SFO777

Off to New York and Singapore


DFW_CK and I are off for a day in Singapore, thanks to some good luck and fortuitous planning a year ago. That's when Singapore inexplicably released saver redemption seats on their JFK-FRA-SIN A380 before the change from 14 old Suites to 6 new Suites. We found a day with 2 seats and crossed our fingers. Fast forward to today and we're off to New York early enough to have lunch at Michelin three star Le Bernardin, ranked #44 in the world on the World's 50 Best list.

• Delta First Class to JFK
• Lunch at Michelin 3 star Le Bernardin
• BLADE helicopter to JFK
• Singapore Airlines First Class A380 Suites to Frankfurt
• Singapore Airlines First Class A380 Suites to Singapore
• Our Day in Singapore including Marina Bay Sands
• Lunch at Michelin 1 star Burnt Ends Singapore
• Dinner at Micheln 3 star Odette Singapore
• Singapore Airlines Private First Class Check-in and The Private Room
• Singapore Airlines First Class 77W to Los Angeles via Tokyo Narita
• American Airlines "First Class" to Denver

Delta was the logical early morning choice as they have the only nonstops to JFK that work for both of us. 5am at DIA...



First stop was the Delta Sky Club.





Much improved breakfast options...





Back down on the concourse, whoa now that's a line.



Denver DEN to New York JFK
Delta DL 876
737-900
6:25am-11:45am
October 11, 2022

Completely full flight and we left on time.





Whoa... only $5 for Wi-Fi for the entire flight.









Choice of quiche or fruit-cereal plate.



The quiche was very good.



There's always a few in the crowd.



Cool double airport pics. LaGuardia first.



And JFK a minute later.





Surprisingly pleasant Delta flight with an on time arrival.

Instagram

video of this morning's Delta flight from Denver to JFK

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SFO777

DFW_CK arrived on Delta from DFW just before noon and we met in the Terminal 4 arrivals hall where we stowed our bags for the afternoon. Then an NYC Taxi into the city at a reasonable $57 flat rate.











And to Le Bernardin, our home for the next 3 hours.

Le Bernardin
155 W 51st Street
New York, NY 10019
https://www.le-bernardin.com



Gorgeous place settings.





Tasty salmon dip.



We both did the Chef's Tasting Menu. Starting with Tuna Tartare - Sea Urchin Toast with Jus de viande. Wonderful.



Scallop-Caviar. Warm Scallop "Tartare" with Osetra Caviar and Sauce Marini�re. OMG



Poached Lobster, Grape-Fennel Salad, Verjus Sabayon. Spectacular.



Langoustine - Saut�ed with Petite Mache Salad, Truffled Cream and Mushroom - Balsamic Vinaigrette. WOW!



Dover Sole - Pan roasted with Green Olives, Toasted Almonds, Aged Sherry Wine Reduction. Simply Divine.



Steamed Halibut, Truffle Sunchoke Pur�e, Baby Root Vegetables, Sauce Bourguignon. Lovely.



For dessert, Spiced Poached Pear, Buddha's Hand Shop Medley.



And Pistachio Pralin�, Grand Marnier Bavarois. Fabulous.



And a parting gift.



As we pretty much closed the place down for lunch. What a wonderful culinary treat definitely three stars for food and worth the $298 per person price tag. Service was excellent but perhaps not as genuine and wonderful as other three stars like Odette or Guy Savoy. The biggest negative was the wine pairing, in particular our sommelier. She was not very engaging and definitely going thru the motions. Wines were nice but tor $170, I'd expect a little more than a 1.5 ounce pour.



Since it was a perfect 72 degree day and with an hour to go before our 5:40pm BLADE flight back to JFK, we decided to burn off some calories and walked the 25 blocks down to the West Side Heliport. The attractive BLADE terminal.







BLADE
W 30th Street Heliport to JFK
5:40p-5:46p
Departed 5/5

What a great way to beat the rush hour traffic to JFK. And at only $195 per person, not that much more than Uber.



















Six short minutes later, we're at JFK.





A BLADE SUV was waiting to drive each of us to our respective terminals.

Instagram video of our BLADE flight to JFK

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SFO777

Singapore Airlines A380 Suites to Frankfurt

Our BLADE driver dropped us off at T4 arrivals where we retreived our bags out of storage. And then up the escalator to Singapore check-in.





After a quick CLEAR/PreCheck combo security check, we headed first to the Amex Centurion Lounge. Unfortunately, it was packed so we just headed for the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse.



Our A380 parked a few gates away from the Clubhouse.



New York JFK to Frankfurt FRA
Singapore SQ 25
A380-800
8:55pm-10:00am
October 11, 2022
Departed 5/6

This is my second time in the Singapore A380 Suites. Very nice upper deck location with Suites 1 and 2 designed for those traveling together, as the suite divider comes down for a very spacious feeling.





Pre-departure offering of Dom Perignon or Krug.









Dom vs. Krug taste test.



Once in the air, our cabin crew began their wonderful inflight service. Yay, menus are back unlike on my menu-less May LAX-NRT SQ flight.





Showtime, SQ style.







The Yellow Tomato Soup with Mozzarella Cheese was excellent with a spicy kick.



For my main, I went with the Cantonese Style Roast Duck with Plum Sauce. Very nice.



For dessert, the Gianduja Chocolate Mousse Cake was delicious.



After dinner, I tried to sleep but only got a couple of hours as tonight's flight was just over 6 hours.





We had to disembark in Frankfurt but mercifully did not have to re-clear security. We headed to Lufthansa Senator Lounge to pass the time until we re-boarded.















Instagram

video of our Singapore A380 Suites flight from JFK to Frankfurt

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offerendum

I had dinner at Le Bernadin in 2011 and paid 140 $ for the tasting. Well, something changed.....
The food nevertheless looks amazing.

SFO777

Singapore A380 Suites to Singapore

Frankfurt FRA to Singapore SIN
Singapore SQ 25
A380-800
12:30pm-7:00am +1
October 12, 2022
Suite 2F

We boarded at around noon and I took my assigned 2F this time, as all suites were occupied. I prefer the row 2 suites as 1A feels claustrophobic on take off and landing as you look at the bulkhead wall and there is no easily viewable window.













Todays's menu.





Love the Singapore Satay.





For my starter, I went with the celebrity chef's Beetroot Stained Smoked Salmon. This was just plain gross and inedible. There is a reason there are not a lot of German restaurants outside of Germany.





For my main, the Kai Yaang was tasty, Thai style grilled marinated chicken with dipping sauce, vegetables and fried pineapple rice.





Nap time and I slept for 5 hours.



Time for a mid-flight snack.



The Egg Noodles dish was bland and not very good.



Next I tried the Gourmet Cheese Plate... LOL. This looked more like something that you'd see on American Airlines



A couple hours later I tried the Oatmeat Banana Pancakes. It was OK but I was hungry who knows how good it was. I wouldn't order it again.







We arrived at Singapore just over 12 hours after departure. As usual, SQ inflight service was excellent. Sadly, the food on this leg was mostly mediocre.

My Instragram

video of our Singapore A380 Suites flight from Frankfurt to Singapore

SFO777

Our Michelin 4 Star Foodie Day in Singapore

After we checked into and freshed up at the Four Seasons, we headed out to check out the Observation Deck at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.



Great views of Singapore from the top of the Marina Bay Sands.







FIrst food stop today is Michelin One Star Burnt Ends, ranked #94 in the world and #41 in Asia. Strange location with no obvious signage identifying itself. And a most unpleasant rhymes-with-witch for a hostess. The food better be good.



Today's cool menu.



Smoked Quail Egg with Caviar was fabulous.



Grissini and Taramasalata. Wow!





Jamaica Chicken and Lime Crema. Sensational.



Beef Marmalade and House Pickles. Awesome.



Burnt Ends Sanger... Brioche, pulled pork, cole slawm chipotley aioli. Delicious.





Uni, King Crab, Brioche. Amazing.





Fish and Chips. Out of this world.



Pakistani Lamb Chops.



Fabulous.



And the finale, incredible Onglet, Burnt Onion and Bone Marrow. What a great meal although it dragged on way too long as the last three dishes took over an hour to appear.



After a few hours of relaxation back at the Four Seasons, we headed out for our 7:30pm reservation at a true Michelin three star - Odette, ranking #36 in the world and #8 in Asia.







Gorgeous and elegnat restaurant in the National Gallery of Singapore





Tonight's amazing tasting menu...







Marukyo Uni. Amazing.



Shima Aji "Crudo". Wow.





Rosemary Smoked Organic Egg.



Wonderful presentation.



Seaweed Butter Glazed Scallop. Simply divine.



Kombu Steamed Kinki.



Poularde de Bresse.



With the most amazing potato puffs.







For dessert, Williams Pear Gourmandise. Outrageously good.



And a selection of sweets to finish.



What a marvelous dinner at one of the truly great Michelin three star restaurants. A wonderful culinary experience combined with flawless and engaging service. Bravo Odette!









Instagram videos of our day in Singapore:

Four Seasons Singapore

Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Michelin One Star Burnt Ends

Michelin Three Star Odette

For an HD version and more pics on SFO777.com
• Off to New York and Singapore
• Lunch in New York at Michelin 3 Star Le Bernardin and BLADE to JFK
• Singapore Airlines A380 Suites to Frankfurt
• Singapore Airlines A380 Suites to Singapore
• Michelin Foodie Day in Singapore Airlines

Additional Installments on SFO777.com
•Singapore Airlines First Class Check-in and The new Private Room at Changi
• Singapore Airlines First Class to Los Angeles via pathetic Narita
• American "First Class" home to Denver

stevie

Thanks for the TR, interesting. My take away is...that's a hell of a lot of expensive food.

Harper50505

Interesting observation on Singapore Airlines and service. While the Suites are no doubt excellent, business class seats are not. The crews generally still are very good but the food offerings in particular have sunk a long way in the premium cabins and now I think they, like a few more trade on past glory not of course that criticism is ever welcome. Time had it when from Europe to Aus they were the only airline I would consider, now, I consider them no better than any other airline from the Gulf or SE Asia.

SFO777

Thanks stevie. Indeed, none of the meals were cheap but apart from the aggressive wine fume pairing prices at Le Bernardin, I thought the prices were reasonable for the quality and experience.

Thank you Harper50505. Totally agree. SQ does seem to be trading on its past glories. I consider SQ now to be a mid-tier international First airline, well behind Emirates, Air France, Swiss, ANA and JAL.

ExpatSomchai

Thanks SFO always good to see how the other half live

1P

Very good TR, SFO777 !

Amazed that the Alain Voge Cornas 2018 at Odette was drinkable at such a young age. Unless he's adopted a lighter style for export to Asia, you'd normally need to wait another five years or so for the tannins to smooth out.

I've not encountered that particular Savoyard wine from Giachino, and it's not listed on their website. How was it?

offerendum

This dish is as German as Mexico is part of the USA. Btw Johann Lafer (who I doubt has very few connections with this dishes) is Austrian and not German.

RayG

Austrian tho he may be, he is a fairly known TV chef in Germany. would suggest he had some hand in those creations.

Thanks for the report, SFO777.

Odette is indeed quite the experience, however was quite exhausted at the end of the tasting menu when I went last year.

I did feel underwhelmed by Le Bernadin � not mind blowing as I had hoped it would be.

sl00001

Oh .....SFO777 was in my town....excellent trip report and drooling of all the food.

offerendum

A typical Lafer. Johann Lafer is known in Germany primarily for his cookbooks (which are undoubtedly good), TV shows, commercials and the "creation" of conveniance meals. With the Stromburg, he also had a hotel with gastronomy, in which there was a star restaurant in the past.
While Lafer was and is very present in the media, he never had a prominent culinary significance for me in Germany. For me, other people such as Witzigmann, Winkler, who unfortunately died recently, Wissler, J�rgens or M�ller are more influential.