Monsoon in Babylon: Sneak preview

Architecture, design and high-tech entertainment make the immediate impressions at Monsoon Asian Kitchen and Lounge. You can't miss the place.

More important, you shouldn't.

Resisting the discipline required to give a restaurant a few weeks before visiting, I just went in.

And the look of this converted Bank of Babylon building is, of course, dramatic. Even more than that the owners' other big-bank job, Tellers Chophouse in Islip.

But the real show at Monsoon is on the plate, a creative pan-Asian adventure courtesy of executive chef Michael Wilson. The lively menu was fashioned by Wilson,  former Bohlsen Restaurant Group corporate chef Cornelius Gallagher, and the Bohlsen family. (Gallagher has since left the company.)

Nibble on kung pao monkfish and you'll find a concept transformed. Sip a smooth Babylon Express and take a class in mixology.

Monsoon is the newest from the Bohlsen Restaurant Group, which in addition to Tellers and Monsoon operates Prime in Huntington, and H2O in Smithtown.

It's going to be fun.

Monsoon Asian Kitchen and Lounge, 48 Deer Park Ave., Babylon; 631-587-4400.

Photo: The bar at Monsoon.