On Monday morning MS and I went into town to grab some breakfast but unfortunately the place that we were heading to (Mr Wolf formerly Ever After) hadn’t quite re-opened yet.  This was much to our dismay after reading that Monday was the day that this was to happen.  So off we trotted down Lake Street in search of somewhere else.  We walked past the Gingerbread House (that place doesn’t excite me), we thought about Caffiend (went there a couple of days before), we ummed and ahhed about Rehab (just didn’t feel like it) and then we ended up around the corner at Bang Espresso.  Before we met on that fateful night, MS was a frequent breakfast diner at Bang until one day when he wandered in for his usual omelette only to find that they had changed the menu and were not serving proper food between this time and that time… Blah blah blah I stopped listening.  Anyway ever since that day (about 4 months ago) MS has staged a silent protest and not even gone there for a cup of coffee.  That was until I said that I wanted to go there on Monday.

So we strolled into Bang on a very busy Monday morning.  There was a few business types discussing businessy type stuff over their laptops, the ubiquitous male and female couple that always leaves me wondering if they are just friends or something more and then there is everyone else.  We stood at the counter for what seemed like forever while MS deliberated over just what to order, long after I had decided on the Mexy Eggs (AU$12.90).  More on that one in a minute.  I think he actually deliberated for so long because he was hoping that I would change my mind and decide to go somewhere else.  Poor little lamb did have quite the chip on his shoulder about the whole affair but eventually he did find something to order.  He ordered the Fry Up which consisted of Two Eggs, Bacon and Fried Tomato which he swapped for the Mushrooms.  As I already said I ordered the Mexy Eggs for AU$12.90 (Chilli Eggs, Guacamole, Sour Cream and Salsa on Turkish Bread) which isn’t on the paper menu but on the wall behind the counter.  When I ordered it the waitress turned to whom I can only assume was the Cook and said “Your first Mexy Eggs”.  I wasn’t quite sure if she meant that it was his first of the day or his first one ever.  Was I the guinea pig in this whole situation?  I figured that being the first person could only be a good thing because the Cook would want to make the first one the best to ensure it’s longevity on the special’s board behind the counter.  If it sucks then I assume that the Mexy Eggs won’t be hanging around for long.

We took a seat at the long bench-like table at the back of the cafe since there were no other available seats, it was that busy.  I didn’t particularly want to sit at the long table because that means that other people are sitting there too and I have already gone through my hesitance to share things.  Apparently it doesn’t just stop with my food.  Sure enough not long after we sat down, three more people came and sat directly in front of us, rather than the other end which was as far as I could see void of all life.  Ah, never mind.  While we were reading Monday’s edition of The Cairns Post MS pointed out that there seemed to be a lot of staff doing pretty much nothing and just standing around watching the one on the coffee machine.  Meh.  As long as our coffee and food arrived in ample time I didn’t really care.  Our coffees did arrive in ample time and our food not long after.

My Skinny Cap

The cappuccinos were good, not too hot, not too cold.  Not much more I can say really because I’ll readily admit that I am no coffee expert but they do make great coffee at Bang I’ll give them that.  MS ordered his eggs poached and they were a little overcooked (no runny eggs *sad face*).  It was a pretty decent sized serving with two pieces of buttered toast on the side and a big mound of mushrooms in place of the Fried Tomato.  They certainly aren’t stingy with their breakfast sizes at Bang and for the price (AU$13 ish) I think his was good value.

Fry Up – Two Eggs, Bacon and Fried Tomato (swapped for Mushrooms) AU$12.90

My Mexy Eggs looked a lot like Bruschetta Bread with scrambled eggs on top and to be honest tasted a lot like it.  It didn’t really look, feel or taste anything like what I would want for breakfast (if anyone has had the Egg’s Benedict at Tosca’s they might have an idea of what I am talking about).  Although I did nearly eat the lot I would have preferred to have more eggs with it next time since there really didn’t seem to be a whole lot.  Like I said the Mexy Eggs was more like a Bruschetta Bread with a bit of egg in it and a sh*tload of something spicy.  The bread definitely needed to be a little more toasted because it pretty much wasn’t at all.  Unfortunately for me my Mexy Eggs was smothered in parsley.  It’s not that I don’t like parsley because I always ask for tabouli at the Kebab Shop but I just think it’s a little overpowering for some dishes and would prefer to be informed if it is such a big part of my meal.

Mexy Eggs – Chilli Eggs, Guacamole, Sour Cream and Salsa on Turkish Bread (AU$12.90)

So, I can’t say that our Monday breakfast adventure was particularly bad just a little disappointing.  I also used eat breakfast at Bang a few months ago before they decided to change their menu and I have to agree with MS when he stresses that they used to have such a good menu and then they canned it for a standard/everyday/boring menu.  Yeah, ok there is one uncommon breakfast dish on the wall behind the counter (Mexy Eggs) but nothing that really floats my boat.  I can make a Bacon and Mushroom omelette at home.  It’s disappointing because now for me (us) there are just so many other better places to go for breakfast (cue Rehab, Caffiend, Mr Wolf and my old favourite Perotta’s) when Bang was once one of them.  The one thing that I can say is that Bang does keep their prices low.  Everything on their breakfast menu, bar one item, is below the $15 mark, something I find refreshing considering the ridiculous price that some places in town are charging for breakfast these days.  When we went out for breakfast last week the place we dined at (*cough* Caffiend *cough*) was charging $22 for one of their breakfast dishes!  Absurd!  Keeping their prices low is obviously working for the crew at Bang.  Myself?  Well I kind of prefer a little more choice than the standard breakfast fare otherwise I’d dine at Coffee Club.

Bang Espresso

Shop 8, The Bolands Centre 14 Spence St, Cairns QLD 4870

Ph: (07) 4051 7770

Opening Hours: Mon – Fri 6.30am – 4.30pm, Sat 7am – 3pm

Website: www.bangespresso.com.au