Wok On Air, Sydney Domestic Airport

"Fast, fresh and healthy food."

That is the tag line of Wok an Air, a fast food Asian restaurant in the Sydney domestic airport.

I can't say that what I ordered was healthy, but it was fast, and, I did enjoy some of it.

Wok On Air Storefront.

"Wok On Air is fast, fresh, healthy food, with every dish made to order in less than five minutes. Wok On Air offers Asian classics such as laksa, pad thai, red and green curries and noodle soups. All dishes are made by our qualified chefs from authentic Asian recipes, and prepared 'live' through a window to the kitchen. 

Wok On Air's modern and diverse menu is backed up by communal tables and seating on short stools, reminiscent of street vendor eating in South East Asia. Light ash timber and red, black and white details create an inviting and fun atmosphere."

I wasn't really in the mood for mediocre airport dining, but the Qantas domestic business lounge didn't have much that I wanted, so, I needed to check out the other options (like Bar Roma, with incredible onion rings!).  My ventures lead me to Wok on Air, on the side of the main food court.

Counter.

The style is fast food, order at a counter, with food behind display cases, although they do have dedicated seating, and some items are made to order.

My Snack.

Wok On Air has a diverse menu including noodles and dim sum, but I stuck with packaged items, grabbed to go to take on my flight.

Snacks Menu.

The signs, and steamer baskets, did look appealing, actually.  Points for the decor.

Rice Paper Rolls.

But once I saw the food items ... nothing looked great.

Snacks.

Spring Rolls, Chicken Satay, "Fried Dim Sum", San Choy Bau.

BBQ Pork Buns, Vegetarian Dumplings.

The presentation in steamer baskets was appealing, but ...

Edamame with Salt, Shanghai Pork Dumplings.

They really did not look good.

Prawn Har Gau, Chicken Dim Sum.

The lineup was fairly extensive though, if you want to try airport dim sum.

Sushi.

The sushi was funny, basically just uncut rolls.  Not hand rolls, not cut rolls, just, large uncut rolls.  All pre-made, with a little soy sauce fish in the package, no wasabi or ginger.

California Roll. $6.

I got a california roll, as it seemed like a good option to bring on my flight, easy to eat, and I was craving crab, or, even crabstick.

This ... was not good sushi.

California Roll: Insides.

The rice was sticky but not seasoned, not vinegared.  Inside was a big flavorless crab stick, a spear of cucumber, and a spear of avocado.

Meh.

Sweet Chili Sauce and Hoisin.

I did take sweet chili sauce and hoisin from the condiments station, and I'm glad I did.  The hoisin in particular was really good, and, it went great with my onion rings from nearby Bar Roma.

Prawn Chips, Lotus Chips.

I'm not sure if these were housemade, but I adore chips, so I gladly snagged bags of each of the non-commercial chips.

Prawn Chips, Large. $8.

The prawn chips were delicious.

Really, really delicious.  Or maybe, just at the time I had them, I was craving simple carbs and salty things?  They were a bit oily, but, my body wanted that at the time.  Oh, air travel, makes the body crave strange things.

The chips were crispy, airy, flavorful, salty ... just the perfect snack.  They were even better dipped into sweet chili sauce.

These are available in two sizes, small or large, neither kind actually sealed, just tied off with a rubber band. I ordered the large bag, and downed it in about 3 minutes.  Oooph.

Fried Lotus Root. $6.

Why did the lotus chips come with soy sauce?  I don't understand.  Would you drizzle it on?

The lotus chips were good.  Really crispy, really fried, really salty.  They didn't taste super fresh, but, still, crunchy salty goodness.  Best with something to dip into (other than soy sauce!), or thrown into a salad as a crispy topping.

The lotus chips come in a single size bag only, and were properly sealed, so, worth grabbing an extra bag for later too.

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Tim's Cascade Snacks

"Tim's has been creating our famous chips in the shadow of the Cascade Mountain range since 1986 using an old family recipe. By starting with premium potatoes direct from family owned farms and only the finest blends of real seasonings, we think you'll agree that you have discovered what you have been looking for from your first satisfying crunch."

Tim's is a manufacturer of chips, located in Washington state.  Like many regional brands, it has a cult following, but I had never heard of Tim's, until I visited Seattle, and they were seemingly everywhere.

For the most part, Tim's flavors are fairly common: original, sour cream & onion, sea salt & vinegar, cheddar & sour cream, and a couple types of BBQ (honey BBQ or Alder Smoke BBQ).  A new, slightly more interesting flavor is Dill  Pickle, a flavor they have partnered with Vlasic to make.  But the flavor variety doesn't seem to be the main appeal.

To be honest, I'm not really sure what is.  I have tried the original (served alongside my lobster roll at New England Lobster) and I've now tried another variety and ... yeah, they are just chips.

Sea Salt & Vinegar.

"A combination of the purest Sea Salt and tangiest Vinegar ever to give these chips a taste that the Queen would be proud of!"

For the bag I actually selected, I went for sea salt & vinegar, since the flavor options weren't particularly interesting in general.

The chip base was ... fine.  A kettle style chip, fried, thin, crispy.  Fine, but greasier than I like.

The salt and vinegar though ... wow it was intense.  Way too intense for my taste unfortunately.  Incredibly tangy.

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QF49, MEL-SFO, Business Class

Flight Details:

• Flight QF49, MEL-SFO
• Aircraft: 787-900
• Departure: 10:35pm (scheduled)
• Seat: 3A

Cabin & Seat

This was my first time flying on a Qantas Dreamliner.  Business class is divided into two cabins, with a 1-2-1 layout, all aisle access, fully flat seats.  The front cabin has 8 rows, the back only 3, directly adjacent to premium economy.

In front of the front cabin is a single bathroom (left hand side), and a galley that isn't as high traffic as the main galley behind the front cabin.  Between the cabins is that main galley, a bathroom on each side (also for Premium Economy passengers), and a in-flight self-service bar.

If you value quiet, opt for the front cabin, mid-cabin.  I suspect rows 7 and 8 and 9 and 10 would be quite loud as that galley has all the action, and row 1 might be slightly annoying.

Left Handed Aisle Seat.

The other thing to note is that the window seats are staggered with the seat and shelf either against the window or against the aisle. Odd rows have the seat against the window, even against the aisle. This makes the odd rows more private, as the shelf and large console do make it fairly isolated, but, they also make it fairly cramped and restricted, particularly if you are a side sleeper.

And finally, the A side has right handed seats on the odd rows (e.g. shelf on the right) and the K side has left handed seats.

3A.

I selected what I thought would be the best seat on the aircraft for me.  3A.  This was as far away from the galleys and bathrooms as possible, isolated seat next to window, right handed.  I think this was still the right choice, but, it certainly had shortcomings.

The seat wasn't particularly comfortable to sit in.  I'm not sure why, but I didn't ever find a great position.  That said, it is still slightly better than Air New Zealand's business class seats ... for sitting.

Shelf.

The large shelf was wonderful to have to put drinks, my glasses, phone, and more.  I also liked the shelf/rack where I could put all sorts of smaller things during the flight.  For usable space during the flight, it worked quite well.  It had standard power and USB as well.

There wasn't much other storage though during takeoff or landing, or in-flight if you wanted it out of the way.  No cubby to stash anything, not even shoes, although you could leave them next to the seat if in a window seat.

Entertainment Screen.

In front of the seat is the large in-flight entertainment unit, which I didn't use, and a holder for magazines, that also nicely fit my small laptop.

The seat did not make for a great bed however.  Better than the 747-400 that I took to Sydney, no question, but, it was a very hard seat, and the very thin mattress pad just doesn't make it comfortable.  But it was also really, really narrow.  I couldn't sleep on my side curled up, and I'm not large.

I suspect that the window aisle seats would be better for this, since you could hang out a little?

So overall a mixed bag of a seat, ok-ish for sitting, eh for sleeping, good usable space, not much storage.

I might be tempted to try the aisle window seat next time.

Amenities & Service

Pajamas.

Standard Qantas pajamas were waiting at the seats, rather than distributed as we were settling in as is more standard.  L/XL side for all, but I asked and was able to exchange for M/L, still way too big, but better.  Most of the women on the flight asked to exchange, so, I'm not sure why they lay them out in advance, it seems like extra work.

The amenity kit, scratchy not-quite-big-enough blanket, and single pillow were the same as my flight from San Francisco, and I again was annoyed at only one pillow, and the quality of the blanket.  That said, I was easily able to get extras.

Service was ok.  Not particularly attentive, and one FA seemed highly stressed at all times.  When I asked for sparkling water, he was like "Ahhh, ok, it will be a few minutes, like, 5 minutes, I can't do that right now".  I thought I caught him at a bad time.  But when I asked for coffee in the morning, it was the same, "Ahh, I'll get to it as soon as I can."  Same when I asked for sparkling water another time.  I pointed out that there was no sparkling water in the self-serve bar, otherwise I'd be happy to help myself, but, he never fixed the situation.

Cuisine

Super Menu.

Dinner is ordered either in advance online, or, as we were settling in.  Orders were brought out one by one, after a cart went through with drinks.  Given the flight timing of a 10:35pm departure, there were two fast dine options, but most of my flight opted to skip the meal entirely, having already dined in the airport.

Main:

• Selection of cheese served with accompaniments.
• Green pea and mint soup with snow pea salad.
• Strozzapreti pasta with tomato and eggplant sugo, roast capsicum, basil and pecorino. 
• Chicken ciabatta with avocado, rocket and chipotle mayonnaise. 
• Seared barramundi with bok choy, steamed rice, lap cheong, sesame, shrimp and ginger sauce.
• Seared beef fillet with shredded fennel and radish salad, grilled asparagus and salmoriglio.

Green leaf salad with Neil's signature vinaigrette.

To Finish:

• Chocolate malted tart with creme fraiche
• Seasonal fruit
• Maggie Beer ice cream

I had pre-ordered the pea soup as a nice light dish, knowing I'd eat in the lounges, but, after a surprise trip to the Qantas F lounge (thank you seatmate who brought me as his guest!), I decided to forego the meal.  It was 11pm after all, and I had eaten in 5 lounges, and on board my last flight anyway.

Well, forego the meal except for the desserts that is.  All of them.

I appreciated that my desserts were served as they did initial meal service, rather than making me wait until dessert service for the entire flight.  And they didn't set my table or anything, let me just use my little side table, much less invasive.

Cabernet Sauvignon.

Drinks and "bakery" (e.g. bread and rolls) were offered from a cart at the start of meal service.

To go with my desserts, I also selected a red wine, the cab.  I actually liked it, a fairly big wine, but not too tannic, and more interesting than the other wines I had consumed in the lounges and previous flights.

Chocolate Malted Tart with Creme Fraiche.

The tart was not at all what I was expecting.  As in, I expected a chocolate tart.  This had chocolate, but only a thin layer on top.

Under the layer of chocolate was ... I just don't know really.  A smooth filling, kinda creamy, maybe ... malt flavored?  I sorta liked it but not really.  The chocolate was good, a thick rich ganache.

The tart shell was not hard as I hate, but rather, soft, soggy, in the defrosted sense.  The flavor wasn't great.  Eh to the shell.

On the side, well, just creme fraiche.  Not whipped, not sweetened, just, creme fraiche.  It seemed like it should have gone with a scone.

A fairly confusing item, really.

Maggie Beer Ice Cream: Burnt Fig, Honeycomb, & Caramel.

The ice cream was served rock solid, in its package, not plated up in any way.  But I waited patiently, ate my other dessert, and eventually made my way to the ice cream.

Maggie Beer Ice Cream: Burnt Fig, Honeycomb, & Caramel.

It was really good, clearly premium ice cream.  Rich, creamy.

The flavor was not one I'd normally pick, and was certainly a bit odd.  The caramel and honeycomb were both sweet and made sense as ice cream flavors.  But ... how did the fig fit in here?  Yeah, it didn't, really.  Fig and caramel?  Eh.  Maybe I just don't like fig enough, but, every bite that had fig in it made me sad.

So, just not the flavor for me due to the fig, but I really loved how rich and creamy the ice cream was.  I'd gladly try more of their flavors.

Snack Bar,

Between the two business cabins is a self-service bar area with water, soft drinks, wine, and assorted snacks - Red Rock Deli Chips (plain only), crudite and hummus, apples and pears, packaged Amaretti biscuits, and Koko Black brand chocolate bars.

The menu indicated that there would be almond, fava beans, and chickpea chips too, but I never saw them.  And it also said there would be rhubarb and frangipane danishes, which I looked for every time I went back, but, alas, the same apple frangipane tarts that they had as part of the second meal were all I ever saw.

Also, mid-flight, you could order a couple small dishes from the staff:

• Pumpkin empanadas with tomato relish
• Stir fried eggplant with roasted red capsicum, sauteed mushrooms, and egg fried rice.

Light Dinner.

The second meal is ordered like breakfast normally is on overnight flights, with a menu card you tick off and fill out before you even take off, but, the offerings are ... different.  It isn't breakfast.  Which makes sense, since you are landing at 5pm.  But it also isn't a big full dinner.

The menu basically acknowledges how confused your body will be.

I understand that they have you order when you first are seated to maximize sleep, but ... particularly for this timing, that doesn't work well, as most people were up hours before the meal was served, trying to convince ourselves it was afternoon.  I had no idea what I'd want 12 hours later, would I want a hot cooked meal? Just some breakfast items?  So, I kinda selected it all.

Also, the timing of the meal was fairly standard for arrivals in that it was 1.5 hours before landing, but that was quite late no matter what time zone you were in.  In Melbourne time, that was 11am, in San Francisco, 4pm.  Our first meal was served really promptly, so this was a good 10 hours after the first meal.  (Of course, there are mid-flight options available, and the self-serve snacks, and I had a bag of pastries from Cafe Vue and Bar Pulpo in the airport (reviews soon!), but, still.

I think that not doing it order-card style, serving an our earlier, and offering more of a brunch lineup would be far better.

The menu:
Drinks

• Apple juice, orange juice
• Bloody mary, mimosa, champagne
• Coffee, decaf coffee, hot chocolate, Dilmah teas
• Green juice.

Light Dinner

To Start: Croissant or Sourdough with berry jam/marmalade/vegemite/honey.

• Seasonal fresh fruit plate
• Mushroom and pecorino quiche with tomato relish and mesclun salad
• Hot-smoked salmon with blanched kale, soy mushrooms, brown rice, nori and sesame yoghurt dressing
• Grilled chermoula chicken with roasted sweet potato, cauliflower tabouleh and pomegranate dressing
• Sweet potato, ginger and turmeric soup with crispy onion and pepitas 
• Selection of cheese served with accompaniments.

To Finish: Apple frangipane or Koko Black chocolate bar

"Super".

I opted for the starter of a croissant, and decaf coffee, as they were the only "breakfast items" besides sourdough bread and fruit.   And the smoked salmon as my lunch item, since I don't like quiche or chicken, and didn't particularly want sweet potato soup.  And a cheese plate, in case that is all I wanted.  And both "desserts", just the same apple frangipane tarts and Koko Black chocolate bars they had in the bar the entire flight.

The meal started with an offer of a small juice shot, passed through the cabin in advance of the meal, which made me think the meal was coming, but, it was still another 45 minutes before service began.

Decaf Coffee, Black.

I wanted coffee, it was morning, but, I also knew I shouldn't have caffeine.  So ... I went for decaf coffee, and had some chocolate for a little kick (in the form of an excellent brownie I had with me!).

The coffee was instant, but actually not bad.

To Start: Croissant.

The croissant (or sourdough toast) is offered with your choice of berry jam, marmalade, honey, or vegemite.  I selected the berry jam, and butter also came with it.

The croissant was large, served warm, and decent.  Not good, but not horrible.  Not a fresh, flaky, buttery, excellent item, but, it was warm and not spongy.  That said, the muffins I had in my bag from Cafe Vue and Bar Pulpo (reviews coming soon!) were better, so I opted for those instead.

The berry jam was Bundeberg brand, the standard in Australia.  The butter was fantastic.  And it wasn't just the packaging!  Really creamy, slightly sweet, rich butter.  I slathered it on my muffins.

Hot smoked salmon with blanched kale, soy mushrooms, brown rice, nori, and sesame yogurt dressing.

Well, this was a strange dish.

I didn't quite know what to expect given the hodgepodge of ingredients, but I hoped that it would somehow be breakfast-like.  Smoked salmon and yogurt after all, right?  I was also very curious what "soy mushrooms" were, I thought they were faux mushrooms made of soy, lol, but, actually, they were just sliced cooked mushrooms, probably marinated in soy sauce?

Anyway.  It was a rice bowl.  Warm, healthy, bo-ring brown rice as the base.  I don't really eat rice (besides rice pudding), and this is at the bottom of the barrel of types of rice for me.  Eh to the base.

And major eh to the blanched kale, I know this is a very healthy dish, and the warm blanched kale on a rice bowl appeals to some people, but, eh!  The mushrooms were flavorful at least, and I like shredded nori.

The smoked salmon was ok.  Served warm, kinda scattered around the top of the bowl.  Not slimy and flavorless like the smoked salmon (served cold) I had on a salad on my previous Qantas short flight from Sydney to Melbourne, but not nearly as amazing as some smoked salmon I've had on flights (Air New Zealand really wins here!).

The dressing surprised me.  I don't really like yogurt dressings, because yogurt is tart, healthy, and, well, not the mayo I go for, but this was creamy, flavorful, and really tasted like a lightened creme fraiche, and had a nice flavor.  It was really creamy, and went great with the smoked salmon.

I basically made a creamy smoked salmon salad, with the dressing, mushrooms, and nori, and ate it inside the croissant for a smoked salmon salad croissant.  Not bad, and it was good to have protein before moving back to my pile of mushrooms.

Selection of cheese served with accompaniments.

The cheese platter amused me.  The little card highlighting the cheeses was actually quite nice to have, but, the presentation was also funny, with the card just throw on top.  The cheeses however were actually quite quality.

The cheese platter included two types of French cheese: Gres Champenois and Fourme D' Ambert.  The Gres Champenois was fantastic, served perfectly soft, gooey, ripe.  The cheese in enriched with creme fraiche, and, well, you can tell.  I loved this cheese, but didn't particularly like any of the pairings.  I wanted some spiced nuts, or something like a quince paste.

The Fourme D' Ambert is a classic blue cheese, very rich, very ... blue cheese forward.  Not my pick of cheeses, but, this is a well known good one.

Also on the plate were standard dried apricots, a date and nut slice, and two types of crackers.

I enjoyed the cheese, but I think I would have liked this more at the start of my flight with a glass of red wine.  Maybe next time ... dinner in the lounge, save room for cheese and wine to start the flight!

To Finish: Apple Frangipane.

This was the same as the little tarts they had in the self-serve kitchen through the flight.

I did not like it at all.  A dry hard tart shell, mushy filling, mushy sliced apples. Not for me.

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Pop-Smile Popcorn from Taiwan

Yes, I love snacks, I love popcorn, I love trying unique things from around the world.  Like, Pop-Smile popcorn, from Taiwan.  Have I been to Taiwan?  Nope.  But our monthly snack box subscription featured exactly one item from Pop-Smile, and I was thrilled to try it.

"Established in 2006, Taiwan Smile Food has became one of leading manufacturer in Asia.  By using premium raw materials and non-GMO corn, we have already developed nearby 100 irresistible flavors and export to worldwide customers."

Taiwan Smile Foods carries products under their own brand, Pop-Smile, but they also produce for private labels, including even 7-11 and Costco in Taiwan.

Bagged Popcorn.

Our item was a signature item from Pop-Smile: pocorn!

Pop-Smile produces popcorn in a variety of formats, such as big buckets, boxes, stand up bags, standard bags, and even individual cups.  They make oil popped and air popped varieties.    They carry common flavors like salted, butter, caramel, cheddar, and kettle.  Slight interesting sweet options like chocolate, strawberry, or hazelnut chocolate.  Savory such as seaweed, chili cheese, sour cream & onion, hot & spicy.  Premium options like Peanut Butter Chocolate, White Chocolate with Strawberry Sprinkle, Caramel Pretzel, Rocky Road, and Salted Caramel.  And then ... unique flavors such as cafe latte or caramel macchiato, banana, grape, or mango, coconut milk, sesame milk, or bubble tea, and ... um kimchi, wasabi, tomato, tom yam, curry, corn soup, garlic shrimp .... I think you get my point.

Um, yeah.  Milk tea popcorn?  Tom yam popcorn?  I was fascinated.  Our box had a pretty fascinating flavor picked out for us: Sweet Egg Yolk, provided in a little bag.

I couldn't wait to try it.

Sweet Egg Yolk Flavored Popcorn.

Egg yolk, as a sweet item, is mostly known to us in the US only as a base for custards and rich pudding or ice cream, not as the featured core flavor.  But in Asian countries, egg yolk shows up in  many more forms, such as the places I've seen it before, inside moon cakes.  But on popcorn?  This was a first for me.

It was really, really unique.  Certainly not "eggy", but it did taste strongly of egg yolk, like shaved, cured egg yolk I've had on top of dishes at higher end restaurants trying to innovate.  It was fascinating.  

The kernels were really well coated, sooo much flavor to them.  They were savory, but also quite sweet, as sugar is the third ingredient, after the corn itself, and oil is is popped in.  They also had a cheese power and soy sauce in the coating, adding to the savory element, and MSG to keep me going back for more.

I think I really liked this.  We needed a bigger bag!

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Castronovo Chocolate

Castronovo is a luxury, small batch, chocolatier based in Florida.  The product range includes a few other chocolate based items, such as caramel pralines, or chocolate honey, but for the most part, they keep it simple: bars only, no mix-ins, single origin.  They make a number of award winning chocolates.  

I tried a bar when a friend brought it to our office.  It wasn't the variety I'd select on my own (100%) but it was fun to try, and I can see the quality behind it.  I'd gladly try another of their dark (but 100%!) chocolates, or even their white chocolate, as they seem to take that seriously too.

Honduras Lost City 100%.

I couldn't find out much about this bar, as it is not listed anywhere on their website, clearly a small batch item (although the Honduras 72% is available).

So I just dug in.

I was shocked by how smooth it was, particularly for a dark chocolate.  No grit to it, just incredibly, incredibly smooth.  The mouthfeel was lovely.

And the flavor?  Well, intense.  It is a 100% bar after all.  Bitter, bold, deep flavor.  I detected notes that almost reminded me of something a bit burnt, but not entirely unpleasant.

I enjoy trying 100% bars, and this one was certainly one of the most smooth I've ever tried, but 100% is not my goto chocolate ...

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QF 74, SFO-SYD

Flight Details:

• Flight QF74, SFO-SYD
• Aircraft: 747-400
• Departure: 8:35pm (scheduled)
• Arrival: 6:10am (scheduled)
• Seat: 5J

Cabin & Seat

I like the Qantas seat, for sitting, more than most.  Lots of adjustments you can make, to recline, leg rests, etc. I found it pretty easy to find a comfortable seated position.

For dining too, it isn't bad.  The tray table slides in reasonably close.

That said, the seats have very, very little storage or usable space, besides a water bottle holder.  Or, at least, most of them have very little.

For sleeping though, it was fairly awful.  The style that slides flat, but doesn't have structural support at the foot, and, being an older aircraft, it wasn't capable of staying straight any longer.  Flat, but very sloped.  It was also rock solid, with a very very thin pad provided for sleeping, no real mattress.  And it was fairly narrow.  So for sleep, one of my least favorites.

So, great seat for awake time, horrible for sleep.

Main Business Cabin.

The main business cabin is quite large, a 2-3-2 layout, fairly old school in that it doesn't have direct aisle access for all guests.  The smaller mini cabin in front where first class used to be looked more intimate, but still, seats all in pairs.

There is also an upper deck cabin, with better storage space at window seats, but again, all pairs of seats.

Besides the window seats on the upper deck, the seats have essentially no in-seat storage, besides a well under the seat in front of them where you can put your shoes, and a small magazine rack.

5J: Exit Row.

But there are two special seats on this aircraft, the window seats in row 5.  This is the area where the old first class and business class meet, and also, where the emergency exits are.

The seats are unique in many ways. For one, well, they have all the legroom in the world, due to the emergency exit.  The crew member jumpseat is in this area during takeoff and landing, but otherwise, its just wide open.

Note that the bathrooms are all to the rear of the cabin, as is the galley, so there is no foot traffic nor people congregating in this area either, in front of it is just the smaller mini cabin.

5J: Storage!

But more importantly, these seats are ... singles.  Yes, there are exactly two single seats on the entire aircraft.  And instead of a neighbor, you get storage space, a huge compartment that latches, and a large second compartment that is open.

While these seats do not have a foot well to store your shoes, and they would be even better if the seat was adjacent to the window instead of the aisle, they really are fantastic if you are traveling alone and do not wish to be sleeping next to a stranger, and, if like me, you want to keep stuff at your seat.  I really appreciated the space (and privacy).

 Amenities & Service

A pillow and blanket were waiting at our seats, with a very thin cover already on as a "mattress".  Definitely the thinnest mattress pad I've seen in years.  The blanket was a decent size, but thin and scratchy.  And the single pillow was a surprise, I thought most airlines gave two these days.  The bedding was highly lackluster.  Minus some points here.

Welcome drink of champagne, orange juice, or still water only.  I asked for sparkling water and was denied.

Women's Amenity Kit.

Amenity kits and pajamas handed out as we settled in, featuring a colorful design of fairy bread, which I'm sure was lost on many travelers unfamiliar with this classic Australian treat.

Pajamas the same for all, amenity kits specialized for men and women.  Size Medium and Large only were offered for pajamas, with a basic long sleeve t-shirt and lightweight cotton pants.  The pajamas were comfortable enough, soft, but the pants lack pockets so are never worth keeping for me.

Amenity Kit Contents.

Amenity kits had the basics, ear plugs, an eye mask to match the case, toothbrush, Aspar lotion and lip balm.  Nothing special.

Cuisine

Since this was a later evening departure, the meal served was super, not a full dinner, with real appetizer course.  Breakfast was served prior to landing.

Dinner Menu.

Dinner menus were waiting at the seats, although I had already pre-ordered my selection a week in advance.  I didn't want to miss out on my first choice!  Orders were confirmed, and taken for those who hadn't pre-ordered, about 20 minutes into the flight.

The first two options (cheese or soup) are listed as the "Sleep Sooner" items, served as soon as possible, so you can go to bed right away.

Main

• Selection of cheese served with accompaniments.
• Tomato and basil soup with crème fraîche. 'A robust soup made from ripe tomatoes which have been roasted to deepen the flavour of the soup, garnished with basil and crème fraîche. This dish is best enjoyed with a glass of light bodied white ie Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc."
• Warm salad of mushrooms with sweet potato noodles, fried eschalots and ground roast rice. "Assorted mushroom varieties are stir fried with sweet potato noodles, carrot, baby spinach, capsicum and SESAME then presented on Romaine lettuce leaves that are dressed in a lime and coriander vinaigrette. Garnished with crispy eschalots, roasted rice and fresh herbs. This dish is best enjoyed with a glass of light bodied red ie Pinot Noir."
• Toasted Reuben sandwich on rye with sauerkraut. "A classic New York recipe of rye bread layered with corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Dijon mustard. Toasted and served warm. This dish is best enjoyed with a glass of medium bodied red ie GSM."
• Seared salmon with potato purée, broccolini, leek, broad beans and romesco sauce. "Pan seared steelhead salmon is served with a creamy mashed potato, leeks braised in butter and bay leaves with broad beans and asparagus spears. Topped with a Catalan inspired romesco sauce made from roasted capsicum, tomato, chilli, HAZELNUTS, ALMONDS and extra virgin olive oil. This dish is best enjoyed with a glass of full bodied white ie Chardonnay."
• Malay style chicken and green bean sambal with steamed rice, coriander, and crispy eschalots.

Green leaf salad with Neil's vinaigrette.

To Finish:

• Selection of cheese served with accompaniments
• Baked chocolate, almond, and coffee tart with date cream
• Ice cream
• Seasonal fruit
• Chocolates

Mid-Flight

• Smoked leg ham, swiss cheese, tomato and rocket sandwich
• Bacon and egg tart with slow roasted tomato and caramelized onion relish
• Whole seasonal fruit
• Oat cookie with chocolate ganache
• Boulder Canyon kettle chips
• Chocolate bars

Nothing particularly exciting, although the bacon and egg tart, available anytime, did sound interesting, or, at least, the slow roasted tomato and caramelized onion relish did!

The dessert line up made me particularly said, since I didn't want caffeine before trying to sleep on the flight, and the one real dessert item had not only chocolate, but coffee too.  Darn, because the date cream sounded good!  Ice cream on flights is always enjoyable, but I knew Qantas serves only vanilla, no toppings, and just Häagen-Dazs.  Luckily, I came prepared ... more on that soon.

The back of the menu listed the drink lineup, basic spirits, beer, "Australian wine" with no details given, "soft drinks" (again, no details, not even what brand), "juice" (yup, no details).  I was a bit annoyed that they didn't even list the brand of soft drinks?

The wine and food were mediocre.

Chardonnay, Shiraz, Sparkling Water.

Wine was served from a cart 45 minutes into the flight, along with an offer of the salad with vinaigrette and two types of bread. Two whites (chardonnay, sauvignon blanc) and two reds (Shiraz, something else). My FA was very clear that the shiraz was the winning wine of the night.

I skipped the salad and bread since I had eaten a fair amount in the lounges, but did ask to try both a white and red wine, opting for the chardonnay at her suggestion since it was less acidic, and of course, that shiraz).

The chardonnay was ... fine?  It was a little bit apple cider tasting, and not particularly buttery as I hoped.  But, it wasn't acidic, and that is what I asked for.  It made me miss Air New Zealand wines.

The shiraz was served really, really cold.  As cold as the white wine.  I was glad to have the white to sip on while I waited for it to warm up a bit and open up.  Once it did, it actually was big and bold, and not really my style.  Again, I missed the Air New Zealand wines.

Warm salad of mushrooms with sweet potato noodles, fried eschalots and ground roast rice. 

"Assorted mushroom varieties are stir fried with sweet potato noodles, carrot, baby spinach, capsicum and SESAME then presented on Romaine lettuce leaves that are dressed in a lime and coriander vinaigrette. Garnished with crispy eschalots, roasted rice and fresh herbs. This dish is best enjoyed with a glass of light bodied red ie Pinot Noir."

I had no idea really what to expect with this dish.  But, I love interesting mushrooms, and the crispy eschalots and roasted rice did sound interesting.  The sweet potato noodles and lettuce though, I wasn't particularly sure about.  Since I ate in the lounges and just wanted something light, I figured this would be fine, if I hated it, I'd at least eat a few vegetables.

It was somewhat what I expected, although, I was sad that the mushroom certainly did not play a staring roll.  There were mushrooms, sure, but they were not the focus of the dish.

The romaine lettuce base was decently crispy, but it was very irregularly dressed, some pieces were coated in the viniagrette, others were fairly bare.  There was also fresh herbs in the mix, mint which I liked, but then also tons of parsley.  Too much parsley.  So, fairly sloppy construction.

Above the lettuce was the sweet potato noodles and stir fried vegetables.  I didn't really care for the noodles, soft, slimy things.  The baby spinach and capsicum were negligible but added good flavor.  I didn't detect the carrots nor sesame.  The mushrooms though ... while more dominant than the other veggies, were certainly lost among all the noodles and lettuce.  I did like what I found, slices of meaty mushrooms, and some slimy enoki.  But, there wasn't nearly as much as I wanted.

On top was delicious crispy eshalots, that I gladly would have taken more of.  In fact, I added some wasabi peas from the lounge on top to give it more crunch.  I have no idea where the roasted rice was, I certainly didn't find that.

Overall, this was fine, but not great.  I didn't really care for the noodles, I wished for more mushrooms, and I wanted a different dressing, perhaps something soy based, or sweet chili, or even creamy.

Eh.

Vanilla Ice Cream.

As I mentioned, the dessert lineup was particularly sad for dessert loving me, just a caffeinated tart, or plain ice cream.

Always Prepared!

But I knew this, and I came prepared.  With toppings for the ice cream.  Yes, I carry them in pill bags.  My drug of choice.

I brought lots of toppings: candied walnuts, sprinkles, white chocolate chips, crunchies.

Sundae!

This was much better, but it was still just mediocre plain vanilla ice cream.

Baked chocolate, almond, and coffee tart with date cream.

I also accidentally ordered the tart.  I was asking for a chocolate "bar", to keep for morning to have alongside my coffee (such a good pairing! I do this every day!), and got the tart instead.  Oops?

I thought the date cream would be great to add to my sundae though, but, alas, it was awful.  The texture was really odd, it was strangely grainy, and I didn't like the flavor.

The tart shell was super sweet and a hard style.  Not buttery really, not shortbread, just, hard sweet tart shell. Eh.

I stashed the tart away to have alongside coffee in the morning, which, I gleefully did.  The chocolate layer was basically a thick, smooth ganache,  I did not taste almond nor coffee, and the actual packaging said "Chocolate wattleseed tart", not "Chocolate, almond, coffee tart", so I'm wondering if it indeed wasn't the almond coffee one.

Either way, the ganache was good, thick, rich, chocolately, but this wasn't a particularly remarkable item.

Breakfast Order Card.

Breakfast order cards collected while still on the ground.  I appreciate the increased sleep time by pre-ordering, but I always struggle with deciding what I'll want that far in advance.  Maybe I *would* be in the mood for cereal or yogurt?

The menu was the same as my previous Qantas flights, with continental selections of muesli, fruit, yogurt, toast, croissants, and a breakfast pastry (apple crumble danish this time), and three hot items, two egg based, one hot carbs.  You can also choose to not be woken at all, no express option offered this time.

Drinks

• Orange juice
• Apple juice
• Pressed juicery cold pressed green juice with celery, cucumber, kale, parsley, and ginger
• Coffee and decaffeinated coffee
• Hot chocolate
• Dilmah Tea (Jasmine green, peppermint, oolong, chamomile, earl gray, ceylon ginger, english breakfast)

Continental Breakfast

• Fruit salad
• Yoghurt
• Brookfarm macadamia toasted muesli with cranberries (with low fat or full cream milk)
• Toast
• Croissant
• Apple crumble danish
• Berry jam, marmalade, honey, vegemite.

Full Breakfast

• Free range scrambled eggs with Applewood bacon, pork sausage, and roast tomatoes.
• English muffin with smoked salmon, poached eggs, baby spinach, and chive sour cream.
• Ricotta pancakes with caramelised berries and maple syrup cream.

Breakfast Tray: Pancakes, Danish, Coffee.

Since the flight was schedule to land at 6:10am, and I hadn't been really into any Qantas breakfast items before, I opted for just a danish and pancakes, to try them out of curiosity, but planned to have real breakfast on the ground.

Breakfast was served just over 2 hours away from Sydney, starting at the back of the cabin, so I had plenty of time from when the lights went on to when I was served to go put in contacts and stretch a bit.

Coffee:
The regular coffee was very watery.  It wasn't bitter at least, but it also just tasted like nothing.  In the bottom of my cup was sludge.

I moved on to decaf, and it was clearly instant, tasted stale, and not really like coffee.

Note to self: bring my own coffee in the future, or just wait until I land.

Apple Crumble Danish.

I knew not to expect a quality baked good on the flight.  The danish was decent enough.  Served warm, which I appreciated.

The pastry wasn't fresh, flaky, buttery, amazing croissant dough or anything, but it was sweet, not stale, not dried out.  On top was a bit of cream, and thin sliced apples, with plenty of cinnamon.  I didn't find the "crumble", and I didn't actually want apples, but the pastry and cream, plus the toppings from the pancakes, made an excellent treat alongside my tart.

Ricotta pancakes with caramelised berries and maple syrup cream.

The pancakes themselves were not very hot, hard around the edges, not fluffy, and basically, what you'd expect from thin reheated pancakes.  They did have a decent base flavor, but, eh.

The berries were tasty though, sweet stewed little blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries.  Warm, sweet fruit.

And then, the cream.  It wasn't whipped cream as I was expecting, it was a thicker, clotted style cream, a bit of a strange consistency, and not really "maple" as advertised, although it was sweet.  I didn't love it, but I did like it, particularly with the fruit and pastry and ganache.

So, in the end, I had pastry + warm stewed fruit + cream + ganache tart, and enjoyed it enough.  Nothing was great, but it got me through the morning.

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