Blissful bowls of bun
When Xyclo was in the process of closing in 2022, the owner contacted chef Sandy Chau to see if she wanted to open a new restaurant in its place. After years of cooking in the hospitality world of Hilton hotel kitchens, Chau was ready to open Monsoon. Where Xyclo concentrated on Northern Vietnamese cuisine and Asian fusion dishes. Chau, who was born and raised in Vietnam, is now cooking her mother’s recipes from Southern Vietnam at Monsoon.
During a telephone interview with her nephew and sous chef, Kevin Walsh, Chau pointed out a couple of the differences between Northern and Southern approaches to Vietnamese dishes. “In the North, the phở noodle soup, for example, the flavor is lighter than in the South,” she said. “They don’t eat it with basil or bean sprouts—if they do, it’s been modified in the United States.”
Monsoon serves bánh mì ($12), but the chef said that in Vietnam it’s not served with barbecued meat. Chau’s mother taught her how to make the sandwich with meatballs. Making bánh mì with barbecued meat was a modification designed to appeal to American diners. “We don’t use the traditional French baguette,” Walsh said. “We use a more substantial roll.” The restaurant serves four sandwich options—chicken, pork, beef, and one with cold cuts and paté. All of them include the crunch of pickled vegetables, cilantro, jalapeño and mayonnaise.
Chau was the youngest of eight children. Her mother used to sell the dishes she cooked as a street vendor. The chef started to cook with her mother when she was seven years old. “We were very poor when I was young,” she recalled. “In the morning, my mom sold porridge. At lunchtime, she served curry or sometimes phở noodle soup. Also, at night, she sold dessert.”
For dessert, her mother made sticky rice with coconut, banana and tapioca. She also made bánh tiêu, a fried, unfilled doughnut topped with sesame seeds, and a steamed rice cake. Walsh said that Monsoon’s dessert menu might include some of these recipes, but they’re still in the development stage, with the help of Chau’s daughter, Julia.
Monsoon sources many of its vegetables and herbs from local farmers’ markets, but they order the spices directly from Vietnam. Chau explained that cilantro seeds in America are roasted. The ones they import from Vietnam are dried in the sun, which adds a fresher flavor to her dishes. “The process of making them in Vietnam varies because of the climate and soil there,” Walsh said. “But importing directly from there has delivered the best outcome for our cuisine.”
The menu also includes several rice and noodle dishes. I ordered a bowl of pork vermicelli noodles, or bun ($16). Monsoon serves it with fresh herbs, bean sprouts, lettuce, cucumber, pickled vegetables, peanuts, green onions and a house made fish sauce. The iced coffee ($5) with condensed milk is strong. When the server asks if you’d like it on the sweeter side, answer with an emphatic and affirmative, “Yes, please!”
Monsoon is a family business. Chau helped her nephew get one of his first cooking jobs at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. Like his aunt, Walsh already had the exhausting experience of cooking for hundreds of people over the course of a single day at work. “When my aunt told me she was opening her own place, I was more than ready and willing to step up and take a larger role,” Walsh said. In addition to spending time in the kitchen, he helps out wherever there’s a need, from matters of accounting to customer service.
Chau loves having her nephew on staff. “He’s so kind. Everything I’ve asked for, he does right away for me,” she said.
Walsh added that Chau’s sister takes on shifts from time to time, as does one of her sisters-in-law. Said Walsh, “We thought it’d be difficult at first, seeing each other all the time, but everything’s been smooth. We’re all here with the same goal—to see the restaurant succeed.”
Monsoon, open Tues to Sun 11am–8pm. 4218 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. 510.817.4032. yelp.com/biz/monsoon-piedmont.
