Last week while on the train, I overheard a man speaking to his friend on his mobile. It sounded like they were in the middle of choosing flights because I heard him say, “No, not that one.  Look mate, there’s nothing worse than waking up at 4 in the morning for a flight.”

I resisted the urge to tap him on the shoulder to say, “Yes! I can think of 101 worse things. For one, how about waking up at 3 or 4am with a Zit? Or a twisted ankle?”

I don’t blame him, but last week I found myself chirpy and bright-eyed at 430AM checking in for our Sydney to Singapore flight. Yes, despite having a zit and a busted ankle.

SQ 212

Sydney to Singapore

Departure time: 0640

Aircraft type: B777-300A

Flight duration: 07 hrs 45 mintues

Economy Class

Sydney Airport is a dream at 4 in the morning. Quiet and no queues which makes the usual x-ray and security obstacle course a breeze.

It was the green lane for us this early morning, but we didn’t mind. Check-in was efficient and quick. Even the check-in staff was exceptionally jolly for 4AM. We had a brief conversation about layering perfumes (of all things!) after she correctly guessed what I was wearing (Hypnotic Poison by Dior).

We were handed our lounge passes after check-in and we enjoyed the SilverKris lounge at Sydney Airport – the first to open in a series of worldwide SilverKris lounge upgrade. For the full review and feature of the lounge, CLICK HERE.

The flight departed on time, and even though we were flying economy, there was no rush to get to the gate as the SilverKris lounge was just above the actual boarding gate.

I was excited about one aspect of this flight.

Singapore Airlines is one airline where Economy passengers can be led to believe they are about to go onboard a flying restaurant.

Did you know that there are 31 types of special meals in Singapore Airlines – and 28 of those are available in Economy class? 

4 religious meal types, 6 vegetarian meal types, 3 Baby/Infant meal types and the rest are all dietary types. Even the pickiest eater will find nothing to complain about. CLICK HERE for the full Singapore Airlines special meal list

As a seafood lover, it was only natural for me to order SEAFOOD MEAL on all our flights. Zombie had the normal meals so this will be a good comparison.

SQ 212 left at 0640 AM, so there were 2 meal services on-board. Breakfast and Lunch.

Let’s get straight to the meals:

SEAFOOD MEAL – Breakfast

I got a salmon omelette for breakfast, with sides of tomato, mushrooms and hashbrown. The omelette was good. Real eggs, not the powdered kind, and it was filled with chunky flakes of salmon meat. No scrimping on it at all. There was a side dish of mixed fruit, a bread roll and packaged orange juice I didn’t touch. I have yet to find an orange juice served onboard on economy (ANY airline) that didn’t taste like acid.

REGULAR MEAL – Breakfast

Zombie said the rice wasn’t dry at all – which is common for economy meals, and the shrimp in the fried rice weren’t shrivelled at all. He also had a side of fruit slices, a banana muffin (which I ended up eating), toast and yogurt.

I had a spoonful of the fried rice, and the quality of the rice was really good for airplane food. No crumbly bits, it was all fluffy!

And for the second meal service:

SEAFOOD MEAL- Lunch:

This seafood lunch was just wonderful. Steamed sole with vegetables and potato gratin ,with a piece of succulent prawn. There was a side dish of vegetable salad and roll, and sliced fruit pieces for dessert.

The fish was very succulent and steamed just right – firm but melted in my mouth. Very impressive. It had a light drizzling of a sweet and sour-ish sauce which was just the right amount.

REGULAR MEAL – Lunch:

For lunch, Zombie chose the braised chicken with chinese vegetables and steamed rice. Though the meat doesn’t really look photogenic, he told me that it was really good. It was a mix of dark and white meat, the white rice fluffy and the vegetables not soggy. I never saw him finish a meal on-board so quick so that’s saying a lot.

DESSERT TIME – ICE CREAM FOR EVERYBODY!

Soon after meal trays were collected, a very slim Singapore Airlines cabin crew , in her hip and figure hugging signature uniform, came walking down the aisle carrying a heavy load of cups of chocolate ice cream.

I decided to help unload her burden so I grabbed 2 cups.

But I caught sight of  her teeny waistline and quickly handed the other cup to the lady a seat away from me (who was probably puzzled at my sudden chivalry)

Ice cream on board are usually kept with dried ice and extremely low temperature so they have this solid-rock consistency. It can sometimes be a pain, but I love it.

And because I’ve always believed that calories don’t count at 35,000 feet, I settled in with my Chocolate Ecstacy and watched 2 episodes of Modern Family

I rarely watch TV series but I do love Modern Family. And gosh have you seen the Las Vegas episode?? It’s one of the most hilarious yet! See Modern Family, when an episode is bad it’s really bad (like the Australia episode), but when it’s good? Gosh the laughing fits I had came one after another so much that I was chuckling and shaking so hard I woke the lady next to me.

In-flight entertainment had a moderately varied selection. There were new releases, classic hollywood , Tv, documentary and kids selection.

Take note that on this aircraft, there are no USB ports. That was abit of a letdown for me since most other airlines already have them on their economy cabin.

However I was kept entertained, not to mention fed extremely well so I didn’t mind.

An Amenity kit was also given, though it contained just 2 items – socks and toothbrush kit. Nevertheless it was still great to have the kit as most economy flights do not provide them on mid-haul flights.

Service was warm and friendly, and I overall enjoyed this economy flight with Singapore Airlines.

I also noticed that the crew really put a premium on flight safety. During take off, they asked every passenger who removed their shoes to put them back on. And at one point, during meal service, it started getting turbulent. All cabin crew who were serving on both aisles immediately stopped the service at the same time even without the official seatbealt sign chime and the pilot announcement.

Singapore Airlines also thoughtfully placed me on a seat with my left leg on the aisle as I twisted my ankle a week prior to flying. It made the flight as bearable and as comfortable as one with such an injury can when flying economy.(Economy seats have a pitch of 32 inches and width of 19.0)

 

Hands down this has got to be the best Economy food and beverage service I ever had. The quality of the food just tops all other economy airline meals both Zombie and I had.

We obviously prefer flying business (who doesn’t??) but on times that we fly economy, we ensure that it is for maximum mid-haul range, and that it is from a carrier that gives the ultimate service standards on economy. 

All boxes were ticked in this Singapore Airlines Sydney to Singapore flight, and for once, I emerged from the flight feeling fine, and not looking like minced meat at all.

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Tell me, what flight times do you prefer travelling on?What’s the best meal you’ve ever had on-board? (all classes)