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Scoot 787 Dreamliner from Singapore to Sydney in ScootPlus

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  • #46
    That evening, I went out for a run around the city...



    ...then headed, with Mrs yflyer and a dear cousin, to one of my favourite bars in Sydney, Dean & Nancy on 22...



    ...for a couple of cocktails...



    ...before adjourning to a small Italian Restaurant, Ragazzi, for dinner...



    The menu that evening...



    Last edited by yflyer; 11 September 2024, 12:00 PM.

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    • #47
      We began with the raw beef...



      This was excellent! And then the burrata...



      A Sicilian red...



      Very nice...



      The Kingfish crudo was delicious...



      For our mains, we decided on two pasta dishes, first the spaghetti cacio e pepe...



      ...a deceptively simple dish, but not easy to get right. This was superb.

      And then, Lumache, with blue swimmer crab and zucchini...



      We ended with Millefoglie...



      A wonderful meal in an intimate, lively setting!

      Last edited by yflyer; 10 September 2024, 10:44 PM.

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      • #48
        At some point during the trip, we needed a Chinese food fix. In Sydney, this was not hard to find. Just steps away from the West Hotel, along Erskine Street, was a small noodle restaurant.



        The English signboard simply read "Chinese Noodle Restaurant", although the Chinese script gave a little more detail: Northern La Mian Restaurant...

        To our tastebuds, this was very authentic and traditional cuisine, complete with hand made noodles...



        Prices were reasonably by Sydney standards, especially considering how delicious everything was...



        We sampled the noodles...



        ...and the dumplings...



        Simply delicious! What wonderful comfort food.

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        • #49
          For our last dinner in Sydney, I picked a restaurant recommended by an old friend (Who I last met in London, for a very memorable lunch at Gordon Ramsay's Maze). The place she recommended was Ester, located in the southern end of the CBD, a short walk from Chinatown.

          This restaurant was helmed by chef Mat Lindsay, and had been winning golden reviews and accolades.



          This restaurant had a lively and casual vibe...



          The a la carte menu...



          Cocktails to start...


          Last edited by yflyer; 11 September 2024, 10:35 AM.

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          • #50
            Roasted oyster with chicken fat butter. Mrs yflyer found this superb ("Anything with chicken fat is good!")...



            A delicious blood sausage sanga, which is Aussie slang for sandwich...



            Intensely flavoured braised duck dumplings, served in a clay pot...



            Yamba king prawns, which looked stunning on the plate...



            Black lip abalone and chicken skewer, an unlikely combination, but one that worked well...



            The salad was outstanding...crisp and fresh...





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            • #51
              We were so stuffed by then, that we had only space for one dessert...



              The burnt outer shell gave way to a soft creamy interior...



              Delicious!

              This was an outstanding meal, one of the most memorable of our trip. The cuisine was original, with influences from all over, but very refined and superbly executed! Highly reommended!

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              • #52
                It was soon time for us to head back to Singapore, but before flying home, we made one final stop at Maybe Sammy, one of our favourite cocktail bars in Sydney.



                They had just rolled out thrie new menu, shaped like a board game...



                We really liked their Happy Hour mini cocktails...



                These were half size, but made with the same care and precision as their full sized cousins...



                The drinks here were outstanding in their creativity, and their finesse...



                ...and the bar food was excellent too.



                But what made Maybe Sammy stand out from the crowd was the staff...who really made a visit here a lot of fun with their antics...

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                • #53
                  At Sydney Airport, the Scoot queue was pretty long, but check-in was quick for ScootPlus.



                  Security and automated passport checks were very quick.

                  In the airside area, we had no lounge access as we were flying Scoot, so we headed The Bistro by Wolfgang Puck for a pre-flight meal...



                  We sat at the lower level of the restaurant...



                  We ordered the corn...



                  ...and the steak...



                  ...which we found very satisfying.



                  While it would have been nice to enjoy complimentary F&B in one of the lounges at SYD, it was nice to know there were good dining options available if one did not have lounge access.

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                  • #54
                    We were booked on Scoot TR13, 9.45pm departure that would get us into Singapore at 3.10am, with a scheduled flight time of 8 hours 25 minutes.

                    Flying us to Singapore this evening was Scoot 787-9 rego 9V-OJE...



                    This was a 9 year old aircract, named Maju Lah...



                    Warm welcome upon boarding...



                    We were seated up front in ScootPlus, but as we were early in the boarding process, I took a look in the Y cabin...



                    This was laid out in 9-abreast 3-3-3, with extra legroom seats (Up to 34") in the first few rows. These had yellow highlights on the blue seat fabric as well as headrests (Which the regular Y seats did not have).



                    There was also a small "Scoot-in-Silence" Y cabin just behind ScootPlus, which was only available for booking for pax 12 years and older.



                    I thought it was quite ironic that folks in the "Scoot-in-Silence" Y cabin would have not crying infants in their section, whereas no such age limit existed for ScootPlus...



                    ScootPlus was laid out 2-3-2.



                    Decent seat recline (Similar to PEY on a full service carrier)...



                    While there was good legroom, the underseat storage in front of the seat did not have a lot of height clearance...



                    A/C power...

                    Last edited by yflyer; 17 September 2024, 02:35 PM.

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                    • #55
                      ScootPlus pax were given a little tub of water...



                      We had pre-ordered our meals from the flight (It was also possible to order from the menu)...



                      I ordered the black pepper beef with rice. The beverage options with the meal set were only non-alcoholic. I like wine or cocktails with my meal, and I found this to be quite disappointing.



                      The meal itself was ok, but nothing to rave about.



                      Mrs yflyer also found her meal just passable...

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                      • #56
                        After a quick meal service, lights were turned off and pax went to sleep, or at least tried to. We were both quite tired, so we slept through much of the flight.

                        Eventually, lights came on as the cabin crew prepared the cabin for arrival...



                        We landed on time in Singapore and were out in the terminal just after 3am in the morning.



                        Changi T1 was expectedly busy at that hour.



                        On SQ, I take on-time arrivals for granted. Not so on Scoot, so I was very glad and grateful for an on time arrival. It was good to be home.

                        Overall impressions of the flight? The plane was in better condition than our SIN-SYD aircraft, and ScootPlus was spacious compared to Economy, and the cabin crew were friendly enough, but as on my outbound, I found the cabin product and service concept quite forgettable, even in the front of the plane.
                        Last edited by yflyer; 17 September 2024, 02:33 PM.

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                        • #57
                          Final impressions...

                          Mrs yflyer and I had a lot of fun on this trip. We did a lot, met with friends and family, and sampled lots of great food. Sydney and Melbourne are such wonderful cities to spend time in.

                          Highlights included the stay at the W in Melbourne, meeting Kyo and Mrs Kyo for drinks and afternoon tea at the Intercontinental, and many other great meals and drinks. The restaurant discovery of the trip would have to be Ester in Sydney, which really bowled us over with their cuisine. I also really liked the Little National hotel in Sydney, with its stylish rooms and great location.

                          We enjoyed our SYD-MEL and MEL-SYD flights on Virgin Australia. While these were just short flights, the overall VA experience was very postive, from the lounges to the flights themselves, which were all on time and comfortable by Y standards.

                          As for Scoot and ScootPlus, I'll be very frank and say that they are not my favourite way to fly at this time. I might still fly them if the price was right (and by right I mean super cheap), and if the flights were short less than 2 hrs, but they would not be my preferred choice on the SIN-SYD sector.

                          On a positive note, the cabin crew were a nice bunch: helpful and professional, if not as poised or polished as their SQ counterparts.

                          On the other hand, I was not impressed with the ScootPlus hard product. The seat leather felt cheap, and the ScootPlus cabin looked tired and a little drab. Catering was a low point. I am fine with the the idea of paying for food and beverages on an LCC. F&B is a great revenue opportunity for Scoot, but I found the taste, quality and portion size of the paid meals to be below expectations. Also, the idea of a cardboard scratch card offering 30MB of wifi is just so outdated. A terrible user experience as far as inflight internet was concerned.

                          As someone who likes the whole experience of air travel, I don't subscribe to the school of thought that says a flight is just a way to get from A to B. I still feel a sense of wonder when on a plane, even in the back of the bus, in economy. I actively seek out airlines, aircraft types and flights that will inspire me and leave me with cherished memories. By that measure, I found Scoot's cabin product and sevice concept very ordinary, and uninspired. Next time, I'll fly someone else.

                          Thanks for reading!
                          Last edited by yflyer; 4 December 2024, 11:35 AM.

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                          • #58
                            I approve of this TR! It was wonderful to meet the both of you in Melbourne. So, drinks at yours next?

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                            • #59
                              Originally posted by Kyo View Post
                              I approve of this TR! It was wonderful to meet the both of you in Melbourne. So, drinks at yours next?
                              Likewise it was great to to meet you and Mrs Kyo as well! Thanks again for the invitation to the Intercontinental Lounge! Hope to meet up for drinks again soon, either in SIN or MEL!

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