Introduction: Journey to the West
Lounge Review: SilverKris Lounge, Changi Airport T3
Flight Review: Singapore Airlines SQ8 Business Class B777-300ER SIN - ICN (Singapore to Seoul, Incheon)
Lounge Review: SilverKris Lounge, Seoul Incheon International Airport
Flight Review: Singapore Airlines SQ8 Business Class B777-300ER ICN - LAX (Seoul Incheon to Los Angeles)
Follow me on my Instagram to read about my latest food and travel adventures.
Apologies for the long delay with this last post of my trip to LA back in June 2017! I was busy with my 3-week long trip to South America, and then I had to prepare for my big move from the US back to Singapore.
Just a short recap - I redeemed KrisFlyer miles for this business class trip from Singapore to LA for the start of my epic 6-week road trip across the West Coast of the United States.
After a quick shower in the SilverKris Lounge at Seoul Incheon Airport, it was time to head back to the boarding gate for the next leg of our flight to Los Angeles.
And I'm back again to 11K, my familiar bulkhead seat. Once settled in, the flight attendant came by to offer me pre-departure drinks, and I opted for the champagne.
Since I've already introduced most of the seat features in my previous post, I shall skip that.
Here's the flight path for our trip across the Pacific Ocean.
I love these Hollywood-style vanity mirror lights in the business class bathroom - adds a touch of glamour to the space, don't you think?
I'm not familiar with this brand of toiletries provided in the bathroom, but I would think Miller Harris is a step down from L'Occitane, which was in place a few years ago. Let's hope the new business class amenities fare better.
Lunch service began not long after takeoff, and I started my meal with a glass of Singapore Sling. Singapore Airlines' signature satay meant the meal was off to a good start - perfectly grilled and served with a delicious spicy peanut sauce.
Authentic Korean cuisine Hansik was offered on this flight, with a menu crafted by Chef Kim Jungsik, the first Michelin-star chef from Korea.
I started with the Seared Swordfish with fine Mesclun and Yuzu Dressing. The fish paired well with the zingy yuzu dressing.
My friend opted for the western menu, and since he does not eat raw fish, I had to help him with his Tuna Tataki Greek Salad. Not a fan of the tuna here, as it was a little too fishy, and the goat's cheese upped the funk level in the salad.
Garlic bread and crisps from the bread basket, before my main course of Grilled Pork Belly with Bean Sauce, Leafy Salad and Steamed Rice.
I have to say, this is one of the best inflight meals I've ever had! Kudos to Singapore Air for replicating the perfect Bossam experience in the air. Perfectly cooked, extremely flavourful and tender pork belly with fresh greens, sautéed mushrooms, pickles, soup and good quality steamed rice. This was so yummy!!
At this point we were flying near Mount Fuji - the captain alerted us to this, and we took some snaps of the iconic mountain of Japan.
We met with some pretty extreme turbulence, and the entire cabin started shaking badly. It got so bad that my soup spilled all over my tray table, and I had to get the flight attendant to change my table cloth. Imagine trying to eat/drink through all this turbulence. It was not a pretty sight.
Dessert was Korean Angelica Pudding, which turned out a lot better than I expected. I was expecting some kind of faintly bitter/herbal dessert a la Chinese herbal jelly, since angelica is a medicinal herb. But what came out was a lightly sweetened, chilled dessert with a sticky caramel-ly topping and a very pleasant and faint herbal aftertaste.
By this time I was quite full, but the meal did not stop here. Up next was the cheese platter with some crackers as well as fresh and dried fruit. I love brie, but I'm really not a fan of stinky cheese.
Lastly, we rounded up the meal with some chocolate pralines and TWG tea.
I caught up on some inflight movies with the nifty IFE controller, and we passed by some strange sightings in the sky. I think it looks like the bottom half of a rainbow that's been cut off?
I asked the flight attendant for help with making the bed, and was soon tucked into bed with my furry friends while we were somewhere over the Pacific.
Since Singapore Airlines does not provide inflight pyjamas for Business Class passengers (it's only offered to passengers travelling in First Class), I decided to bring my Qatar Airways pyjamas on this flight.
I was a little apprehensive at first, not knowing how the flight attendants would react to a passenger wearing an apparel from a rival airline. To my surprise, nobody batted an eyelid. I could just as well have been wearing my pyjamas from home. Oh well, much ado about nothing!
Since this was a bulkhead seat, I did not have to squeeze my feet into the small cubbyholes at the side and instead had the whole seat width to stretch out my feet. I was drifting off to dreamland very soon, and was able to catch a few hours of good quality sleep. The sleeping surface was a little too hard and would have benefited from a soft mattress pad or something.
I woke up to breakfast about 2.5 hours before landing. Breakfast started with a plate of sliced fresh fruit, which were passably sweet.
This was followed by some bircher muesli and pastries.
I wanted to try the coffee selection on board, and ordered a cup of cappuccino. It was delicious, and came with a beautiful foam topping.
The main course for my breakfast was French Toast with Maple Syrup, served with some chicken chipolata sausages, sautéed mushrooms and tomato. This tasted alright, as the french toast was overcooked and too dry.
Very soon, we were flying down the Californian coast, and the approach at dawn was beautiful.
This was somewhere near Palisades beach, according to the inflight map.
As the plane turned inland, the LA downtown skyline moved into view through the fog.
We waved goodbye to the plane which brought us all the way from Singapore to Los Angeles for over 20+ hours, and looked forward to embarking on our 6-week adventure across the West Coast.
A beautifully photographed report as always! It was worth the wait :-)
Awesome shots of Mount Fuji! SQ J is really one of the best ways to cross the Pacific.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks KevinDC! Indeed it was a very comfortable way to fly between Asia and the US! Look forward to trying the new A380 J class in the (hopefully not too far) future!
Great report. That tuna is not raw though and also as rare should be fishy. Looks brilliant.
Hi Andyw, thanks for pointing that out - my friend is just a bit more iffy when it comes to uncooked food. The rest of the menu items were delicious, nonetheless.