Matthew Moran on SQ's International Culinary Panel

Our breakfast choices this morning ranged from an omelette to dim sum (the siew mai of which looked very similar to the economy class ones I got on the way out to LA) and all the way to the more extravagant "seared sirloin with red wine butter, sauteed fine green beans and pont neuf potatoes," the last of which was created by Matthew Moran of Aria Restaurant in Sydney. I've never eaten there, but steak in the morning sounded good to me. :) This was better than I expected. The meat quality, while not perfect, was tasty enough, especially with that red wine butter. The potatoes, green beans, and tomatoes all complemented the taste well too. This sure is a nice change from some of those omelettes on United that we keep getting in the morning.

One thing I noticed today too is that SQ offered an optional "Between Meals Menu" for this long haul flight if you got hungry. Normally airlines provide stuff like instant Cup O'Noodles or pre-made Saran-wrapped half-sandwiches or something for this purpose, but SQ actually offered things like rice porridge, basil pesto omelette, braised egg noodles, and spaghetti. Wow. I didn't eat any of those this time (grabbing just a simple banana from their fruit basket instead), but it was interesting to see them offering something so elaborate.

Note to self though: SQ's long-haul flights back to Singapore from both LAX and Newark depart at late evening times, which I'm not a big fan of. While it sounds nice on paper that you get in a full day in before getting on the plane, the problem is precisely that you're probably going to be tired as a result and want to sleep right after you get on the plane, which is not the best way to adjust time zones. Moreover, there are no shower facilities in the lounges at LAX nor Newark (and a surprisingly boring number of concessions vendors at both locations too), so you could run for literally up to something like 40 hours without a shower, depending on your timing (and surprisingly, they didn't automatically give out any toothbrushes here in Raffles Class, although I thought I remembered getting it in the cattle class package). I suppose that SQ times the flights this way in order to get people to connecting flights in Singapore in the morning, but since I never need to connect, I'll probably opt for other flights instead, unless I really need the extra time on the ground afforded by the non-stop flights here for whatever reason.