Burj Khalifa and a Burger to Die For - SIN-DXB-LHR-SIN on SQ and BA

[yflyer]

The cabin crew began serving breakfast about 90 minutes before landing.



I opted for the sausage and egg selection. The main course I got was a little different from the one in the menu: my seatmate had beef sausage with hash browns. Mine appeared to be a chicken sausage with differently-prepared potatoes. In any case, it tasted quite good.

What I did appreciate about cabin service is that the first time the cabin crew went round the cabin, she only served pax who were awake. Later, as she went round the cabin, and as premium Y pax woke up, she served them their trays individually, even right up to 50 minutes before landing.

By then, it was a clear and sunny day, and we were approaching Great Britain.



Unlike SQ, the BA cabin crew didn't "close shop" and begin landing preparations until about 20 minutes prior to landing. I am sure I also saw J class pax still sound asleep, fully reclined, up till at least 16 min before landing!

It was a smooth landing just after 6am at Heathrow, and I cleared through T5 customs fairly quickly.

Overall, a comfortable experience, definitely a step above Y, but not by that large a margin.

[yflyer]

After a hectic day of meetings in the UK, I ended my day at the Hilton London Euston. This is one of my favourite hotels in London. Newly renovated rooms, a large gym, and convenient location close to both St Pancras and Euston train station/underground.

I had not made plans for the evening, but after checking in the hotel at around 5pm, I decided to check what was on...and there is always SOMETHING on in London!

There was a concert on at the Royal Festival Hall that evening, at Southbank Centre. A glance at my watch showed I had time to catch it, so I quickly showered, changed and left the hotel for an evening out.

Out of the underground station at Embankment, I walked along the bridge across the Thames to Southbank Centre, and saw a biplane and several helicopters flying slowly in formation over the Thames, close to the London Eye.





I tried googling to find out if there was a special event or flypast, but could not find any reference to this. Anyone know what was going on?

Across the bridge, I entered the foyer of the Royal Festival hall, and bought a ticket for that evening's concert, where I enjoyed the performance by the young pianist Lise de la Salle and the Philharmonia orchestra, conducted by Andrew Davis. Not a bad way to end a hectic workday!



Before heading back to Singapore later that week, I also chanced upon Byron, a restaurant focused on one thing only: "proper hamburgers".



This was their branch off Oxford Street.



I ordered a takeway chilli hamburger with an extra patty. This hamburger came with generous slices of green chilli pepper, lettuce, cheese and chipotle mayonnaise.

Despite eating it 25 minutes after purchasing it takeaway, it tasted divine, with the burger texture still perfect, bread soft and fluffy, with the chilli giving it an incredible kick, offset by creamy chipotle mayonnaise. Perfection! Not cheap, at GBP 8.75 for the burger + GBP 3.95 for the extra patty, but you get a really high quality product.

No pictures of the burger to share, unfortunately, as my hands were greasy from eating the burger, but a quick google of "byron burger" should give you several hits. They also have an amusing video about their story. It seems these days to start a new restaurant, you must have a "story"

And that ends the second installment of this TR.

For the third and final installment, I will cover LHR-SIN on SQ in Y.

Here is a preview pic, snapped onboard SQ305, while waiting in the queue to take off at Heathrow.



No contest over which is a more beautiful aircraft!

[yflyer]

Apart from the BA 744 and Emirates A380 waiting to take off behind us, I also spotted a rare bird indeed:

[yflyer]

My third and final sector on this trip was LHR-SIN in Y on SQ's 77W.

Let us start by getting the peanut shot out of the way...



You also received the usual amenity kit, consisting of sockettes and toothbrush.



Seating was 3-3-3. Each seat had an adjustable leather headrest with folding wings.



There were two power sockets in the armrests for each set of 3 Y seats.



Dinner was served after take-off.

[yflyer]

There were 3 choices of main course for dinner today:



I chose the mutton briyani, which was superb.



Fluffy, fragrant basmati rice, not overcooked, and rich flavourful mutton with gravy that somehow managed to stay hot right through the meal.



Dessert was ice cream with chocolate flakes and a subtle banana flavour. This was prepared by an ice cream company in Devon.

[yflyer]

IFE was the full Krisworld AVOD



I am a big fan of Anthony Bourdain, and I watched an episode of his "Layover" TV programme, featuring Sao Paolo, in proper 16:9 and high quality audio and video.



By then, the sun was setting somewhere over Central/Eastern Europe.



I was seated in the second last row, row 55, today, and realised for the first time that I could actually see the 777 horizontal stabiliser if I looked back.



There were snacks served midflight, but I was already asleep by then.



I woke up for breakfast feeling thoroughly refreshed...

A good night's sleep in Y? How is that possible? Well in this case I had 3 Y seats to myself (how to increase the odds of this is worthy of its own thread...), and ironically this was the flattest "bed" I slept on, across the different sectors of this trip...



I chose the fried rice.



The char siew was a bit dried out, but the rice was fine.



The rest of the flight passed quickly...with great views of the Riau Islands, shipping and Pulau Ubin before a smooth landing from the north on runway 20R.

[yflyer]

Overall, a near flawless flight on SQ, with superbly attentive cabin crew, and a superb hard product.

And here's one for the unsung heros in these TRs, the ones who get us there and back safe and sound: the tech crew!



To sum up...

Both the SQ flights were great...well up to the standards we have come to expect, with the LHR-SIN Y sector managing to exceed even those expectations.

This trip has also reinforced the notion that while Y is a commodity, and everyone knows what to expect in J, in the case of Premium Y, there is a wide range of different hard/soft products out there. Premium Y on BA cannot be considered to be in the same class as QF Premium Y (Which I consider to the be almost business-lite), but it was a very comfortable flight nonetheless, and not to mention a rare opportunity for me to fly on a 747 these days. If SQ ever launches Premium Y, I hope they go the QF route.

Final thoughts? Only of the wonderful hamburgers at Byron. Will definitely head there again next time I am in London...and next time, photo first...eat later!

Thanks for reading!

[HUGE AL]

As THE Burger Expert, I was looking forward to a full report including pictures.

[yflyer]

As THE Burger Expert, I was looking forward to a full report including pictures.

HUGE AL: Owe you one! Poor planning on my part...I actually went back to the restaurant the next day, intending to eat another burger (yes they were that good...), but they weren't yet open for lunch and I had a plane to catch. Oh well, next time...

[CarbonMan]

HUGE AL: Owe you one! Poor planning on my part...I actually went back to the restaurant the next day, intending to eat another burger (yes they were that good...), but they weren't yet open for lunch and I had a plane to catch. Oh well, next time...

Absolutely understandable. Many a time, when I set to a good restaurant, I remind myself that I've to get some pics. But when the food is plonked on the table, the blood is seems to seep out of the brain and into the tummy (similar to some other nocturnal activity ), and the mental reminder to take the pic only gets triggered when the plate is nice and clean.

[HUGE AL]

HUGE AL: Owe you one! Poor planning on my part...I actually went back to the restaurant the next day, intending to eat another burger (yes they were that good...), but they weren't yet open for lunch and I had a plane to catch. Oh well, next time...

No worries. Cruise on over to the USA. I'm SURE we can top the UK!

Absolutely understandable. Many a time, when I set to a good restaurant, I remind myself that I've to get some pics. But when the food is plonked on the table, the blood is seems to seep out of the brain and into the tummy (similar to some other nocturnal activity ), and the mental reminder to take the pic only gets triggered when the plate is nice and clean.

Oh, THAT I understand...but he teased us with the title to his thread.

[isaac]

Before heading back to Singapore later that week, I also chanced upon Byron, a restaurant focused on one thing only: "proper hamburgers".



This was their branch off Oxford Street.



I ordered a takeway chilli hamburger with an extra patty. This hamburger came with generous slices of green chilli pepper, lettuce, cheese and chipotle mayonnaise.

Despite eating it 25 minutes after purchasing it takeaway, it tasted divine, with the burger texture still perfect, bread soft and fluffy, with the chilli giving it an incredible kick, offset by creamy chipotle mayonnaise. Perfection! Not cheap, at GBP 8.75 for the burger + GBP 3.95 for the extra patty, but you get a really high quality product.

No pictures of the burger to share, unfortunately, as my hands were greasy from eating the burger, but a quick google of "byron burger" should give you several hits. They also have an amusing video about their story. It seems these days to start a new restaurant, you must have a "story"

i was in London when I saw your TR this morning... wanted to head there for lunch but decided to eat seafood hofun instead. no fight lah. shall try this the next time I get to London. thanks! great TR!

[9V-SIA]

Great TR

Will try the Byron burger next week if I have time

Miss the 744

[yflyer]

Absolutely understandable. Many a time, when I set to a good restaurant, I remind myself that I've to get some pics. But when the food is plonked on the table, the blood is seems to seep out of the brain and into the tummy (similar to some other nocturnal activity ), and the mental reminder to take the pic only gets triggered when the plate is nice and clean.

CarbonMan: On my trips this year, the challenge has been even greater: there have been several Chinese-style lunches and dinners, where the food is communally placed in the middle of a large round table (typically seating 10), on a rotating turntable, where one has to snap pictures of food on the move...thankfully the hosts have usually taken it as a compliment, to see me taking so many pictures of their delicious local cuisine!

[yflyer]

No worries. Cruise on over to the USA. I'm SURE we can top the UK!

HUGE AL: A lot of great burgers in the USA, but not so easy to find without local knowledge...you really must share your favourites!