The first course was the cream of chestnut soup, and although the menu says "with crutons", there were no crutons on what I was given. I am one of those people that has cracked pepper on almost everything, and this was going to be no exception. As per the procedure for any degustation meal, the complementing wine was served, which for this course was the Eileen Hardy Chardonnay 2004, made from the grapes of many vineyards. I never imagined someone could make a decent "creamy" soup out of chestnuts. I was proved very, very wrong indeed.
I kindly warned Simon that I am a keen photographer
so I would be photographing each label of wine offered as well as the dishes. He jovially (but in a somewhat subdued way) replied that he didn't mind at all.
An oddly shaped knotted bread roll was offered to complement the soup, which also was nicely consumed with the balsamic vinegar/olive oil offered.
First course: Cream of Chestnut Soup
Next was the Korean style seared bluefin tuna salad, and true to the word in the menu, the tuna slices were lightly seared on the outside but pink on the inside (but still "cooked", of course). The combination of flavours from the seared and pink tuna complemented well with the rest of the salad comprising of carrot, coriander and pine nuts (and of course the crowning glory of dressing, but I cannot remember what it tasted like, although I do remember that the taste of the dressing was the main thing that made the connection of the dish with Korea). The salad was complemented with a glass of Crawford River Riesling 2006 from the wine region in Henty, south-western Victoria.
Second course: Korean Style Seared Bluefin Tuna Salad
Even though the wine glasses are "small", is it a mistake to drink all of the wine offered per course? Read on......
Next up was a warm, robust dish: the pan fried salmon with beetroot relish, cannellini (a kind of white bean) puree and green beans. This was a nice course, with the salmon being of good texture and cooked all the way; the vegetables were all well prepared (green beans were crisp but not raw). A glass of Stella Bella SSB 2007 from the famous Margaret River region was offered to complement the salmon course. So alcohol count so far on board QF31: 1 x sparkling white (Taittinger), 3 x white (a chard, a riesling and a SSB). Needless to say (and as an Asian plus not being a casual, regular drinker, or a heavy drinker for that matter), not only did my cheeks flush red, but I was starting to feel the normal set of effects (thinking requires more brain power...you get the idea...)....
Third course: Pan Fried Salmon with Yalla Beetroot Relish, Cannellini Puree and Green Beans
The last course rounding up the main section of the menu was the largest, which was the lamb with aioli, potatoes and peas. The course was served at the same time as the side salad and a glass of Charles Cimicky Autograph Shiraz 2004 from the equally (if not more) famous Barossa Valley was the pour for this dish. I liked this dish with its succulent lamb and was surprised at the combination of lamb and aioli, but it was a good match. The minted peas were a good twist on the otherwise ordinary side vegetable, whilst the side salad was absolutely wonderful with the palm sugar vinaigrette.
Fourth course: Roast Rack of Castricum Brothers Lamb with Aioli, Potatoes and Minted Peas
Fourth course: Salad of Baby Cos, Radicchio and Frisee with Palm Sugar Vinaigrette
The reader might be thinking that it would be condescending for me to say at this point of the meal I was getting quite full, plus if you've been keeping track, the alcohol count is now up to 5 bits: 1 x sparkling white, 3 x white, 1 x red...so you can imagine what state I might possibly be in (did I mention that I was trying to lose weight some time ago, so I hadn't had a single drop of alcohol for over six weeks before I started this trip?). I asked Simon to pause for a moment as I wanted to stretch my legs (and let the existing food and drink have a chance to get digested), and he was only happy to defer the dessert and cheese.
I went for a walk to the other side of the cabin to see
Kiwi Flyer, who looked like he was having the simpler option of the regular menu. Whilst I was having issues with my touch panel, he was having issues with his IFE. I also had a chat to the gentleman in 5F who was having a leisurely face-to-face dinner with his wife in 5K. The couple said they were enjoying the flight so far, and I was only happy to offer and oblige in taking a picture of both of them having dinner face-to-face. I should have asked if I could keep a copy of the picture so I could include it in my collection, but my mind at that time was really only focused on them (plus I think my mind quickly ruled out asking due to privacy concerns, etc.).
I still needed to walk a bit, so I wondered upstairs to the J lounge, though no one was there at the time (probably still eating, so expected). I managed to see the self-serve bars for J as well as saying hello to a couple of the FAs there, although I kept socialising to a minimum since the longer I talked the more I became scared of being castigated, "Drunk!"
The stairs leading up from the front of the F cabin to the J cabin and lounge
The Business class in-sky lounge, with a nominal capacity of five or six people (belts are provided in the case of turbulence)
I returned back to my seat and signalled to Simon that I was ready to finish off my meal. A bit of deviation from the menu, Simon returned with the assiette of desserts rather than just the apple cinnamon tea cake. No wine was offered - whether this was Simon forgetting about it or wisely eschewing to serve me more alcohol I do not know, but it was pretty clear that no more alcohol was a good thing for me. The desserts were decadant and divine, though by the time I tried to finish the third item in the array I was so full I could only manage half of it before sending the rest away.
Assiette of Desserts
Despite being very full, I was encouraged to try the cheese plate, but I could only take bites from each of the cheeses and the fruits (didn't even touch the crackers) before I really had to send the otherwise fine course away. Somewhat groggily I asked Simon to prepare my bed as I stumbled off to the bathroom.
Cheese Plate
I entered the bathroom and felt my head becoming so much more heavier. I was clearly out of it. Now there are some drunks that sway left and right, some that yell incoherently and/or talk in spurts, some that seem perfectly normal and some that look sick. I think I fell into a combination of the last two, but my brain clearly felt like it was swimming and not quite attached in fixed space. I had only been in such a situation once before (had a bit too much on QF44 AKL-SYD J, but I managed to sleep until we got to SYD and survive without incident afterwards) and so I did the same thing as I did before - take a few deep breaths, count to 30 slowly. Only two things could come out of that - either I threw up, or nothing....28....29....30. Nothing. Alright, straighten up and back to suite.
Bed made up in my suite
When I arrived back, my bed was made. Sitting down in the bed was amazing: a very soft mattress was laid underneath and a nice, warm duvet on top. I flicked out my blanket and removed my shoes before settling into bed but sitting up. The pillows were very comfy and a bottle of water had been thoughtfully left at my side.
Kiwi Flyer had come to my suite to see if I wanted to go upstairs and meet
igel in the J lounge, but I told him that I felt too soussed to come up and to apologise to
igel for me.
I was just about to settle into bed for a lie down and a nap, when suddenly it happened......
(WARNING! The next section is not for the feint at heart or weak stomached, so if you really wish to read it, please highlight the text to read)
......an acidic surge came crashing up my throat as I was quick to plug my mouth. Normally everyone has heard of those times when you can just "swallow it" - this was not one of those times! With no great precision but as quickly as I could, I grabbed the air sickness bag from my seat pocket and the flood gates opened. 
I'm not sure if anyone heard me...oh, who am I kidding, even in my attempt not to make a huge hacking sound, the cabin is too small not to conceal the small squeaks of someone gagging and a sick bag filling up.
So there was another first in my life: first time throwing up as a result of alcohol. Definitely not something to be proud of.
I took the sick bag and found the crew who told me to toss it in the bathroom bin. Once I did that and rinsed through my mouth, Paul and Simon met me back at my seat. I was very surprised at their very supportive and understanding attitude (they could have very easily dismissed me since I was drunk) and asked if they could get me anything. I asked for a pot of green tea and a glass of water; they offered some medicine (I can't remember what it was - maybe alka-seltzer) but I said I should be OK. The green tea was soothing but the remains of throwing up were still well and truly present on my taste buds, giving a vile after taste to anything I consumed.
I managed to calm down and felt better after that, so I lied down again and slept for pretty much the rest of the flight, because when I woke up the cabin had to be prepared for landing. Which means I had missed out photographing (and trying out from) the F self-serve bars (they had already been closed and latched for landing)!
Oh well. I did have a bit of a talk with the other F FAs and what they thought about the new equipment (especially in the galley) on board the A380, of which all of them earnestly replied that they were very impressed at the utility of their new facilities.
A shot of the F galley on the A380; the information display (can't remember proper name) is a versatile and invaluable resource to the crew.
I managed to collect myself whilst my seat was transformed out of being a bed back to a regular seat, which had to be moved back into its original position for landing, plus I needed to reattach my sash belt. Landing was not a great joy of any kind because it was night time and apart from the speckles of lights there was not much else to see outside the window or from the tailcam. So without much ado we duly landed smoothly into Changi before docking at gate C23.
QF31 docking into gate C23 at Singapore (Changi), as viewed from the tailcam
There was a considerable amount of time (much noted by the captain who came on the PA shortly after docking) required for the complex aerobridges to be moved into position, so disembarkation did not happen for quite a while. When the doors opened, a flurry of Y pax could be heard behind my seat quickly striding off the aircraft and into the terminal. I preferred to take my time (unlike
Kiwi Flyer), checking that I had all my belongings before I proceeded out the front. Paul and Simon were there to wish all of us in F well; I thanked them wholeheartedly for their service and could not help but ask for a photo with them.
Me with two of the F cabin FAs, Paul and Simon
So what is my final assessment of my first First class experience, and of the First Suite on board the Qantas A380? I was
impressed, to say the least. Since I don't have other first class experiences (on QF nor on any other carrier), I can't do a comparison, but I was very impressed by all the aspects of the flight: the cabin, the service (saying a lot for the FAs here), the food......some of this you cannot understand nor judge on text, pictures or hearsay alone - it has to be experienced. I know we are fast to judge based only "on paper" or "on face value" (including me, i.e. why I think I'd enjoy the much simpler, rudimentary looking QF A380 F compared to the opulent and almost very tacky looking EK A380 F or the bland-ish looking SQ A380 R), but I truly think that QF have done well with this product. Had I not thrown up during the flight, I would have certainly found ways to enjoy the experience even more.
The only hiccup during the flight was my touch panel snafu (and
Kiwi Flyer's IFE, of which he was duly compensated with complimentary duty free).
Some people say that once you experience F (or any premium for that matter), it's impossible to go back. I won't deny or confirm this, but I'll let time tell. (I know I certainly can't fly any long-haul J in cash any time soon, let alone F...unless QF have a super-duper sale of some sorts).
After disembarking, I saw
Kiwi Flyer already in the terminal waiting for me, so without further a do we proceeded to immigration. For an airport like SIN and the pax traffic it handles, I was expecting a torrent of lines to negotiate, but when we arrived at immigration, there was no such lines! Baggage, on the other hand, was something totally different. Although the baggage claim hall wasn't teeming with people, the bags from our flight took ages to hit the belt. I normally gripe about Australian airports being lousy with times for baggage to be sent out to the claim belts, but I have to admit this was quite a wait as well. Perhaps it had to do something with the fact that we
were on an A380, so that is a considerable amount of baggage (not to mention that some baggage would be going to the belt in SIN, some would be transferring and some would be put back for the trip to LHR). In any case,
Kiwi Flyer coolly strided through the baggage claim area and through the very easy non-formality of customs, and
igel had managed to catch up with me as we both waited for bags. Eventually the belt started up and bags came out only in single spurts but soon enough started to arrive in a stream. My bag only had a magenta tag on it so I was expecting it to take a while given that there were at least another 40+ J pax (without considering lucky ducks who managed to get yellow tags) with the same priority.
igel managed to recover his bag first and thankfully mine was not too far behind, so we went through customs and said goodbye as
Kiwi Flyer and I hastily proceeded to the inter-terminal train towards the Crowne Plaza Changi.
Hotel: Crowne Plaza Singapore Changi Airport
Room Type: Suite
Room Location: 5th Floor
Originally, I had paid a non-refundable, prepaid rate at the Holiday Inn Parkview in downtown SIN, however what I didn't consider at the time was how was I to get from the airport to downtown so late at night. My naivity had me believe that the MRT would be the cheapest and most logical choice, but it turned out to be a lot more complicated than that.
Kiwi Flyer had booked a suite and offered me the choice of crashing on the suite's couch and simply no-show for my HI booking. Considering that this would simply save me the cost of transport between the airport and the city, plus I wanted to remain fairly much
incognito (I didn't want to bump into my relatives in SIN, since they'd otherwise do the whole meet-up thing which means less time for myself and...well, you get the idea...), so I took up
Kiwi Flyer's kind offer. (As a bit of a fast forward, even though I no-showed for my HI booking, I somehow still managed to get miles for it!)
We arrived at T3 and easily found the entrance to the CP Changi. Check-in was nice and breezy, which was just as well because sleep was definitely on both of our minds at that point! Once we were in the room, we didn't do much more except get changed (there was a washroom near the entrance hallway that I used whilst
Kiwi Flyer assumed the master bedroom with adjoining ensuite), have a cup of tea and go to sleep. I didn't mind sleeping on the couch, although the couch was shorter than my height, plus I should have asked for a spare blanket or the like (but this didn't become an issue until the morning).