Singapore Airline SIN-SYD-SIN

tried to be nicer to my stomach and ordered the gluten free meal...
getting your food before everyone else does... yay
getting weird food... nay
rice cake... big nayyyy

thats poached (trans: tasteless) salmon sandwiched between rice cakes... errr.....

i kept getting this orange juice with every meal... i'm wondering if normal orange juice contained gluten??? anyway.. this taste scarily similar to "go-go" but with no pulp...

"go-go" for those who are wondering is this orange drink that's somehow readily available when I was younger but seem to only find in random hotels mini-bar nowadays...

fruit platter meal

someone got confused and threw a bread roll with the gluten-free meal which i have to try really hard not to take a bite off...

chargrilled pumpkin and paprika... would have been okay if i like spelt bread... but i dont...
i prefer my bread light and fluffy... (in fact, i like it too much that i develop the stupid intolerance...)

omelette and pumpkin mash

the good thing is though... i noticed i'm a lot less bloated and sluggish...
the bad thing is... i'm extremely irritable when i have to eat weird food... if you think airplane food is weird enough... try gluten-free... nyahahhaha

Singapore Airlines SQ857 & 221 Hong Kong -> Sydney

What a fun weekend. Didn't get to shop as much as I expected in HK (time wasn't permitting), but still managed to pocket me some cool bounties after dashing back and forth Tsim Sha Tsui several times.


Regrets:

1. Didn't manage to go to agnes b. le pain grille (in Causeway bay). This time, I've been to the boutique 3 times, got meself some shoes, a bag, two tees and a cardigan but how could I forgot to drop by the cafe?? As a foodie, I consider this a huuge sin.

2. For the first time in history, my luggage was UNDERWEIGHT. Yup, the airport check-in desk scale read "17.8 kg". This meant that I was 7.2 kg underweight (before they have to charge me overweight fee). How could this be!! To think that I could cram a 7.2 kg extra shopping items! I should've bought those Hogan Kerouac shoes! And some more, they're on sale! Damn!

3. Didn't get that Neil Barrett vest.

4. Didn't go to MEGU (actually, couldn't get reservations in such short notice). For those unfamiliar, MEGU is the brainchild of Nishida Hiro, a restaurateur, and first opened its doors to the world in New York City. Ever since, it has spawned lots of other locations around the world, including Hong Kong. It's a modern Japanese restaurant, think Nobu, but more hip (and just as expensive).

5. Now for the geek stuff. I went to toymart, some little otaku shops along Nathan Rd, but didn't manage to go to Sino Centre! Ooh, think of those toys, figurines and limited ed CDs waiting for me to be bought! I'm so sorry, my babies....but I'll be back...soon.

Anyway, time for some lamentable cattle-class food:


SQ857
Hong Kong (Hong Kong Int'l) -> Singapore (Changi Int'l)
Flight duration: 4 hrs

Baked vegetable fritata, chicken sausage, mushrooms and potatoes with herbs

SQ221
Singapore (Changi Int'l) -> Sydney (Kingsford Smith Int'l)
Flight duration: 7 hr 30 mins

Chinese-style braised chicken and mushrooms with rice, seasonal vegetables

Comments on the food:
You've got to give Singapore Airlines a lot of credit. In my opinion, it's one of the very, very few airlines that serve edible, okay food in cattle class (whoops, I mean, packed-like-a-sardine class. Whoops, I mean economy class. but hey, at least they still call it just 'economy class', unlike Philippine Airlines that tries to call their economy class 'fiesta class' just purrty it up a bit and to make passengers feel better and to reduce the stressful image of sitting on economy class packed like a bunch of sardines on a tin! LOL...no offense to our Filipino friends and brothers...).

What I notice about SIA is that their food seems quite fresh in the sense that it's very recently cooked before served on-board. Some airlines, I kid you not, serve 1-day-old reheated food. That's pretty risky.
And it's good that SIA still offer full meal even on short flights (most EU-based airlines have stopped serving full meals on domestic and short haul flights). And oh, one more thing - open bar. Huzzah!

One disappointing thing about SIA is that unlike Cathay Pacific, they don't serve premium ice creams on cattle class. (CX serves Haagen-Dazs). But I did get a Fauchon on my recent SIA trip to Tokyo.

Singapore Airlines SQ220 & 868 Sydney -> Hong Kong

First of all, I'm baack.

A brief trip to Hong Kong...had to attend someone's funeral on behalf of my parents because they couldn't go. Normally, I wouldn't go, but what the hey, any reason to go to HK would be nice, heehee. Mom and dad couldn't come to the funeral because they're in Frankfurt for dad's heart check-up. And this guy who passed away is apparently so, so very very important that someone from my family had to attend his funeral. Actually, it's his son that's so, so very very important. His dad was old when he died (92 years old), so it wasn't really a sad occasion.


SQ220
Sydney (Kingsford Smith Int'l) -> Singapore (Changi Int'l)
Flight duration: 7 hr 30 mins

Omelette with sausage and hash brown

SQ868
Singapore (Changi Int'l) -> Hong Kong (Hong Kong Int'l)
Flight duration: 4 hr

Braised Chicken in Teriyaki Sauce, Grilled Vegetables, Roast Duck Salad

Singapore Airlines SQ221 Singapore -> Sydney

Singapore (Changi Int'l) -> Sydney (Kingsford Smith Int'l)
Flight duration: 7 hr 30 mins



Huzzah! Spring is all a-blossom onboard Singapore Airlines with their special edition Chinese New Year menu on their Airbus A380 flights to Sydney. The menu is filled with lucky food items, and it's so uniquely kiasu-Singaporean to be auspicious even onboard the plane.

Fa cai yu sheng

To be honest, the plate was kind of too small to toss the yusheng to the air, but I did it anyway - while slightly wispering stuff like "big money! big bonus!" and "big luck! Ping on!! Fat choi, arr!!". It was simply my very first airplane lo hei (a difficult one, too, I might say, since they didn't provide chopsticks!!). Luckily, no-one sat beside me, because otherwise, it would be embarrassing! But surprisingly, I wasn't the only one doing this!!!!!

Prosperity Chicken Rice

-> Apparently, xiang-gu (Chinese black fragrant mushrooms) is one of the food that must be eaten during Chinese New Year celebration in Singapore. I wonder what's so auspicious about xiang-gu. Indonesians eat them all the time, be it new year or not.

Singapore Airlines SQ951 Jakarta -> Singapore

Jakarta (Soekarno-Hatta Int'l) -> Singapore (Changi Int'l)
Flight duration: 1 hr 35 mins

Breakfast omelette with sausages, hash brown, and creamed spinach

Singapore Airlines seem to cut costs these days. For flights outbound Jakarta, the food quality has been declining, partly because of the fact that they use lower-quality Indonesian products on their meal menu (e.g. drinks). And that omelette is definitely Indonesian eggs. I can smell inferior-quality eggs from a mile away.

Singapore Airlines SQ966 Singapore -> Jakarta

Singapore (Changi Int'l) -> Jakarta (Soekarno-Hatta Int'l)
Flight duration: 1 hr 35 mins

Chicken Picata

-> Back to boring menu of SQ9XX. Although IMHO, this look more appetizing than Cla's Lufthansa business class menu. Stingy Deutschlanders.

Singapore Airlines SQ637 Tokyo -> Singapore

Tokyo (Narita Int'l) -> Singapore (Changi Int'l)
Flight duration: 8 hrs

Zensai Moriawase

-> They could've been more generous with the ikura....

Tsumetai udon

Buta baraniku no miso ni
(Simmered pork belly in miso sauce)

-> Btw, that's a sliver of daikon covering the rice part.

Fauchon Vanilla Ice Cream

-> Mmm. Fancy. I wish I can have this on any SQ flight (instead of those stupid magnum bars)

Lufthansa

Singapore - Jakarta
Business Class

being bumped is noice... *grins*

weirdest dim sum ever.... they should just serve sausages instead.. i'd be much happier...
i was busy playing with all the buttons though..

Singapore Airlines SQ632 Bangkok -> Tokyo

Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi Int'l) -> Tokyo (Narita Int'l)
Flight time: 5 hrs 40 mins

There were 2 meal choices. Continental or Japanese. I had the Japanese one. To my recollection, the Japanese meals served at JAL or ANA were so much better. (they even served sashimi on an ANA flight from Tokyo to Sapporo).

Zensai
Cold appetizer of sweet tofu and shiitake mushrooms

Cha-soba
Green tea buckwheat noodle

Gyuniku shigure ni
Braised Japanese style beef

Senbei
Rice crackers

-> The senbei is made in Thailand! Spring for some real ones, stingy SIA! boo!

Asahi super dry beer

-> After realizing that the senbei was made in Thailand, I thought that the Asahi beer was made in Thailand, too (Asahi has a brewery in Thailand. Usually, the Asahi beers I got in Sydney are imported from Thailand, not Japan). But I was wrong. This is the real deal.

Singapore Airlines SQ632 Singapore -> Bangkok

Singapore (Changi Int'l) -> Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi Int'l)
Flight duration: 1 hr 50 mins

second out of 3 flight sectors to Tokyo. I'm seriously loving this food. Probably the best SQ food I've tasted so far.



Gang khaew gai (Thai-style green chicken curry)

Singapore Airlines SQ957 Jakarta -> Singapore

Jakarta (Soekarno Hatta Int'l) -> Singapore (Changi Int'l)
Flight duration: 1 hr 25 mins

First flight sector on a flight to Tokyo.
Hot meals on a short-haul flight. That's what I'm talking about.



Beef Lasagne & Apple Crumble Cake

Lufthansa LH778 Singapore -> Jakarta

Singapore (Changi Int'l) -> Jakarta (Soekarno-Hatta Int'l)
Flight duration: 1 hr 25 mins




Roast chicken sandwich & fruit cup



Another nice food tray (look at the different one in my previous post)...

Lufthansa LH779 Jakarta -> Singapore

Jakarta (Soekarno Hatta Int'l) -> Singapore (Changi Int'l)
Flight duration: 1 hr 25 mins

A 2-week trip to Singapore. Sick and tired of Singapore Airlines, I thought let's ride a German plane for a change. (well, that, and it's 50% cheaper to fly Lufthansa!)

Food-wise, it's clearly a WRONG decision to fly Lufthansa.
What, no hot food? blaaahhh...




Pastrami (or something that tasted like it) sandwich & salad
-> Actually, it's not that bad. The small mineral water bottle is so cute!



They've got these nice food trays. Couldn't help but taking pictures of them.

Singapore Airline A380

Breakfast

Omelette with chicken sausage Lunch
Braised Lamb with Mash Potato

note: picture only taken cause i have the whole row to myself... (thanks to smelly surabaya tai tai... :P )

Singapore Airlines SQ 962, Singapore - Jakarta

SIN - CGK
Take-off time 1730 hrs

Connecting flight to J-town, home sweet home (I guess).



No, no, unfortunately they don't use the A380 for SIN-CGK flight. But can't help taking more picture of the airplane. What a beauty!



Chicken Pasta Alfredo
Mango Jelly
Water & OJ

Rating: 6.5/10
Verdict: This meal is very Asian. Alfredo sauce to suit Asian palate (less cheesy, more savory), and hard gelatine-based desert instead of jiggly jell-o. But I don't mind that. What I mind is, the way they cook the chicken breast. The breast isn't cut in the correct way, so it's rather tough, dry, and bland. The pasta wasn't so great either. It's undercooked (which is a shocker, since most airplane food tend to get overcooked).

Singapore Airlines SQ 220, Sydney - Singapore

SYD - SIN
Take-off time 0850 hrs

So excited to be the first one in my family to fly the Airbus A380!
At the time of writing, the A380 I boarded was the only one owned by a commercial airline, and therefore the only aircraft available for commercial flights. And the only route it serves is the Sydney - Singapore shuttle. So I guess I'm pretty lucky.



Upper deck!
Info: The upper deck is better in the sense that it has a better passenger - lavatory ratio.
On the background: Starbucks Tall Caramel Frappuccino



The aircraft



The seat plan



Well, I only flew cattle class, but it's still fun...
Look at the size of the personal monitor! It's almost as big as business class monitors on a regular plane!









Breakfast.
Parsley omelette with chicken sausage, tomato and hash brown potato
Fruit appetizer, yoghurt, muffin, breakfast roll
Tea & OJ

Rating : 8/10
Verdict: Nice. Even taking the issue of cabin pressure and the huge gap between preparing and serving the food into consideration, the food is still near-impeccable. The omelette is not soggy, even the hash brown still got a bit crunch to it. Bravo, Singapore Airlines.



Mid-morning cocktail: Singapore Sling
(So I drink at 11.00 am. Hey, I'm on holiday for goodness sake!)

Rating: 6/10
Verdict: Not bad, but this time, they forgot to put some ice in the cocktail. As a result, the drink is too heavy for mid-morning. Anyway, having tasted the real deal in Raffles Hotel Long Bar, I'd say this one pales in comparison. But hey, I'm not complaining. It's good enough for cattle class.







Lunch.
Smoked salmon salad
Lunch roll
Lamb navarin with vegetables and mashed potato
Unidentified French Cabernet Sauvignon

Rating: 7/10
Verdict: One thing I hate is lamb that smell. This one definitely doesn't, and the sauce doesn't disguise the lamb aroma too much, so you can still tell that it is lamb you're eating. So all in all, excellent balance.