Trip Report: Singapore Airlines business class (Part 2: FOOD)

Last month Singapore Airlines invited me to check out its brand new business class seat on a roundtrip flight between San Francisco and Hong Kong. I prepared a Trip Report (part 1) about that journey here. In that post, I focused primarily on the new plane, seat and entertainment system.

This report (part 2) is more about the food and service onboard.

If you like (or are able) to sleep on planes, Singapore Air’s schedule between SFO and Hong Kong is perfect– flights in both directions depart very late at night (around 1 a.m. on the way over and about 11:30 p.m. on the back back to SFO).

Due to the late hour, the first inflight meal service on those late night flights is abbreviated– everyone of course wants to get to sleep right away. In business class, you can choose to have an elaborate service, but few passengers do- none on my flight did. I took the advice of flight attendants and chose light Asian meals in both directions– and ended up with some of the best sleep I’ve ever had on a plane. (See part 1 for more on that!)

Due to the nighttime departures, flight attendants take food and drink orders before take off so they can do a quick service, and then have everyone go to bed.

Let’s take a look!

Did you miss Part 1 of this Trip Report? Click here to read it

 

 

 

Maybe I should have opted for one of those cocktails…even if I was not in the mood for booze, it would have made a good photo!

 

Other main courses included a crispy seared chicken thigh with pork chorizo sofrito or a warm pastrami sandwich. For dessert (which I passed on to keep it light) was a black cherry flan. There was also a cheese cart, from which I did not partake, that included camembert, roquefort and cheddar served with crackers and fruit.

After my bowl of superior soup, I nabbed a full eight hours of sleep, so I missed taking a look at any of the midflight snacks, that included three different noodle dishes (plain, tom yam or vegetarian). Also a roasted vegetable or salmon sandwich served on focaccia or a croissant with creamy chicken and tomato. There are also Hershey’s cookies and cream bars and Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies for late night snackers.

Related: How airlines make inflight food beautiful

Did you miss Part 1 of this Trip Report? Click here to read it

Western breakfast options included scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, poached eggs with hollandaise sauce and assorted rolls and pastries.

So that’s it for the flight over… now let’s take a gander at my meals on the flight back from HKG to SFO. Again, this was a nighttime flight, so I opted for a lighter meal.

 

 

Related: How airlines make inflight food beautiful

Other mains included: Seared tournedos of beef with rosemary jus or pan roasted duck breast on sautéed savoy cabbage with bacon.

Interesting: Cheeses differ on the east and west bound flights. On this flight flight attendants offered Tomme, Manchego and bleu d’Auvergne.

Overnight snacks on the eastbound flight included seafood, plain or vegetarian noodles, a roasted Mediterranean vegetable wrap, chicken salad on ciabatta or salmon on focaccia.

After the noodle soup, I was fast asleep for six hours and awoke to breakfast.

Oh- and the movies I chose for this flight were: Entourage (not much better than a TV episode, but a fun way to pass the time). And then there was The Age of Adaline– a fantastic tear-jerker that takes place in San Francisco. Is it just me, or is everyone more easily brought to tears on flights? Must have something to do with the oxygen in the air!

Did you miss Part 1 of this Trip Report? Click here to read it

 

 

Other breakfast selections included griddle pancakes with caramelized banana or poached eggs with hollandaise sauce.

Since I was already trying to adapt to California time (where it was dinner time) it was a big incongruous to have breakfast, which is why I chose the dim sum. But Singapore Airlines has that incongruity covered … see the note below.

Hot towels: On most flights, flight attendants offer hot towels once, or maybe twice during a long flight. On these flights, they offered nice hot scented white washcloth-like towels four times! Before AND after each meal. Nice.

While it’s difficult to improve upon Singapore Airlines’ inflight product, I’d say that it once again has raised the bar for inflight comfort and service with its new business class seat and warm, friendly and efficient inflight service.

Have you ever flown Singapore Airlines? What did you think? Share your experience below in the comments! 

Did you miss Part 1 of this Trip Report? Click here to read it

–Chris McGinnis

(Disclosure: I was a guest of Singapore Airlines on this round trip flight. Currently, business class fares on nonstop, roundtrip SFO-HKG flights run in the $4,500-$6,500 range.)

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