When word leaked a few months back that the owners of uber popular Fortitude Valley restaurant LONgTIME were opening a second venture on the Gold Coast, the beach city began buzzing with anticipation.

Since opening on New Year’s Day, the Asian-fusion venue at Burleigh Heads has become one of the hottest new spots on the Coast. And it’s no wonder looking at the view.

Rick Shores slips into the stunning oceanfront address of Goodwin Tce beneath Oskars on Burleigh, where bi-fold doors open wide to make the waves feel like they could almost lap at your feet.

To emphasise the spectacular vista the fitout has been paired back and kept quite minimal with polished concrete floors, white walls and simple timber chairs, plus rows of banquet seating. There’s also a bar area where punters can enjoy a drink and snack or wait while a table becomes available — and beware, you could be waiting a while at dinner with crowds eagerly queuing for up to an hour.

We had no such trouble during our Saturday lunch visit, however, being almost immediately directed by the friendly and charming maitre’d to a table with prime water views.

Like LONgTIME, the menu created by executive chef and co-owner Ben Bertei and executed by head chef Jake Pregnell is mostly Thai based, with influences from Japan, Korea and Vietnam. The lunch menu is substantially shorter than the dinner offering, however, there is more than enough to entice with the likes of egg net salad with pork belly and cuttlefish, barbecue roasted duck bao and kingfish sashimi.

Our helpful, informative waiter recommended we choose two bar snacks, two “big” meals and a side, which would be delivered as they were ready.

First to arrive was the miso eggplant taco ($4.50). Sitting on a bed of finely shredded lettuce was a deep-fried wonton wrapper in the shape of a tiny taco filled with soft, sticky cubes of eggplant dotted with mayonnaise. It was a mini flavour bomb — vibrant and explosive.

Next came Rick’s fried bug roll — a sweet, light bread roll about the size of a dinner roll packed with tempura-battered bug meat, lettuce and a humming chilli mayo. At $11, there’s sure to be a few people scoff at its diminutive nature, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in quality and flavour.

More than generously portioned, however, is the soft shell crab ($21). The sweet, fried seafood contrasts beautifully against pickled julienned papaya, while a smattering of kim chi adds a touch of fire only to be put out by slices of fresh apple and creamy kewpie.

Korean rice noodles ($14) arrive as fat, glutinous cylinders with drips of coconut cheese sauce and sriracha. It’s an interesting textural experience that won’t be for everyone but are great when dipped in the yellow king prawn curry ($34). The balance of sweet, salty and sour in the mild coconut curry was exceptional, while the seafood was tender and fresh.

It was also a great match to my Yarra Valley Save our Soul rosé from the international wine list, which is smartly tailored to the food, while featuring a number of harder to find varieties to keep grape buffs interested.

At dinner time desserts include Bangkok chocolate balls with beetroot gel, white chocolate ice cream and pistachio praline or whipped grapevine ash chevre with avocado mousse and candied walnut crumbs. But for lunch the option is restricted to the tongue-in-cheek named Rickflurries ($9), a vanilla soft serve with your choice of toppings based on the popular fast food chain dessert.

Our combo of salted caramel popcorn and peanut brittle pieces atop vanilla bean-flecked housemate soft serve was a simple sweet treat that will surely appeal to the restaurant’s younger diners.

Bertei’s creative and playful approach to Asian cuisine is unlike anything on the Gold Coast and, it’s this ability to think outside the square, combined with knowledgeable waitstaff and an unbeatable view that means Rick Shores is already living up to the hype and then some.

Originally published on couriermail.com.au