Monroe dining gets even better

MONROE – In the last few years, Monroe has transformed itself from a quiet town with predictable restaurant fare to a city with exciting culinary choices. There’s an excellent Italian restaurant on the golf course, a superb Mexican restaurant and now, a few doors down, Monroe’s first Thai eatery.

Benjarong, which is one of four Seattle-based restaurants, opened two months ago and, according to one of my servers, it’s been busy since the first day. After my recent Saturday visit for dinner, it was obvious why. This restaurant serves dishes that are as bold as its murals of porcelain teapots.

The lunch menu offers 42 choices while the dinner menu includes 76 selections. The menu is organized by appetizers, soups, salads, rice dishes, noodle choices and house specials. There’s the standards, such as phad Thai ($8.99) and showering rama ($8.99) but the menu goes beyond the familiar with dishes such as salmon grilled with honey and served with a sauce of fresh Thai chili pepper, garlic, lime juice and fish sauce ($12.99). Many of the dishes are pictured on the menu, which makes decisions a little more difficult because they all look delicious – the seafood curry basket ($11.99), for example.

It took me a long time to decide, so I helped move my dinner forward by starting with the familiar – fresh spring rolls ($6.99). This delicious appetizer is made with vermicelli rice noodles, lettuce, thinly sliced green onions, julienne carrots, fresh basil and shrimp wrapped in a thin rice paper wrapper. It was fresh and crisp, and served with a plum sauce topped with chopped peanuts.

For my main dish, I considered one of the five house special dishes – garlic pork ribs ($12.99) but decided on that night’s special – pineapple pork rings ($12.99) as take-out for my dinner partner who was working late. For myself, I considered the sizzling seafood basket, which is a combination of seafood, celery, carrots, onions, baby corn, bean thread noodles and slices of fresh ginger served on a sizzling platter. Then, I found a rare offering: trout.

The steamed trout was served in a sour soup with Napa cabbage, basil, cilantro, mushroom quarters and cherry tomatoes. It was served in a fish-shaped platter.

Even the serving dishes are a delight at Benjarong. The fish, which came with a serving of aromatic jasmine rice, was expertly steamed. The herbs did their magic and transported the mild trout to a new level of deliciousness.

My dining companion’s pineapple pork ribs were made with a medium level of heat and a perfect blend of spice and sweetness. The marinated ribs were extremely tender and as delicious as the trout. For dessert, we split a serving of sweetened sticky rice with mango slices ($6.50). Other traditional desserts include black sticky rice and fried banana with coconut ice cream ($5.50).

If you haven’t been to Monroe lately, you might not recognize the culinary haven it’s become.

Herald restaurant reviewers accept no invitations to review, but readers’ suggestions are always welcome. Reviewers arrive unannounced, and The Herald pays their tabs.

Contact Anna Poole at features@heraldnet.com.