and served with a spicy dipping sauce). After enjoying the intense Asian flavors of the sun-​dried beef, this dish paled in comparison. Since flank steak is toothsome to start with, it really needed to be thinly sliced to help combat the chewiness of this cut of beef.
* Due to the heat of the June evening we visited Monsoon Siam, the beer taps were not working, leaving us with a very limited beer selection. In the month since my visit, the restaurant now has a full liquor license and now has a comprehensive list of cocktails and wines to enhance the dining experience.
These small flaws did little to rain on our dining parade. If you are looking for well-​executed Asian cuisine using fresh ingredients, Monsoon Siam should be near the top of your list.

Love it! So glad I visited with my girls, thanks to recommendations from fellow Unilocalers!!!
Decent clean setup, with booths and tables that can cater to larger groups of 10. Surprisingly it was rather busy on a weekday! The servers and cooks seem to be Thai, so food is authentic. Service was overall attentive, but our server forgot our Thai iced tea and insisted on bringing us after we cancelled it later on.
Food:
Sun dried beef — nice marinate and great meat. Not sure I would say its as good as other Unilocalers have made it sound like but I definitely would order it again
Pad see ew — love the fat thick noodles. Sauce is a little bit sweet just like it should be!
Pad Thai — pad Thai was decent. According to my friends, it is better than sa bai thong! Quality and price.
Will be back! They also do take out, which is another option for people in a hurry