[Tasting] Drinks&Co. Grill & Cocktails @ Chijmes

Was invited for a tasting at Drinks&Co Grill & Cocktails at Chijmes and it was such a long time since I last visited that place.

Was a tad worried if the restaurant would be difficult to locate as I've gotten lost in Chijmes years ago (hehe JC would attest to that!). Found out that such worry is unfounded as it was pretty easy to spot Drinks&Co. Grill & Cocktails restaurant.

Drinks&Co Grill & Cocktails

menu

let's try some new items!

HH, yes pls!

alfresco dining

One could enjoy an ice cold beer sitting at the alfresco area and people watch, but with such a humid weather, we enquired if there is indoor dining. 

The staff that we met, Deepa, was lovely and walked with us towards the indoor area. Personally, I think it might be challenging for first-time guest to this location to spot the entrance to the indoor section.

indoor dining

can you feel the vibe

watch the Chefs at the open kitchen

If you would like to dine in private, they do have a beautiful private dining room that one can reserve. Take note of the minimum spending requirements and best to enquire from the staff prior to visit.

private dining room

drinks menu

may I have a slice of lemon in my water?

Cocktails

Singapore Sling

Head on to the bar, if you would like to watch Mike perform his mix for the Singapore Sling~

Mike at the bar

D&C Singapore Sling Premium Set @$29/$26

gems biscuit with the drink

pretty in pink

It has been many years since I last tasted a Singapore Sling. Once upon a time, the choice for cocktails were Singapore Sling, Long Island Iced Tea, Kir Royale...those were the days.

Likewise, plenty of choices available at Drinks&Co. The frozen margarita melted a tad too quickly, probably due to the recent rise in temperature.

Classic Mojito @$24/$20

Pina Colada @$23/$20

Margarita Frozen (passionfruit) @$26/$22

Tapas

D&C Signature Salt & Pepper Squid

D&C Signature Salt & Pepper Squid @$22/$20 (Reg/Mem)

Miso Iberico Pork 250g

Miso Iberico Pork 250g @$34/$32 (Reg/Mem)

closer view of miso iberico pork

Authentic Char Grilled Satay

Authentic Char Grilled Satay (mixed) @$36/32

Fillet Mignon Steaklet

Fillet Mignon Steaklet @$35/$30

Grilled Tacos (2 pcs)

Grilled Tacos (2 pcs - pork) @$20/$18

My favourite dish from the Tapas menu, was the Miso Iberico Pork. Loved the bird eye chili and the pink pickled onions. Yummy combination with well grilled tender pork. Seasoning was on point for this plate.

The salt and pepper squid was sort of a go-to dish for drinks, and loved that it has a bed of greens underneath all the tender squid.

Steaklet of New Zealand tenderloin looked good and was served with garlic butter and garlic confit. The garlic butter tasted a tad too strong for me. There was an interesting 'bulb/sphere' like ingredient on the dish, and it turned out to be aji peppers in red and orangy-amber colour. Not spicy.

Asian Delights

Chilli Crab Dip with Mantou

Chilli Crab Dip with Mantou @$25/$22

The 6 mantous (fried buns) were not enough as the Chili Crab Dip came aplenty. Maybe double the bun size or double the buns? Someone from the group shared that the dip tasted good with the ketupat from the satay dish!

Mains

28 Days Aged Australian Wagyu Ribeye

28 Days Aged Australian Wagyu Ribeye @$99/$94

MB 4/5 ribeye

The meat was of a good ratio of lean and fats, and the flavours were good and not too intense. The roasted potatoes were so good. I didn't get to try the purple salt though.

Pan Seared North Atlantic Halibut

Pan Seared North Atlantic Halibut @$38/$35

Enjoyed the pan-seared halibut for its smooth, buttery texture. 

Sharing Platters (for 3 to 4 pax)

Seafood Platter

Seafood Platter @$155/$145

The seafood platter has grilled king prawns, seared scallops, halibut fish and padron peppers. By now, I noticed that confit garlic has made its appearance in quite a number of dishes served.

It was interesting to see large pieces of padron peppers on the platter. Taste-wise, pretty much like capsicum. King prawns were meaty.

Pizza & Pasta

Truffle Forest Mushroom Pizza

Truffle Forest Mushroom Pizza @$30/$27

Pizza served hot, and yes, the cheese pull game was strong for this one. The sour cream was a surprise contrast to the taste buds. Loved the juicy mushrooms.

Japanese Scallops Aglio Olio Picante 

Japanese Scallops Aglio Olio Picante @$40/$36

Pasta cooked al-dente with generous portions of well-grilled scallops. Adequate seasoning and yes to chili in the pasta.

Dessert

Strawberry Tiramisu @$22/$20

Passionfruit Panna Cotta @$20/$18

Burnt Cheesecake @$22/$20

There is a Dessert Platter (any 2) for $35. The Strawberry Tiramisu (no coffee, no alcohol) was interesting. Soft, fluffy and sweet milky. Strawberry had a tinge of tangy.

I had a bite of Burnt Cheesecake after the Panna Cotta and boy, that brought the savoury-ness of the cheesecake to the fore. I liked cheesecake and wished it could be a larger piece.

cheesecake, buttercrumbs, berry compote

Thank you Kris for the invite and Amanda, Drinks&Co. for hosting the dinner. Special thanks to Chef, and staff whom attended to our table that night.

Drinks&Co. Grill & Cocktails

Address: 30 Victoria St, #01-21/22 CHIJMES, Singapore 187996

Website: https://drinksandco.asia/

Contact: 9619 4568

Business Hours: 

Mon-Thu: 12–11 pm

Fri-Sun: 12 pm–12 am

[Travel Tasmania] Mudbar Restaurant @ Seaport Launceston

We were staying for 2 nights at Peppers Seaport which is located at the waterfront and Mudbar is the affiliated restaurant with the hotel as we could also find Mudbar's QR code in our hotel room.

I was curious about the place and suggested to the group to drop by for some late lunch snacks. The restaurant offers a casual-classy vibe. Service staff who spotted us at the door, gave a brief greeting and ushered us to the table.

Menu was offered and we took some time to peruse and decide on what we wanted. 

food menu

Mudbar serves modern Australian cuisine and from its menu, there's plenty of dishes with strong Asian influences.

This was also one of those places where one is asked whether we prefers sparkling or still water. Back home, the most memorable was when we racked up SGD39 on bottled sparkling water in one of the Italian restaurant...

let's try

nice glassware

Me? It was the perfect time for a beer/cider and my drinking buddy, Ivan (and occasionally Tracy/Shermaine) concurred. Hahaa!

refreshing~

For light snacks, we tried the chicken wings and fat chips. Savoury is always a good choice for alcoholic drinks. I enjoyed both the sticky soy wings and the hot piping fat chips. Yums!

Sticky Soy Chicken Wings @AUD18

Fat Chips with garlic aioli @AUD12

Presentation for the chicken wings was lovely with the cute sprinkling of black and white sesame, plus the spring onions. Wings were smallish, but so so tasty!

Hence and Tracy ordered a slice of cake, so I had a bite of it.

Lemon Cake served with cream @AUD9.50

Mudbar Restaurant

Address: 28 Seaport Blvd, Launceston TAS 7250, Australia

Website: https://www.mudbar.com.au/

Business Hours:

Daily: 11:30 am–12 am

[Jeju] Sightseeing at Cheonjeyeon Falls (천제연폭포) and Lunch at The Cliff @ Seogwipo

After a hearty breakfast at Jeju Osung, we went on a mini adventure to see the Cheonjeyeon Waterfall (천지연폭포). Here are some photos to share:

Cheonjeyeon Fall #1 (Pond)

accessible via these steps

I could only make it to one of the 3 nearby falls. Weather was gloomy and it was slightly drizzling while we were in there. The steps are made of rocks so it was uneven and slightly slippery, especially when there's moss and leaves.

on the way to Fall #2

drinking water, in case thirsty

Cheonjeyeon Falls 천제연폭포

Address: 132, Cheonjeyeon-ro, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do

Website: https://www.visitjeju.net/en/detail/view?contentsid=CNTS_000000000019331

Seonimgyo Bridge

Then, off to The Cliff for some drinks and maybe a light lunch. It was just 10 minutes away from where we were.

let's go inside

chillax vibes

beach bar vibes

It's a self-service system at The Cliff. Order from the counter, pay and you'll get a buzzer to inform when food/drinks are ready.

splurging on drinks and bar food

Went over to the bar to see how the drinks are being made and tried to ask about the liquor used. However, language barrier was apparent as the bar tend tried to explain but I just couldn't catch what they were saying. I think they thought I was asking if there's alcohol in the drinks and obviously, they said yes. 

pretty drinks

We ordered both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic version of Seakdal Beach and both the cocktail and mocktail looked identical! So we had to be extra careful when bringing the right one back to Hence.

Seakdal Beach @₩17000

But hor, cocktail and mocktail are priced the same too! Hmmm interesting, yes?

We decided to order just 2 items for lunch since everyone was still pretty full from the heavy breakfast. Sausage and fries, and it was a toss between pizza or pasta. So glad we went for pasta as the anchovy pasta turned out to be amazing!

Long sausage and truffle fries @₩26000

Black Pork and Anchovy Pasta @₩22000

Why did the pasta tasted so good? One could not really taste the black pork but the saltiness from the anchovies and garlic was so so addictive. Oily, salty and tasty!

Ping Pong @₩16000

I liked my choice of drink; Ping Pong that has a slight hint of lychee. Presumably, they were using just lychee liquer and grenadine. Sweet and refreshing. Lovely contrast to the saltiness from  the sausage and pasta.

The cocktail gave the impression that it was super light but wait for it as the buzz will come only towards the end of the drink.

The Cliff

Address: 154-17 Jungmungwangwang-ro, 특별자치도, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, South Korea

Website: https://www.instagram.com/thecliffjeju/

Contact: +82 64-738-8866

Business Hours:

Sun - Thur: 10 am–1 am

Fri - Sat: 10 am–2 am