Fall is around the corner! If you’re a fan of abalone, sea urchin and general crisp sea air, maybe its time to visit to the volcanic holiday island of Jeju. Reviews of the best places in Jeju are mostly in Korean; thanks to our friend Alex who did extensive research on local forums and drove us to all the below hotspots we were in for an authentic experience. Hong Kong Express & Dragonair both fly direct from HK, but only on certain days of the week. We flew through Seoul, but this involves a transfer from Incheon to Gimpo airport which is quite time consuming. Best resorts on the island are The Shilla Jeju (pick the Garden View > Mountain View), Lotte Hotel Jeju, Hyatt Regency which are all in Seogwipo.

For maximum relaxation, pick a full service resort (absolutely loved Shilla for its great food, gardens and indoor/outdoor pools) to kick back for 1-2 days, then spend another 1-2 days exploring the natural sites or maybe play some golf. The top destinations are quite spread out and there are strict speed limits of 50-70km/h so don’t be too ambitious with your timetable and just take it slow!

Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak) dormant volcano – this is a 40min hike up and down, great view and would suggest to go in the morning followed by lunch at the nearby fish stew place I recommend below. You can even join the Women Diver Show to watch them go out to sea and catch abalone (a dying industry) or do some horseback riding.

Manjanggul Cave – Jeju is famous for its lava tubes. These volcanic tunnels are substantially less commercial than the caves in Guilin. But it does get dark inside, so would not suggest going with young children or if you have poor night vision at it gets quite slippery.

O’Sulloc Tea Museum & Innisfree Jeju House – My favourite place in Jeju! This place is starting to get popular… the tour buses start arriving at 11am-12pm, would suggest to get there in the morning to avoid the crowd. Amorepacific has its own green tea farms, visit the Osulloc tea museum but have your main lunch at Innisfree Garden Cafe then come back to Osulloc for green tea ice-cream or roll cake dessert. Both Innisfree and Osulloc sell exclusive Jeju items here, I love the Osulloc Green Tea face mask for a mid-week pick up.

Other activities that are popular… Scaling the highest mountain in Korea Mt Hallasan which is a full day hike, Cheonjeyeon Waterfall, day trip to U-do Island (famous for white sand beaches and peanut farms). If travelling with family, be sure not to miss Hello Kitty Island, Teddy Bear Museum, Chocolate Museum, Ripley Believe It or Not Museum, Jeju Glass Museum, Jeju Folk Village, Jeju Waterworld. We bought tickets to watch a percussion comedy show Nanta which is also available in Seoul (similar to Stomp/Blue Man Group).

I would definitely go again just for the food! Wish I brought home more of Jeju’s famous tangerines (dried, candy, cakes…) and citrus tea. Peanut flavoured snacks from U-do are also popular.

Seafood hotpot & crispy rice (제주두루치기)
My favourite meal all trip! They have a standardized set based on table size, and you will be served with an incredible platter of fresh abalone, crab, mussels and squid in a rich spicy broth. At the end of your hotpot let them know how many bowls of rice you are still up for eating (1 bowl for 2 pax probably sufficient), and they will proceed to make some mindblowing crispy seaweed rice with the leftover broth (think Korean paella). We also added some bulgogi to share, but be warned, the portions are quite large. Wash it down with some local tangerine or peanut makkoli rice wine.

Address: 제주특별자치도 서귀포시 천지동
Phone: 064-763-2272

http://blog.daum.net/chan860924/643

Black Pork Belly BBQ제주흑돈세상수라간
Jeju is famous for its black pigs and unlike the rest of Korea, its most popular form of barbeque is for pork instead of beef. We arrived at this unassuming local outfit in a residential district by 6pm and it was already starting to fill up with large groups. Its highly rated for the authentic charcoal grill, so don’t risk it by arriving too late. Pork is the star of the (limited) menu, as with the previous place just tell the staff the size of your group and they will put together a set for you accordingly. Only real option is whether you want white rice or iced/hot noodles to go with it. Noodles are actually an excellent complement to the kimchi jigae that comes with the meal.

Address: 265-1, Seohong-dong, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, South Korea
Phone: 064-762-8588

http://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=juco9075&logNo=220997424651 

Spicy Bellfish/Hairtail Stew성산포뚝배기
Hiking Seongsan Ilchulbong worked up quite an appetite, but fortunately there is an array of local seafood restaurants near the site. This particular one is famous for its preparation of the (boney) hairtail fish; we ordered a braised Hairtail (갈치조림) stew to share. Ask to sit on the outer section which has a spectacular view of the sea. We also had individual orders of abalone hotpot, abalone congee and sea urchin soup for some variety. Their banchan was exceptionally delicious and I was unashamed to ask for refills.

Address: 399-12 Seongsan-ri, Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, South Korea
Phone: +82 64-782-0303