After adding a triple set of kimchi to the ever-expanding collection of fermented vegetables in my carry-on bag it was time to board...
SQ 15 (SFO-)ICN-SIN J B777-200 "Jubilee"
...and this plane was, like, wow. I'd been on an SQ B777 Jubilee before, but this was my first time up in Raffles Class (seat 14K to be precise), and this was just a completely different
planet from OZ's cruddy 767. Do note that the plane was a true long-hauler coming in from SFO, so comparing it to OZ's dedicated ICN-SIN-ICN service isn't entirely fair -- but in the end it's the passenger experience that matters.
The first obvious difference was the famed Spacebed. It took me a moment to figure out how to operate the controls (the guide booklet helped), but once I had the "heureka!" moment of realizing that instead of the seatback reclining, the back stays put and the rest of the seat
slides down, it was easy. Like SQ Y, there was a PTV built into the seat; unlike Y, the selection of movies, TV programs and audio channels was so mind-bogglingly huge that I gave up and just set the thing to show me the flight path.
The second big difference was the food and drink service. No little trays of drinks here, each passenger was asked what they would like to drink, and then asked again once they finished that, with free refills before you could even ask. I started with a glass of OJ, then upgraded myself to two glasses of champagne (Piper Heidsieck rare cuvée réservée), nibbled on some satay (mild but not bad at all)... and then the meal service started!
Zensai
Assorted Japanese appetizer of salmon tataki, tamago with eel and salmon roes served with mitsuba lettuce and yuzu shiso dressing
Cannelloni of braised beef, chopped spinach in red wine sauce
or
Sang Seon Bulgogi
Korean style grilled Northern halibut with seasonal selection of vegetables and steamed rice
or
Ma Po Tofu
Chinese style braised silken beancurd with minced pork, prawns in hot bean sauce served with mustard green and steamed rice
Selection of cheese with garnishes
A selection of fresh fruit
Häagen-Dazs Tiramisu ice cream with chocolate sauce and roasted almonds
The appetizer, like all subsequent dishes, were brought on separate porcelain trays.
Tataki is raw fish barely seared on the edges, and despite my misgivings it was unbelievably good for airplane food, prompting booting out
TG's pomelo salad from my "best thing eaten on airplane" slot. I continued the Korean theme and went for the fish bulgogi (which, incidentally, replaced the originally scheduled
Dak gochu jang boekum, ie. grilled chicken -- bird flu strikes again!), which was competent but not quite to my taste; not as in "bad airline food", but "I went to a good restaurant and ordered the wrong thing". Already stuffed I skipped the cheese and fruits, but couldn't resist the ice cream, which was absolutely delectable. I washed this down with a glass of
Hattenheimer Riesling Kabinett 2001 'Balthasar Ress' white, which was
very good, and then a full wine glass (!) of
Taylor's LBV 1998 port, which was decent (and in much better shape than OZ's earlier attempt), but I still had leave half of it -- too much of a good thing and all.
By now it was 10 PM and I'd had around 6 servings of alcohol at 30,000 feet, so a quick trip to the loo (everything inside Givenchy!) and then it was time to extend the Spacebed to the max and grab some sorely-needed Z's. No, it doesn't recline all the way (sleeping on my stomach was a tad uncomfortable), but I could stretch out all the way (that's 192 cm plus Raffles slippers) and it was a d*mn sight better than any seat I've slept in before. I effortlessly dozed away for the remaining 3 hours of the flight.
I was woken up 30 min before arrival by the cabin lights being turned back on, now with the mildest of hangovers (reminding me why I usually stick to a glass of wine on longer flights). And yes, I have to agree with earlier opinions here on FT, the Spacebed is not
that comfortable when sitting all the way up... but everything is relative, and the best use of J facilities is for better sleep anyway.
SIN operated with its usual efficiency, immigration staff were climbing into their little booths as I strode into the arrivals hall and were ready to scan my EP by the time I crossed it. 30 minutes of
bing bong in a speeding taxi and I was back home in the tropics, a world away from the snowy mountain passes of northern Japan.
[This message has been edited by jpatokal (edited Feb 16, 2004).]