Short review
Lounge (SilverKris First Class Lounge in Sydney): 4/5
Cabin: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Food and beverages: 4.5/5
Pros:
- Large, beautiful and comfortable suite
- Excellent service from the cabin crew
- Enjoyable fine dining experience
Cons:
- I wish the flight were longer …
Long review
I have previously flown with Singapore Airlines first class from Singapore to Sydney, which can be read here. This time, I flew in Suites from Sydney to Singapore. This cabin class is only available in Singapore Airlines A380 fleet. As you know, A380 is currently the largest commercial aircraft, but sadly Airbus recently pulled the plug on the production of this great aircraft. It should also be noted that this was the original Suite and not the new one that has a swivel seat. This flight left Sydney at 12:15 and landed in Singapore at 17:20 with a total flight time of about 8 hours.
In the Kingford-Smith International Airport in Sydney, Singapore Airlines had different check-in counters for different cabin classes. I already felt excited when I checked in and received the gold-colour boarding pass.
Passing immigration and security was relatively quick due to the express path available for premium passengers. I then directly went to the Singapore Airlines’ SilverKris Lounge. The business-class lounge could be clearly seen on the left, while the entrance to the first-class lounge was hidden behind a secret door on the right. The lounge was comfortable, although it was rather small. Obviously much smaller than the Private Room in the Changi Airport, which I really like.
The lounge had 4 areas. The first one was an area for relaxing and watching TV, the second one was dining, the third one for working, and the last one had a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the apron. Some dishes were already available in the dining area and some more could be freshly ordered from the menu. I ordered duck wraps, which were delicious, but the portion was tiny. Anyway, that was fine since I wanted to enjoy the fine-dining experience during the flight. Afterwards I took a quick shower and spent the rest of my time working with my laptop.
When it was time for boarding, a lounge staff escorted me and other Suite passengers to the plane. We were the first group entering the plane and boarding for other passengers only started after we passed the boarding gate.
Near the door of the plane, a flight attendant took me to my suite in 1F. The suite had a sliding door to increase privacy. I loved the design and the colour configuration of the cabin. It was a reminiscent of a first-class cabin on a train in Europe. There were many storage spaces within the suite along with a big table for dining or working. Pyjamas and the Salvatore Ferragamo amenity kit bag had also been placed tidily in the suite. For the welcome drink, I chose a refreshing Dom Perignon.
Once I settled in my suite, a flight attendant introduced himself and the other team members. In total, 3 flight attendants took care of me during the flight. All 3 were friendly, efficient, and attentive. An example of their attentiveness was demonstrated when I wiped my glasses with my shirt, a flight attendant immediately brought a small cloth for cleaning glasses out of his pocket. I was so impressed with this small attention to detail. They also always called me using my title and surname.
Before take-off, a flight attendant took my dining order from the menu provided. The following were the dishes available from the menu. Those I selected are in asterisk.
Appetiser
- Chilled Malossol Caviar with melba toast and condiments*
- Chicken and Foie Gras Terrine with sherry jelly and hazelnut puree
Soup
- Leek and Potato Soup with chilled air dried ham and chive
- Doubled Boiled Chicken Soup with shiitake mushroom, bamboo pith and wolfberries*
Salad
- Baby Leaves with Olive and Fetta Cheese*
Main course
- Baked Snapper with Pesto Crust and shimeji mushrooms, artichoke barigoule, fingerling potatoes*
- Seared Lamb Chop with Natural Jus, haricot vert, cherry tomato, chilled tabbouleh salad and mint jelly
- Thai green curry chicken, leafy greens, carrot, cauliflower and steamed rice
- Rice noodles in beef broth with sliced beef fillet and leafy greens
Dessert
- Mango cheesecake with ginger cookie crumbs and raspberry sorbet, sago with coconut sauce, caramel vinegar sauce*
- Opera cake with kahlua sabayon sauce and fresh raspberry
Cheese
- Woodside mclaren camembert, Pyengana mature cheddar, trinity cellar blue and Yarra Valley white savourine cheese with garnishes
Fruit
- A variety of fresh fruit from the basket*
Lunch service began soon after the plane was in a cruising altitude. The dishes were served one by one, making this lunch a great fine dining experience in the air. My caviar was very enjoyable. The melba toast and condiments enhanced the flavour nicely.
The next dish was a bowl of refreshing chicken soup. A good dish to clean the palate after the relatively strong taste of the caviar.
The salad and fetta cheese was next. Not much to say on this one. It’s pretty much a bowl of salad.
The baked snapper, which was my main course, was then served. It was very tasty, although probably it was a bit overcooked so it was not as soft as I expected.
For the dessert, I chose the delightful mango cheesecake, a perfect dessert to close this enjoyable dining experience. I skipped the cheese board, but I picked several fruit from the basket. I was very full at this stage. Overall, I enjoyed the fine dining experience immensely. The food tasted great, the overall presentation of the dishes was good, and the service was outstanding.
After lunch, I asked a flight attendant to convert my seat into a bed, while I changed to the pyjamas provided. I had a short nap and then spent the remaining flight time watching movies on the large HD entertainment screen. Throughout the journey, the flight attendants always walked around to make sure that all my needs were taken care of. I also requested a glass of SilverKris Sling and some nuts during this relaxing time.
Before landing, I ordered a bowl of fish congee from the refreshment menu. Another dish available from the menu was baked duck pie with pea mash and natural jus.
Before exiting the plane, a flight attendant took a photo of me standing on the stairs connecting the main deck and the upper deck (A380 has 2 decks). He said that Jennifer Garner used to pose on the same spot. All the flight attendants also said their goodbyes and best wishes and hoped that I will fly with them again in the future (sure, looking forward to it). So far, this is my best flying experience. Excellent hard products and excellent services from the flight attendants. No wonder Singapore Airlines is always among the best airlines in the world. Very difficult to top this kind of experience.
