Asiana A359 to Seoul: Bibimbap, Cocktails at Zest, and Nest Hotel Incheon

[yflyer]

My flight OZ752 was a 10:50pm departure out of Changi T3.

Before my flight, I headed to Jewel for dinner with Mrs yflyer and Miss yflyer no.2.



Mrs yflyer had wanted to try Kantin, a Borneo/Sarawak-themed restaurant on the 5th level of Jewel, where many eateries were located. This was a wonderful part of Jewel to haver dinner. We were right under the glass dome, with the night sky just above us. With the trees, foliage and sound of running water from Jewel's waterfall nearby, we felt as if we were dining outdoors, in a forest, on a cool evening.



This moderately-priced restaurant served Borneo/tribal themed dishes such as this Headhunter Pansuh Set, which included chicken, vegetables, unpolished rice and crackers...



...as well as more familiar items like Sarawak Laksa...



After dinner, we said our goodbyes, and I headed via the connecting tunnel/walkway to T3 to catch my flight to Seoul.

[yflyer]

I was in Seoul last week for a work trip. I flew from Singapore to Seoul on Asiana Airlines in Economy. Both my outbound SIN-ICN and return ICN-SIN flights were operated by Airbus A350-900 XWB aircraft. Asiana is in the process of merging with Korean Airlines, which means it is likely that at some point in the future, frequent flyers on this airline will move from Star Alliance to Skyteam. At the current time, Asiana was still with Star Alliance, so Star Gold privileges still applied. This was my first time flying Asiana -- my impressions of this airline to follow in this TR.

As this was a business trip, I had no meals pre-planned, but I ended up dining very well, as I had many lunch/dinner meetings with clients and ex-colleagues who brought me to really wonderful places to eat. Coincidentally my niece and her husband were on holiday in Seoul at the same time, so we had dinner together as well.

I also checked out a couple of top cocktail bars in Seoul, Zest and Alice. Zest impressed me so much that I went there 3 times during the week.

I spent the last night of the trip at Nest Hotel Incheon. This stunning property was located next to Incheon airport, and was affiliated with Design Hotels and Marriott Bonvoy. This was my first time staying there, and I was completely blown away by the experience. Far more than an airport transit hotel, this was a designer/boutique hotel in the best possible sense, with amazing architecuture, design, rooms and location. If I ever head to Seoul again, I would try to plan to stay my last night at this hotel again.