Eating Ethnic in Oz: SQ221 to Sydney in New A380 Economy, and Qantas Biz to Melbourne

[yflyer]

The Marriott Executive Lounge offers a daily breakfast, as well as complimentary wine and beer from 5.30pm to 9.30pm daily...



Very nice ambience and decor in this newly renovated lounge, which is now on one of the lower levels of the hotel.



Willowglen wines...





A selection of beers...



The attractive breakfast spread, which comprised both hot and cold selections...



This is a hotel which sets very high standards, with nice rooms and a very good executive lounge, in a prime location in Sydney.



With the upcoming merger of Marriott and Starwood hotel loyalty programs, I can see myself alternating between the Marriott Sydney Harbour and the Sheraton on the Park, when I visit Sydney.

[yflyer]

Up till this point, over the years on SQTalk, I had never met KeithMEL, one of the founders of this illustrious forum.

It was only recently that I learned that, contrary to his handle, KeithMEL was based in SYD ...

KeithMEL was in Sydney that week, and after work, on the day I arrived, we met up at Bulletin Place, a bar just around the corner from the Marriott.



Bulletin Plance was a really interesting place to meet for a drink...I wish there were places like this in Singapore...



This was a small, intimate establishment, with a great team that served a very creative selection of cocktails, as well as a curated list of beers, wines and liquor...



KeithMEL was already there when I arrived...



"What an interesting place! The cocktail selection looks amazing!" I said...

A very eclectic, even whimsical, selection of daily cocktails, with a strong focus on creations with a hint of fruit, whether melon, orange or pear, while at the same time packing a strong punch...

Snacks, nibbles and cheese were also available, but these were definitely a supporting cast to the cocktails, whisky, wines and beers on offer...



KeithMEL was having an Autumn All Star, and it looked great...I decided to have the same...

This was gin, amaro, orange, fennel and grenadine...perfected blended...



What to have next? KeithMEL decided on a Scotch Whisky, a Ledaig Hermitage 2005, whereas I couldn't resist sampling the Beam-Me-Up-Scotty, despite me being only a very casual Star Trek fan...



This Bourbon based drink (I would assume this was Jim Beam) had Rhubarb, vanilla and bitters...not unlike an Old Fashioned...but different...and hit the spot!

KeithMEL is one of those folks who you can count on to have an interesting and enjoyable conversation with. Apart from our common interest in travel and aviation (And SQ!), I learned that KeithMEL was someone who really enjoyed a good meal and a good drink...no surprise, then, that we hit off very well!

[yflyer]

KeithMEL had prior dinner plans, so we were not able to have dinner together, but he did recommend a place to eat. In fact, KeithMEL had many recommendations for dining in Sydney, and is definitely someone I would lookup for dining advice...he really knows what is happening in Sydney as far as wining & dining is concerned...

"I would recommend Mercado for dinner...it is not far off...we can walk there..."

...and on the way, he recommended a whole list of other places, including Chin Chin, for an Asian food fix, should I need one...

Mercado, which served Spanish cuisine, with a focus on seafood, as well as nose-to-tail dining, was not far away...



I thanked KeithMEL for a wonderful evening's company, and he headed off, while I stepped into Mercado...





An intriguing menu, with many items I would want to try...



...however many of the dishes were for sharing...it looked like I would have to be back with reinforcements to do justice to the menu, especially the nose-to-tail/meat dishes!

The beverage list...



I settled on one small, and one medium, share plate: the raw kingfish, with espelette pepper, creme fraiche and lime, as well as the spanner crab bocadillo...



The raw kingfish, served carpaccio-style, was sublime...



...a wonderful take on carpaccio/sashimi which tasted similar to, yet nothing like, any other new-style sashimi dish I had ever eaten...with the combination of peppers, creme fraiche and lime giving it a creamy, yet tangy/spicy flavour which I found irresistable...

The spanner crab bocadillo was impressive as well...essentially like a burger slider except that the "patty" was a savoury spanner crab rather than a burger patty...



...this was surprisingly fine and delicate...and a nice complement to the kingfish dish that preceeded it.

Those were the only two dishes I had on that occasion -- a very light dinner indeed, more of a taster/preview meal. In retrospect, I probably would have had space for 1 more medium plate, but by then it was getting late. I resolved to be back again the next time I was in Sydney, to sample more of their menu.

By that time, it was quite late in the evening, and I headed back to the Marriott for a good night's sleep before heading to Melbourne the next day on Qantas, where I had the opportunity to check out QF's latest lie-flat business class seat on their long-haul configured A330, which operated QF453 on the short one and a half hour SYD-MEL sector.

To be continued!

[KeithMEL]

Great meeting you too dude.

Singapore happens to be one of my favourite cities for cocktail crawling, with approximately 78 million small cocktail bars that hold their own against somewhere like Bulletin Pl. The F&B scene has come a long way, certainly very different from the days when I'd know it as a mere transit destination! We now find ourselves trying to incorporate Singapore on either side of our trips as there's always an amazing new cocktail bar or brilliantly inventive restaurant; in fact we never need to leave Chinatown when we're in Singapore as all the best small bars and on-trend foodie spots are in the area.

[yflyer]

Singapore happens to be one of my favourite cities for cocktail crawling...We now find ourselves trying to incorporate Singapore on either side of our trips as there's always an amazing new cocktail bar or brilliantly inventive restaurant.

It is certainly getting more interesting in Singapore for cocktail (and whisky) lovers! You must share some of these places that you have visited here! Even as a local, there are so many new restaurants or bars opening (and shutting) that it is impossible try them all...

Great meeting you too dude.

Next time, either in SYD or SIN, we do a proper meal and a bar crawl...

[KeithMEL]

It is certainly getting more interesting in Singapore for cocktail (and whisky) lovers! You must share some of these places that you have visited here! Even as a local, there are so many new restaurants or bars opening (and shutting) that it is impossible try them all...

I haven't been to the (in)famous Atlas, which everyone is now raving about! We were last in Singapore a few days after Chinese New Year and it wasn't open. But that aside there are some brilliant ones, mainly around Chinatown or Boat Quay...
- 28 Hong Kong Street - number 25 on World's Top 50 bar list
- Ah Sam's Cold Drinks Stall - crazy flavour combos that work! With a very local twist as the name suggests. One of the most memorable drinks I've ever had was from here, involving dragon beard candy.
- Employees Only - needs no introduction
- Tippling Club - love their menus which allow you to taste an element of the cocktail before you order; last time I went it was a gummy bear menu and previously it was a scent menu. Number 31 on the World's Top 50 bar list and they also serve an amazing modern Australian degustation with an insane cocktail pairing. They were opened by the guys behind Der Raum, one of the best cocktail bars in Melbourne before they upped sticks overseas.
- Spiffy Dapper
- Butcher Boy
- Auld Alliance - for whisk(e)y. Has a pretty staid ambience but can't be beaten for scale and variety of whisk(e)y.

There are quite a few very good ones along Jalan Amoy and Keong Saik Road but I am bad with names... It's also comparatively expensive to bar hop in Singapore, relative to say Hong Kong, often feel like I need to sell an organ or 2 after a huge night lol. Food is competitively priced at the mid-high end restaurants by Asian standards so it probably all evens out.

Current fave for food - Cure (same owner as Butcher Boy). Very inventive yet stripped back and honest contemporary European menu and easy on the wallet. You can get Michelin star quality without the price tag here and the chef personally serves at least one of the courses and is more than happy to stick around your table for a chat. Of course I'd like to be able to eat at Odette or JAAN more frequently but I'd have a lot less to spend on cocktails and shopping.

Would love to try Labyrinth for food (next on my ever growing and long foodie list), a modern Singaporean hawker food degustation restaurant that turns familiar street foods on their heads. I've been asked to check out Burnt Ends and Cheek by Jowl, but it feels odd travelling to another country to try Aussie restaurants haha (Tippling Club aside but that's only because I know the guys from Der Raum) - then again some of my favourite French restaurants are in Shanghai...

[yflyer]

Continuing with the TR...

The next day, I headed to the Qantas domestic terminal in SYD for my short flight to MEL.

SQ is my favourite airline, but Qantas comes a very close 2nd. I have had many good experiences flying Qantas both long haul and short haul. When flying between SYD and MEL, I have only ever flown QF.

The air route between Sydney and Melbourne is actually the world's second busiest air route.

This is a short 1 hour 35 minute hop, very well served by airlines in Australia, but especially by Qantas, who offer many flights a day, operated by a combination of 737's and A330's (And previously, 767's).

I picked one of the A330 operated flights, and decided to upgrade to Business class, in order to check out their new J product on this aircraft type, which they also use on flights from Australia to Singapore.

The domestic departure area is large and airy, dominated by row after row of self service kiosks. I was there at an off-peak hour, in the early afternoon, so the terminal was fairly empty, but I believe it could get quite busy later in the day.



Lots of shopping in the airside area after the security check...



I headed to the Qantas domestic Business Lounge, which is located one level above the main airside area.



This is a very large lounge, with stylish, modern decor...





A range of different seating areas...



...some with a good level of privacy and peace and quiet...





Large sections of the lounge had great tarmac views...



...where I spotted this unusual paint scheme...

[yflyer]

There is a bar...



...self-service wine selections...



...and a very decent buffet spread of hot and cold dishes...




Not the largest menu I have seen, but all the dishes I tasted were well prepared and very tasty.



Greens and dips...



Salads...



Pumpkin soup...



Penne and Beef Bolognaise...



Quite delicious!



Proper coffee machine...



But also iced coffee -- a nice touch!



This one was my favourite...

[yflyer]

There is also a business centre...



and a few well equipped shower rooms...





The lounge got quite busy towards late afternoon...





Overall, I thought this was a very impressive domestic lounge: a pleasant place to spend time before a flight, and impressive F&B as well, not to mention nice views from the large windows.

[yflyer]

Before heading to the gate for my flight, I stopped by the Qantas Heritage Collection...



This free-of-charge exhibition of Qantas memorabilia is located near gates 10-13, one level above the departure level (You enter from the departure level)...



Inside, there were models of aircraft on display, including this model Connie...



...and an A380, along with various generations of Qantas uniforms...





...as well as older memorabilia...



Parts of a 747 tyre, and aircraft windshield...



More retro items, from what some would say was a golden age of air travel (Before LCC's and 10-abreast 777's...)...



Great runway views from within the Heritage Centre...(Spot the SQ bird!)



Not a bad place to stop by if you had 15-30 min to spare before catching a flight...

[yflyer]

My flight, QF453 SYD-MEL, was operated b VH-EBD, a 15 year old A332 first delivered in 2003...



This aircraft had the new lie-flat J product in staggered 1-2-1 configuration...my seat was 2K.



Time to board...



Very pleasant J cabin ambience...



With light wood tones and black leather seats...



The most forward window seat is 1K, however 2K is the most forward window seat where the seat is close to the window.



The staggered config means alternating window seats are closer to the window, while others are closer to the aisle with a side panel close to the window, such as 3K below.



This is a very elegant and well built seat...



The middle bank of 2 seats has a privacy shield that is fixed in position [Thanks, eminere™, for the info that only the 787 has a privacy partition that can be raised/lowered!]...

[yflyer]

Easy to use seat controls...



...here is the seat partly reclined for lounging...



...and fully flat for sleeping (Yes, while still on the ground prior to taking off on this 1 hr 35 min sector, I shamelessly reclined the seat fully to bed mode, with the electric motor softly buzzing for an eternity as the bed slowly reclined, just to check it out...)



...the flat surface of this long "bed" extends into the footwell.



This is a flat, and fairly wide, sleeping surface. Although there are a few contours, with the leather on the slightly firm side, I found it to be a very comfortable sleeping surface. With a soft duvet or mattress cover on top, this would be very comfortable for a red-eye...

For reference, here is a picture of a similar J seat with a soft mattress cover on top, taken on a previous QF red-eye flight...

[yflyer]

The other much hyped USP (Unique Selling Point) of this seat is that it is advertised as being able to recline for take-off and or landing...

As it turns out, it is neat, but a little overhyped, as the allowable recline for take-off/landing isn't that much...here is a pic of the max allowable recline in take-off/landing mode...



This was preferable to ramrod straight, and quite comfortably angled, but as you can see, not that much of a big deal. When will someone come up with seats where you can board and immediately go fully flat, even before doors close, for the whole flight?

[yflyer]

The seat comes with useful side storage...



...and noise cancelling headphones...



Large, sharp IFE touchscreen...



Great selection of full AVOD movie, TV and radio selections...



...including that rarity nowadays: a comedy channel!



I find the Qantas IFE selections as good as, and as intelligently chosen, as SQ's Krisworld.

IFE controller hidden under a cover by the side.



Each seat also comes with a universal A/C socket and USB charging.

Overall a very comfortable J seat. I still prefer SQ's long haul J product, but the Qantas new J seat is a very strong product that I would be very very happy to fly on long haul sectors.

[yflyer]

The J bathrooms are in front of the cabin, close to the cockpit, and have mottled black counter tops.