Black Coffee Lyrics

Cuisine: Tapas 

3131 Surfers Paradise Blvd Shop 41 Centre Arcade 

Surfers Paradise,QLD 4217
www.blackcoffeelyrics.com.au 

Food: 6.5/10
Service: 5/10 
Cost: Reasonable
Overall dining experience: 5.5/10

Checkout from our apartment was at 10am, so we decided not to make breakfast for our last day and indulge in some brunch. We had long ago decided upon Black Coffee Lyrics as our brunch destination due to their impressive feat of placing #1 on Urbanspoon for Gold Coast Restaurants and conveniently this month started opening for lunch during the week.

Nestled upstairs in Centre Arcade, we arrived around 10:30 to realise they weren’t open until 12pm on the Friday. Slightly disappointed we went to kill time until opening hour.

At 12 we arrived and quickly got seated outside. We started off with our much needed coffees that the restaurant personally roasts. My cappucinno ($4) was oddly bitter as there was not a strong coffee taste. Michael’s latte ($4) again did not taste of coffee but very milky. The only thing we can commend about their coffee is the well done smooth froth and coffee art.

We ordered their lunch specials tapas board - 2 medium ($25) to get some variety and a single dish as we worried the portion would be big. We chose the yellowfin tuna and pork belly for the tapas board and the Hens egg separate. We should have realised that the place specialising in tapas, the quantity would not be substantial. 

Yellowfin tuna ($19) – Mooloolaba yellowfin tuna marinated in house –soy miran dressing with white miso eggplant puree, crab meat, daikon, shiso, spring onions and bonito flakes 

The tuna was very fresh with a sweet puree and texturised 'salad' mixture on the top adding a delicate touch. Although, I myself felt that the combination was to good proportion, Michael felt the puree sauce was too overpowering that it detracted from the fresh fish; to each their own. 

Pork belly ($16) – 5  hour slow cooked pork belly served with house made kimchi, seared scallop on a pear chutney and pear reduction

What tastes like glorified chinese pork belly, the skin was crisp and meat tender. Served on top of a bed of kimchi and broadbeans, the 'kimchi' was just pickled cabbage. It did not have the red punch of colour nor flavourful spices that usually associated with the term 'kimchi'.  The scallop on the side (apologies the scallop was not photographed at this angle) was nicely seared and sweet. The dash of sauce too salty and overpowering on its own but coupled with the pork belly it creates a harmonious touch.

Hens egg  ($15)– 1 hour slow cooked free range egg, on a wild rice cake, pickled bamboo, daikon and shitake mushrooms with miso glaze and sprinkled herbs (or with tempe) 

We decided to try this dish as we wondered how a '1 hour slow cooked' egg was different to the typical methods of cooking an egg. Much to our disappoint, the egg was just like a very runny poached egg. And as Michael and I both come from an Asian household, the ingredients in this dish did not impress. The bamboo shoots likely came from a can purchased from an Asian grocer, the shitake mushroom was very salty and rice ball had no flavour. When attempted in eating all the elements together the mixture of flavours was an improvement and the mint and parsley added a nice touch. 

Overall  

It is hard to tell if the place is a coffee shop, restaurant or bar. We were disappointed that their menu was not what we had expected (fault in our part due to lack of research) as we expected typical brunch plates such as eggs benedict and so forth. I believe the weekend would be different as they do have their own separate breakfast menu however I will not be ordering coffee there again. 

It seems this would be a better place for dinner or drinks rather than lunch as they have a large assortment of beer, wine and cocktails and the interior decoration makes you feel you have been whisked away to a Melbourne laneway; very chill and relaxed.