søndag den 10. april 2011

eating on singapore airlines

while looking for flights to bali, i managed to get a reasonably priced ticket through singapore airlines. i was really excited because i've heard it's one of the last remaining airlines that treat you more like a human being and less like cattle. the service did impress me on all legs of the flight; especially the child care performed by the beautiful stewardesses (who all seem to fill the prerequisite of being able to wear the same size 4 uniform) while mothers took a bathroom break. but of course, you know what this blog is about. (;


i pre-ordered vegetarian meals all the way because i was curious to see how this airline handled this dietary requirement. i'm glad this was the first meal because it really disappointed me. the squash and spinach of this 'asian' vegetarian meal were just steamed and didn't have any seasoning, maybe not even salt. it tasted way too plain and boring. same story with the 'salad' at the top left. there wasn't any dressing. luckily i wasn't very hungry so i just picked at it a bit. i did end up eating the bread roll with laughing cow cheese, haha.


the next asian veg meal was leagues better. rice with beans and mushrooms, fake meat with chinese cabbage and green beans, oyster mushrooms and steamed peppers. it was very good chinese-style food. they served the exact same meal to me on the way back to copenhagen the following week, but i can't really complain. despite my sweet tooth, i only had a bite of the cake. nothing wrong with the texture, but i am not crazy about red bean on cakes with airy frosting. it adds a weird weight to it. i was too full to eat the bread roll. the stewards kept coming by and asking if we wanted wine with dinner/lunch and when i declined, he asked, "are you sure? we have chardonnay, riesling, and pinot noir." what a contrast to airlines like united! :P


this was the asian vegetarian breakfast on the plane from singapore to bali. it was only about 2 hours long, but they fed us anyway; how nice! as you can see, it's very different compared to the typical western concept of breakfast. it was mung bean noodles stir-fried with all sorts of nice vegetables. i really liked it and it was very filling. so i didn't eat the bread roll or the yogurt. it seemed like as soon as we took off, the stewardesses served us and as soon as we ate, the plane was already landing!


on the way back from bali to singapore, my indian vegetarian meal was m.i.a. and i was served last. i don't know whether it was an error made by the staff or perhaps someone stole my meal (i'm guilty of doing the same on a flight to the states... >_>) as half the flight was indian and eating vegetarian meals. must have been hell for the stewards and stewardesses to handle all those special requests! they were extremely apologetic about the mistake and offered to give me a vegetarian cup noodle, which i almost accepted. anyway when the food finally got to me, it was SO good. definitely my favourite meal out of all of them. i think it was some sort of lentil curry with rice and some creamy sauce with vegetables. the only thing i would have added is a couple more chilies; there was only one measly slice. of course i was too stuffed to eat the roll in the end. ^^;


the last meal was an asian veg breakfast of rice with mushrooms, what i believe was fake chicken, and a sweet nut of some kind. the shiitake mushrooms were so flavourful! this dish comes in at a close second. might have won first place if the rice wasn't so dry and cold. or maybe it's supposed to be served that way? i did eat the yogurt this time because my stomach was feeling bad from something i ate/drank in bali. turned out that it was nothing special with lots of e-numbers and sugar.

in between meals, the stewardesses came by with baskets of fruit, nuts, and sandwiches. i took an apple which was very fresh and juicy; possibly pink lady? i'm not sure, it was dark. they also offered vegetarian sandwiches but i never got hungry enough to try one. i almost always get a bad case of bloat in the air and so i don't get much of an appetite. plus it seems like airlines constantly feed you. the stewardesses continuously came by with trays of water and juice, which i really appreciated. it's important to drink plenty of water and avoid coffee, tea and alcohol on flights to avoid jet lag, dehydration, and reduce the risk of deep vein thrombosis. i did have one glass of wine and one cup of tea on the way home, though... ^^;

thanks very much for a lovely flight, singapore airlines! i hope to see you again soon. (:

7 kommentarer:

iwalkintherain sagde ...

Wow! That looks SO impressive! It seems Singapore airlines are so much better than any of those in Europe! Food-wise, I mean. Curious to hear about your trip. :p

Anonym sagde ...

I love SQ's service, but the meal? Not so much.

The thing about the airline feeds you all the time? I don't agree with that. I used to fly with KLM a bit before I switched to SQ and THERE they tried to feed you all the time. They woke you up at 4am (their time?) to serve you cup noodles, chocolate bars, potato chips and there were like three meals or something during the flight (between KL-Amsterdam).

I don't fly with KLM anymore because I had problem with their land service in Indonesia, but their food I like ;)

Bri sagde ...

Thanks for the photos and the review! I hope Bali was as nice as it seems!

I generally fly Qantas/British Airways on my longhauls, since I get frequent flyer points and they are generally cheapest (aside from the 9346767 stops, 200 hours of course). I've been served the same Eggplant and Lentil Moussaka dinner, 'western lacto-ovo vegetarian', for about the past 5 years. I'm kinda thinking I should change my meals to 'eastern vegetarian' now.

Anonym sagde ...

Hi - I am really glad to find this. great job!

Anonym sagde ...

Hi - I am definitely glad to discover this. great job!

Unknown sagde ...

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Shirley @ Kokken69 sagde ...

I am fiercely proud of the Singapore airline. It is one of the identity that I proudly associate with being a Singaporean. If you like them in coach travels, you will be blown away by their business class service and food :)