For some reason, though we are committed Capitol Hill brunchers, we had not discovered what wonders Monsoon has going on in their little 19th Ave E hideaway. Behold, the Monsoon brunch menu (pdf)!

Last Tuesday night, Eric and Sophie Bahn, the chefs, invited a passel of foodie blogging folk over to try out the brunch menu. You had people like Matthew aka the rootsandgrubs guy, Angela from the Stranger -- and somehow we made the grade but not hyperlocal Monsoon-lovers CHS. (In your face, CHS! we say with love.) You had your dim sum (shrimp dumplings, pork shui mai, pan-fried daikon cakes, steamed BBQ pork buns), your traditional Vietnamese dishes (oxtail pho), your colonial fusions (braised Berkshire pork, fried eggs, brioche French toast), desserts (banana cake with coconut sauce, lychee ice cream), and drinks (mimosas, Victrola coffee). You had your eyes rolling back in heads.

Now, probably, at the regular brunch the chefs don't sit down with you and give a little précis on each dish's provenance and how you might best to enjoy it. We should make that clear. But once the food hits your tongue, data points are the last thing on your mind. Our favorites were steamed BBQ pork buns (dipped in the exact kind of spiced fish sauce we want to pass out and drown in, if we're to pass out and drown in fish sauce), the oxtail pho with wagyu beef (reduced down to a fat-shimmery, umami-laden broth that makes other phos taste like leftover dishwater), and the bahn xeo (see photo), a delightfully greasy rice milk crepe with shrimp and pork, the heavy fat of which is nicely balanced by wrapping a smidge of it in lettuce.

One of the crosses MvB bears almost without daily complaint is a shellfish allergy, so luckily Audrey was on hand to fill up on shrimp and prawn and any other shelled beasties. We mention this because it may also be the reason why -- other than his Irish Catholic mum -- this was MvB's first real brush with dim sum and the pure poetry of the steamed BBQ pork bun.

Okay, he did also hold a knife to Eric's throat and demand more pork belly, but that obviously wasn't a reasoned decision, just a gut impulse in the truest sense. "Whoa --" said Eric, walking by a few seconds later, "you hoovered that right up!" You can really taste the Berkshire. It should be mentioned that this was no mere pork belly -- this was pork belly care of the Wooly Pigs, the kobe beef of the pork world, and the hot new gourmet schweinfleisch. If you want to taste it on a baguette, stop in at the Baguette Box and try the sandwiched version.

The dim sum baskets have 2-3 pieces usually and run $4.50 per. Most of the main dishes run around $8. Sides and desserts, $4-ish, $6, respectively. Your mimosa is $6.50.