[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

[Melbourne 2022] Diner on Franklin (Korean Kitchen)

I was staying nearby, and this place is just 5 minutes walk from the hotel. To read more on the hotel experience, click here. Actually, Diner on Franklin is just a few minutes walk from Queen Victoria Market. But be careful as you might walk past without realizing it. Reason being, there wasn't any signage that indicated the restaurant name.

shopfront

The system here is pretty simple. Have a look at the menu, decide what to eat and order at the counter. Pay for the meal either by card or cash, have a seat and the food will be prepared and served to you thereafter.

owners busy preparing the food

sitting by the window

The menu had limited items but one could find Korean street food like tteokbokki 떡볶이, gimbap  김밥 as well as bapsang 밥상. The rice dish came with a main such as tofu stew (spicy), kfc (korean fried chicken), beef bulgogi or stir fried pork, and accompanied by side dishes.

Contemplated for a bit and decided to try kfc, and one could choose the sauce for the chicken. Sweet chili or soy garlic.

kfc bapsang

Wow, the rice portion was like alot! I think the rice could feed 2 pax. Loved that the meal came with kimchi, salad and cauliflower.

one serving of vegetables

yummy cauliflower

eat this rice skewer (떡꼬치) before it gets cold

fried chicken

The boneless chicken was chunky and fried to a golden crisp on its exterior. The inside was juicy. But the soy was a tad sweet, so on hindsight, a spicy sauce would be better to go along with the rice. The kimchi was the type that I liked as it was mature and tangy. Helped to cut through the sweetness. The spicy sweet sauce from the tteok kochi was also good with the purple rice.

There is no wonder why I felt super duper full after this meal. Not only there was big portion of purple rice, there's the rice skewer and cauliflower and all these are really filling. One could never be hungry after this meal!

The dressing on the salad was pretty strong towards the bottom of the dish. 

fried dumpling

While I was munching on my fried mandu, I saw the other tables had fried shrimp ontop of the fried dumplings as their side dish. Why I didn't get one? =(

The small burnt cheesecake was cute and a good finale / dessert to the meal.

one bite cheesecake

First day and first meal in Melbourne, successfully completed.

Do you think I had dinner/supper that night? Here's a hint.

Diner on Franklin

Address: Shop1/245 Franklin St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diner_on_franklin/

Business Hours:

Monday: Closed

Tue - Sun: 1:30am–8pm

Tantalising and Affordable Lunch Sets from Dashi Master Marusaya @ 86 Robertson Quay

Dashi Master Marusaya, flagship restaurant of the Marusaya Group had launched their new lunch sets and I was fortunate to have the privilege for a taste. Be spoilt for choice as there's Udon Lunch Set, Dashi Shabu Lunch Set, Rice Bowl Set Lunch, Tantalising Set Lunch, Hot Toban Set Lunch and Shokado Bento Box.

Opens from 12pm to 2.30pm for lunch and from 5pm to 10.30pm for dinner. On Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays, it is open from 12pm to 10.30pm. Dashi Master Marusaya is a cosy chic 90-seater restaurant and offers a comfortable space for dining-in.

cosy interior

First things first. I'd recommend to place an order for the Shokado Bento Box as it is only available in limited quantity daily. Ideal for us who would like to have a bit(e) of everything. Multi-course meal that includes appetiser, chawanmushi, tempura, grilled fish, meat dish, 2 kinds of sashimi, small rice bowl, small udon and dessert. Beautiful Shokado Bento, a highly satisfying and enjoyable experience.

SHOKADO BENTO 松花堂弁当

Shokado Bento Box 松花堂弁当 @$58++

Super loved the thick-cut sashimi, the luscious fatty pork that glistened, healthy grilled salmon and best of all, one also gets their famed chewy udon in lovely dashi topped with katsuoboshi plus a bowl of salmon don to satisfy most cravings.

meat dish (Shokado Bento Box)

beautiful thick-cut sashimi of salmon, maguro and a white fish (part of Shokado Bento Box)

grilled fish (Shokado Bento Box)

Tempura (Shokado Bento Box)

small salmon don (Shokado Bento Box)

small udon (Shokado Bento Box)

Shokado Bento Box offers generous portions of food, but for the lighter eaters, fret not as there are enough variety from the various lunch sets that's bound to satisfy almost everyone.

RICE BOWL SET LUNCH 丼ランチ

Tuna Belly Don Set 大トロ丼セット @$38++

For most of the lunch sets (except for the Shokado Bento), one could choose 3 sides to go along with the meal. For example, one could add-on a small dashimaki tamago, fried chicken, edamame, hijiki salad, nanbanzuke, ohitashi, california roll or matcha cake.

beautiful tuna belly

For first-timers to Dashi Master Marusaya, the must-try would be the all-time favourite Dashi Shabu Set Lunch. There's Hokkaido Pork Shabu, Beef Shabu and Wagyu Beef Shabu Set to opt from. For the all luxurious mouthfeel, go for the Wagyu Shabu set!

DASHI SHABU SET LUNCH だししゃぶランチ

Wagyu Shabu Set 和牛しゃぶしゃぶセット @$48++

choose your salt

If you like your meal sizzling hot, do try the Wagyu Toban Set from the Hot Toban Set Lunch menu, Thick-cut wagyu slices, sitting pretty ontop of the grill plate. Tender meat with a good chew, with tasty jus and laid ontop of a spoonful of fluffy rice. Yums!

HOT TOBAN SET LUNCH 熱々陶板ランチ

Wagyu Toban Set 和牛陶板ランチセット @$48++

still thinking of this

Come on down to Dashi Master Marusaya today and enjoy their new set lunch menu! Price ranges from $13++ to $58++.

Once again, thank you Jennifer and Dashi Master Marusaya for the invitation.

Dashi Master Marusaya

Address: 86 Robertson Quay, #01-01 Robertson Blue, Singapore 238245

Website: http://bitejapan.asia/marusaya/

Contact: 6732 0383 or email: info@marusaya.sg

Business Hours:

Mon-Fri: 12pm to 2.30pm, 5pm - 10.30pm

Sat-Sun: 12pm - 10.30pm

JB101 @ Science Park 2

This has opened near my workplace. Tasty food, and with the lunch set, one could get free ice-cream. I heard it's the same for dinner patrons. Nice gesture from the staff. However, it could get rather busy during peak hours (lunch), so waiting time varies between 25 to 40 minutes, especially if you order ala-carte items (non-lunch set).

The lunch items would be the usual rice with different toppings like butter/mongolian/salted egg chicken/pork, hor fun, friend noodles, fried rice, pepper beef rice etc. Having eaten there a couple of times, I'd say the food is definitely flavourful. Only grouse was that the meat portion could get rather stingy, especially when there's a crowd.

menu

Decided to dine in as a group and ordered some dishes to share. When doing zhichar and if I'd to test the quality of that restaurant, prawn paste chicken is one way to start. But then, I'm biased towards fried chicken anyways! Hehe.

prawn paste chicken (medium)

The staff would inform about the sizing of small, medium and large. Since there were 6 of us, we decided to get a medium plate of prawn paste chicken. Piping hot when arrived, deep fried till deep golden. Batter was crispy and inside well seasoned and moist. So good! Oh, don't forget to take the sambal belachan chili from the self-service counter.

For vegetables, we had the 4-Heavenly Kings which was basically a mix of four different types of greens. Here we got long beans, brinjal, ladies fingers and petai. Fried with sambal, but level of spiciness was mild.

4-Heavenly Kings (medium)

Curry Pork (medium)

The curry pork was very good. The texture of the meat was superb. So tender! The spice in the curry was likeable. Goes well with white rice. We had another fried item and that was the salted egg squid. After having this, I think JB101 does very good deep fried items. The squid was tender with a amiable chew. The taste of the salted egg wasn't that strong.

Salted Egg Squid (medium)

And then, there was that runaway dish that came too late. When we are at the end of our meal, it arrived. Would have preferred if there were more egg in it. Sauce was nice but we had already finished our rice.

hotplate tofu

Price is reasonable and food was good. Service was friendly too. Yes, and free ice-cream after meal, for now.

Famous JB101

Address: 45 Science Park Road, Sparkle #01-03/04
Website: https://famousjb101.com/
Business Hours:
Mon – Fri: 8am-11pm
Sat, Sun, PH: 11am-11pm

The Wine Company @ Dempsey

Has been to The Wine Company multiple times but mostly at night and at the alfresco area. Was recently invited for a lunch get-together session with a cosy group of wine aficionados. We were early a few minutes early, and the place opens at 12 noon.

business hours

The indoor dining area was comfortably cosy, and on a weekend, only one service staff was in-store.

no one's here yet

bar counter

Since we were early, it felt like we had the whole restaurant for ourselves. How cool was that! Hahaa. Well, at least for that half hour or so, we enjoyed our privilege.

menu

The design of the menu was somewhat disjointed from the vibe that this place was giving. Nevertheless, never judge a book by its cover!

I had the honour (or stress) of choosing the first bottle. Let's start with something light so naturally, that'll be a white. Since there are three ladies in the group, I'd go with something semi-sweet. So, ended up with a Steigelmann Gimmeldinger Meerspinne Riesling Kabinett Halb-tr 2014.

Steigelmann Riesling Kabinett 2014 @$55.90

It was fruity, and tasted of apples, peaches and honey. Very likeable and thank goodness the rest enjoyed this too.

Ordered some finger food to share while we enjoyed the conversations and the flow of the Riesling. The light bites included seared tuna which was rather good with the generously coated pepper at its sides. The pork belly and squid were well fried and oily food, tasted better with wine.

Pepper Seared Tuna @$9.90

salt & pepper squid @$9.90

deep fried crispy pork belly @$7.90

Also ordered the nam yee chicken wings, which was tasty but unfortunately, the drumlets came with a red center. Meaning that the drumlets were either too frozen or its thicker center actually needed a bit more time in the fryer...

nam yee chicken wings @$9.90

Next up, we also had a bottle of red. Ivan chose the Shiraz. A South African Bushmanspad Shiraz 2015. Surprisingly, the tannicity was alright, full bodied, drinkable and tasted of cherries and dark chocolate.

South African Bushmanspad Shiraz 2015 @$59.90

When foodies gathered, what did we do? We had more food! Quite amazing that we still did main courses! I think the food here is decisively fusion.

Yong Tau Foo Capellini @$8.90

Pig Trotters Bee Hoon @$6.90

The capellini may be a tad salty, but since we were having wine, it balances out rather nicely. The pig trotters bee hoon was a tad too sweet but enjoyable nonetheless. Hot food and wine, yes please.

And then, we did a charchuterie platter. Wow. Am amazed by the amount of food that we could eat (or rather, had eaten!).

Charchuterie Platter @$24.90 (half) or $34.90 (full)

The platter consisted of pickled gherkins, truffle salami, chicken liver pate, pancetta, prosciutto, cheeses; cheddar and morbier, olives, mustard, jam, dried fruits, nuts, crackers & crispy baguettes. Loved the mustard, jam, the pate, the salami and the cheeses. Yums!

Lovely friends to enjoy the good wine and food. Thank you Elle, Cindy and Ivan!