China Eastern Airlines Business Class Xi'An to Shanghai to Singapore Flight Review

We fly China Eastern Airlines Business class, back to Singapore from Xi'An, after a wonderful holiday in Xi'An! 

Our fight plan was as follows:

MU 5010 - dep Xian 0850, arr Shanghai 1125
MU 565 - dep Shanghai 1435, arr Shanghai 2010

As our flight departed Xian somewhat early that morning, we decided to stay at the Regal Airport Hotel for one night, so that our departure could be smooth and easy.   Our flight home would be much smoother than our exciting adventure some days earlier on getting to Xian!

Xian Xianyang Airport Terminal 3 had a dedicated check-in area for China Eastern, which was very near the security clearance.  After checking in (our luggage would be checked through to Singapore), clearing security was quite quick (there were priority lines for Premium Pax) and we quickly found our way to the China Eastern Lounge.  Just follow the signs, not difficult.  The entrance to the lounge looked like this.  I read online that China Eastern operated another lounge at the other end of the concourse.  But this lounge was very near our gates, so made a lot more sense to wait here, at the V1 lounge.

Busy Lounge
Inside the lounge, we found it quite busy indeed.  I made a video of the lounge, and you can see the crowds at the dining area.  There was a decent selection of food, and China Eastern served their signature beef noodles in this lounge too.   Indeed, the Chinese love their noodles, no doubt about that.


Nice Blue Seats
Here are some photos of the lounge.  Nice blue seats.  They looked traditional, but they were pretty comfortable.  You could actually snooze on them (we did for a while) by lounging forward.  The seats gave good support to the next! There were charging points on the floor, in between the seats, making it convenient to charge our devices.  Of course, I had to use my universal plug. You can watch my video at 5:54 to see the charging points.

Rather Sunny!
At times, it felt rather warm, because the morning sun was pouring in.  Yes, this lounge gets the morning sun.

First Class Ticket?
Was a bit tickled when I saw my boarding passes (Red) which stated First Class.  No, we didn't buy First class tickets, ours was Business class fare.  However, it seems that within China, they seem to mix Business and First.  Maybe the concept is like in the USA, where they call domestic business as First Class.  Anyway, it didn't matter, as long as we got our seats!

Our flight was delayed by almost an hour, due to late arrival of aircraft from Moscow.  Apparently MU5010 is a service from Shanghai to Moscow, via Xi'An.  So the plane came in from Moscow.  Didn't bother us too much since we had sufficient layover time at Shanghai as buffer, and waiting in the lounge was comfortable (we found a spot which didn't have the morning sun).  We could wait until the boarding announcements were made before heading to the gate.

MU 5010 Xi'an to Shanghai
Again, we had to take a bus from our gate to the airplane.  Truly, a bus airline!  We got up the mini-bus for Premium Pax, and the ride was about 5 minutes to the aircraft.  I made this video of our flight experience from Xi'An to Shanghai, on board the China Eastern Airbus A330-300 series aircraft.


This Airbus was also retrofitted with their latest cabin product, which looked very similar to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that we flew on from Singapore to Shanghai.  Some pictures of the cabin (in a 1-2-1 configuration) below.

Notice the slightly staggered layout of the window seats - alternate between true window seat and nearer the aisle seat.

A 1-2-1 formation.  Very spacious, private feel.  Overall, a very solid hard product.

The IFE screens were fairly big.  Good enough for me to watch a movie.

When we flew from Shanghai to Xi'An a few days back on a late flight (dep 2130hrs), the catering was extremely underwhelming - 2 tarts and 5 slices of fruit!  So, I was curious, this time what would we get for a morning flight?  A slice of bread and a drink perhaps?  LOL!

Asian or Western style breakfast?
Fortunately, China Eastern did better than that.  We had a choice of Asian or Western style breakfast.  I chose Asian, not knowing what it entailed. But at least we were decent a decent breakfast (local Xi'An style), which I quite enjoyed.  Bear in mind this is a 1hr 50min flight, so my expectations weren't sky high.  Here is breakfast I enjoyed.  Do watch my video if you want more details of the food, as I examine the food tray more closely.

The flight path from Xi'An to Shanghai wasn't straight.  Wonder why.  Maybe to avoid weather, or traffic congestion, or military airspace.  Well, as long as our pilot got us to our destination safely, I can't complain.

Weather was bright and sunny as we approached Shanghai Pudong.  Managed to get a very nice view of Shanghai Hongqiao Airport from the air.  There was an aircraft landing on the runway too. Cool!


Arrival into Shanghai Pudong
Landing was smooth. Recall, when we arrived in Shanghai en-route to Xi'An, we had assumed that our onward flight was on track. This time round, I immediately turned on my flight app which could show me the arrivals/departures at the airport. Yes, our onward flight was on schedule.  Of course, don't just trust the app, check the departure boards in the airport itself.  It looked ok.  Phew!

So we made our way past security and immigration, to the departure area for international flights at Shanghai Pudong, and took the escalator up to the China Eastern Lounge.  This was supposedly China Eastern's flagship lounge.  It was rather crowded when we got there, as it was lunch hour, but we could still find a nice table for the two of us on the first level.

Food - I had 2 servings of this Nasi Goreng style rice with fish, and I couldn't resist trying that bun.

The second floor of the lounge was a lot more quiet, with many seats and very few passengers.  Head up here if you want a quite place to nap or chill. Of course, don't forget to set your alarm for your boarding time!

Another angle of the second floor.  Yes, the boarding announcements were made, but they weren't that loud.  You could miss them if you are not careful.

Boarding Time
It was time for us to board the aircraft (we waited till the boarding announcement), and we headed off to our gate.  Our aircraft was boarding from Gate 212, which was a bus boarding gate.  When we reached the gate, they had already started general boarding.  It didn't look like there was a line for priority passengers!

Well, we just followed the other business class passengers who went to the front of the line, showed the staff our tickets, and they let us through.  We headed to the mini-van for premium passengers and enjoyed our final ride on this same type of mini-bus.  We have had so many bus rides on this trip that I've lost count!

The aircraft that would be flying us to Singapore was a rather new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.  Every passenger, premium or not, had to use the same staircase up to the airplane.  I took this photo to show my parents.  The steps were steep.  Given their age, I had advised them not to take China Eastern.  Not sure if my mother can make her way up and down such steps.

Another look at the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.  Pretty neat!  We weren't in any rush to board, so we let the other passengers board first.  The weather was great, and I took many photos of the plane.  See the front gear - serial number of this plane was B-209N.  She was delivered to Shanghai Pudong on 31st March 2019.  Very new!

Flight Review - Shanghai to Singapore on the China Eastern Dreamliner in Business Class
Here is the flight review video on this Shanghai to Singapore leg.


The cabin was beautiful.  Very classy.  For this flight, I was seated in 8L, which was a window seat. (as in right next to the window)

The welcome drink was champagne, orange juice, or water. I chose the champagne. This time round, the menus were placed at our seats. I took a glance through, and from the applicable menu for our flight. China Eastern has the habit of printing a single menu that can last them for many, many months. If you watch 3:30 of my video you will see that the menu is colour coded - Red for Odd month 1st to 15th, Orange for Odd month 16th to 31st, Blue for Even month 1st to 15th and Green for even month 16th to 31st.

I guess this system saves them printing costs. For my dinner, I chose the 3 cup chicken with rice. The cabin crew asked whether I would like dinner to be served immediately upon takeoff, or later. As our takeoff time was about 2:30pm (i.e. too early for dinner), I asked to be served later. The crew said the service would be at 5:30pm, as landing was slightly past 7pm. I said ok. After the flight took off, cabin lights were dimmed, and most passengers were watching movies or took an afternoon map. The crew came around with drinks service, and I got some white wine to go with the mixed nuts that they gave out. It was good. The seat could be converted into a flat bed easily (push button) and I took a short nap. For some reason, I woke up automatically, just before dinner time. Perhaps I was getting hungry! Dinner was served. It wasn't like gourmet food, but the taste suited me just fine.

My tray table was ready for dinner service.  They gave me the red wine first.

My 3-cup chicken with rice meal.  The taste wasn't bad at all!

Well, that pretty much wraps up my Trip Report, Xi'An to Shanghai to Singapore on China Eastern Business class.  This was our first time on China Eastern, and putting aside the slight trauma we had with delays and cancelled flights on Singapore to Xi'An leg, it was a great experience for the price we had paid! 

Would we fly with China Eastern again?  Yes!  But we would also know that their flights may be delayed/cancelled etc, so we would be mentally prepared for it all. 

Thanks for reading and watching my videos!

Durian and more Durian! Let us FEAST on the King of Fruit

Let us feast on the King of Fruit! Durian season is here again. In 2018, there is a bumper crop from Malaysia.  Plentiful durian supply, and hence the price has come down.  At this store in Clementi Town Centre, the Mao Shan Wang durians were selling for $12/kg.

Here are 2 videos taken on consecutive weekends.  Business was brisk.  There were many onlookers too. Watch the guys expertly opening the durian.  Onlookers were salivating.


Another video of the same store in Clementi.


Do I eat durians?  Well, yes, but I don't buy them.  I just eat them when my fellowship group decides to do a durian party.


Yet another Durian party, this time from 2015. How time flies, we have durian parties every year! (Since durian season comes every year.)


Enjoy!

ScootBiz (Scoot Airlines) Singapore to Hangzhou & SATS Premier Lounge Terminal 2 Changi, Voted Asia Pac Lounge of the year 2017 Priority Pass

We were going on holiday!  Our destination was Hangzhou, followed by Shanghai.  The plane was as follows:

Day 0 - Depart Singapore to Hangzhou (Scoot Airlines), Arr. Hangzhou 2135hrs
Day 1 - Hangzhou, got a driver, tour the city, including West Lake and Ling Yin Temple
Day 2 - Depart from Hangzhou to Wu Zhen (water town), and then transfer to Shanghai Courtyard Marriot near Disneyland
Day 3 - Shanghai Disneyland! (One full day)
Day 4 - Transfer to Shanghai Marriott City Center
Day 5 - Private day tour to SuZhou
Day 6 - Shanghai Free & Easy
Day 7 - Home sweet Home - Shanghai to Singapore on Singapore Airlines (Business Class)

We would fly from Singapore to Hangzhou, and we were trying out ScootBiz in Scoot Airlines for the first time.  Scoot is a wholly own subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, and it is their low-cost arm.   When Scoot was first launched, we flew with them to Sydney! That was way back in 2012.  Since then, we have flown on Scoot a few times, but this is our first time in ScootBiz.

ScootBiz is Scoot Business Class?
What is ScootBiz? Well, it is NOT the typical Business Class of a full service airline.  It is more akin to Premium Economy.  What attracted us were the seats - full learther with at least 38" of legroom, 22" of width and 6" of recline, with adjustable headrests and legrests.  You also get complimentary meal and drink, but that was less important.

Scoot flies from Terminal 2.  Check-Lines moved quickly.  You had to do self-service check in first, before dropping off your bags.  That's the new trend, self-service.  I didn't see any special check-in line for ScootBiz passengers, so we joined the same queue.

Win A Jaguar E Space!

There was some lucky draw going on, as part of the Changi Millionaire program.  Check out the car on display! 

SATS Premier Lounge Terminal 2

After clearing immigration, we headed to the SATS Premier Lounge to chill out for a while and get some food.  Note that ScootBiz does not provide lounge access with the normal ticket.  We used our Priority Pass cards to gain entry.   Here is the entrance of the SATS Premier Lounge, which was opposite the SilverKris lounge at T2.

Video of Lounge Experience

A video of our lounge experience.  This lounge was voted Asia-Pac lounge of the year, for Priority Pass.  For a Priority Pass lounge, it is decent.  In fact, a good number of airlines use this contract lounge for their Business Class passengers too.  Here are YouTube video links so lounge reviews of  SATS Premier Lounge in Terminal 1 and SATS Premier Lounge in Terminal 3.  Below is the video of SATS Premier Terminal 2.

Lounge of the Year Awards 2017 - Priority Pass
The Lounge in Terminal 2 won the Asia Pacific Lounge of the Year Awards 2017 for Priority Pass. Our credit cards provided us with Priority Pass access to Lounges, which is very nice.  We could bring the entire family in, using my card and my wife's card.

Drinks anybody?
Drink selection was decent free-flow of alcohol, if that is what you like.  The chilled white wine wasn't too bad.  Don't drink too much before you fly!

Signature Laksa, which is pretty good.  Had a bowl, together with some red and white wine.  They also had some Nasi Lemak, yellow curry chicken, pandan chicken and other hot food, plus a soup.  See my video above for what I ate.

Beautiful Orchid Display.

Lounge Buffet Area.   We stayed for over an hour, and soon it was time to head to the gate!

FLIGHT EXPERIENCE

SCOOTBIZ - FlyScoot Singapore to Hangzhou
Flight Number TR 188
Dep: 1635hrs, Arr: 21:35 Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport
No time zone changes

We had wanted to visit Hangzhou and Shanghai.  So it was great that Scoot has a direct flight.  Scoot currently operates the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft.  This was our plane at the gate, its nickname was 'Bo Jio'.

BOARDING - A useful perk is that ScootBiz gets to board first.  They had just started boarding for the main cabin when we got there.  We boarded immediately as the video would show.

FlyScoot BizScoot Flight Review Video.
The 7:30 minute video below details our experience on board ScootBiz, showing you the seats and the meals.  Enjoy!


Some photos to whet your appetite.  The ScootBiz cabin was in a 2-3-2 configuration.  We were at the aisle, and I was in a window seat. We were in Row 1 & Row 2.  The seat was comfortable, no doubt about that!

Food wise, ScootBiz ticket comes with food and drink.  For the food package, you have to order in advance (online, when you book).  I didn't realise that there were different types of meals.  The most 'value-for-money' would be the Premium Meal selection, sample below.  This meal comes with 2 deluxe sides and a drink.  But there was no Nasi Lemak here.  I selected Nasi Lemak and that was packaged with a lower value meal (no ice-cream). So, hot tip, if you want a full meal with Ice-Cream, pick from the Premium Selections! 

Waiting for Luggage - Scoot Crew luggage came out first
Landing into Hangzhou was smooth and we got to the gates quickly.  The immigration clearance was fast.  What took some time was the baggage.  See the video below, for pretty much the entire aircraft passengers waiting at the luggage carousel.  Funny thing - the cabin crew luggage came out first! After we collected our bags, the Customs officials made all passengers put every bag through an X-ray machine, i.e. 100% check.  That caused a line to form, but the overall process was orderly and didn't take too long. The video also shows snippets of the taxi ride, and the room service we had.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn Hangzhou City Center, and we ordered room service for supper, as we were tired and hungry.



Room Service - All the Food in the Photo for 177RMB plus 3 drinks (including beer)

Take-off Video
If you like take-off videos, here is the video I took from my window seat of the Scoot Boeing 787.  Check out the huge piece of land being developed for Changi Airport Terminal 5.


Thanks for watching!!

Guitar Singapore Travels

Singapore Busker Lawrence Wong Khaw Boon Wan MRT - Hilarious!

This Singapore Busker uncle has a decent deep voice, plus decent guitar skills.  But what really stood out was his lyrics.  Really funny.  He sings about Lawrence Wong, Khaw Boon Wan, about HDB, about MRT, all to the famous tune of 'Blowin in the Wind' by Bob Dylan.

Worth a watch, Singapore talent!


Since you are on my page, why not check out the famous Nasi Lemak Burger!  This burger was introduced for a short while by McDonalds to celebrate Singapore's 52nd birthday, in the year 2017.  I tried it once, not too bad, though I still prefer the real Nasi Lemak.


Speaking of Nasi Lemak, the Adam Road Nasi Lemak is rather famous in Singapore.  This stall is called Crave, serving the famous Adam Road Nasi Lemak.  Yummy!
Have a good day!

National Day Parade Song 2017 - Because It's Singapore

National Day Parade 2017.  The theme song this year is 'Because Its Singapore'.  A bit cheesy, but then again, National Day songs are such.
    

With NDP 2017 round the corner, rehearsals are in full swing. Here is a helicopter flypast, with the state flag.


F-15SG bomb burst, right over a rainbow!  Very awesome sight!.


Go Singapore!

China Won't Return Terrex Vehicles to Singapore Unless....

Watch this video by a very articulate Chinese person, likely speaking on behalf or speaking on proxy for the Chinese Government. What is he saying?

Well folks, let's face it. We are in a David vs Goliath situation. As the old saying goes, Big Countries do what they want, and and small countries suffer what they must. Big China has decided to teach Small Singapore a lesson by seizing the Terrex vehicles that were transiting through Hong Kong's port. After more than a month, there is no end to this saga.

 This Chinese official (obviously told to go on media), has explained it very clearly. Singapore has not given China the assurances on two very important conditions.

First, Singapore did not inform the Hong Kong authorities that such sensitive cargo was transitting through the port. Why was this?

Second, and the real reason, Singapore did not adhere to the 'One China' policy because Singapore continues to train in Taiwan. The official said that Singapore's reason that the relationship with Taiwan goes back to the 1970s does not take into account that the modern reality is different. China is not the China of 30 years ago. Back then, Singapore started training in Taiwan (with the silent backing of the USA), China could do nothing about it even though China was not happy.

Today, China has decided to do something about it. Until these two conditions are met, the Chinese official categorically stated that Singapore will NOT get back her Terrex vehicles.

Not Going To Give You Back, Big China tells Small Singapore

Poor Singapore. Kena bullied. How can an island of 5 million stand up against an emerging superpower of 1.3 billion? In Singaporean lingo, China is telling Singapore to 'wake up our idea'.

What should we do? That, ladies & gentleman, is the million dollar question.  Now, bear in mind, the whole world is watching this closely, watching what Singapore would do, watching whether Singapore would cave in to China, watching whether the people of Singapore would scold their Government and tell the Singapore Government to give in.

If we give in, I'd say we are doomed.  Yes, we will get back our 9 Terrexes (apparently worth $30 million or so), but what will we lose?  We will lose our credibility as a sovereign country in the eyes of the rest of the world.  We will lose our reputation as an independent country, upholding international law, respecting rule of law.  So, give in, and don't blame our foreign friends for thinking that we are now part of China.

What We Should Do

Much as I don't like Donald Trump, I would like to quote his tweet as a possible Singapore response, in the event China simply refuses to return the Terrex.  Here was his tweet,

To paraphrase Trump,

"We should tell China that we don't want the Terrexes they stole back - let them keep it!"

Tell the whole world that China is the thief, the big bully, the country that unilaterally disregards international law.  They stole our good and let them keep it, so that the whole world can see for themselves who the thieves are.

As for the 9 Terrexes, we'll just build another 9 lah.  After all, aren't they locally made?  Create jobs for ourselves ain't a too bad an idea is it?

Majulah Singapura!

Singapore Airlines Business Class Wellington-Canberra-Singapore Capital Express

After a successful trip to Wellington, it was time to head home.  This is the return flight, on the Singapore Airlines Capital Express, connecting Singapore-Canberra-Wellington, the capital cities of Singapore, Australia and New Zealand respectively.

Intercontinental Hotel, New Zealand
In Wellington, I stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel, which was the biggest hotel in town, so I was told.  This video review shows you the deluxe room that I stayed in. You could watch TV from the shower, quite neat.


Wellington Airport Air New Zealand Business Lounge
The airport was not too far away from the hotel.  I took a cab, and the cost was about NZ$30.  Wellington Airport is not a big airport.  In face, the runway at Wellington Airport was rather short, under 2,000M!  Good thing the Boeing 777-200 aircraft used by SQ on this route could still land and take off safely.  Check-in at the airport was smooth and very soon, I was resting in the lounge, waiting for my flight.  Singapore Airlines uses the Air New Zealand Business Lounge, and here is a review of the lounge.


Singapore Airlines SQ 292 Wellington to Canberra
The first leg of this flight from Wellington to Canberra.  This was a 3 hour flight, and a very good dinner was served on board.  For this flight, I had an empty seat beside me, so that made the flight even more comfortable!


The plane landed in Canberra and we had to transit for about 1 hour and 15 min.  There was no lounge for premium passengers at the Canberra airport transit area, however, I found out that Business class passengers got an A$20 credit to buy food and drinks at the bar, which was located in the middle of the lounge.   As I was very full, I did not utilize this perk.

SQ 292 Canberra to Singapore
Soon it was time to board the flight for Singapore. This time round, the flight was around 8 hours.  By this time, I was more tired.  Similar to the earlier experience, passengers were given the option of going to sleep immediately after take-off, and take our meal only before landing.  I chose this option because I was already very full from the earlier Wellington-to-Canberra leg.  I had a good sleep, and was woken up about 1.5hours before landing.  Breakfast was pretty good.  I had the noodle option.


Landing was very smooth and I was home!

Thanks for watching.

Vietnam Airlines Business Class Singapore to London Heathrow Flight Reviews Part 1

We fly Vietnam Airlines (SkyTeam Alliance), Singapore to London Heathrow and return.  Excited!  This was the first time the entire family was flying together in a premium cabin, to anywhere.  So, let's get started.  From a cost point of view, this trip was made possible because Vietnam Airlines offers very competitive fares (by Business class standards) on the Singapore-London route.  So, we decided to give it a try.

SATS Premier Lounge
Our trip started with a visit to the lounge at Singapore Changi Terminal 3.  Vietnam Airlines (and a good number of other airlines) use this lounge, which is located right beside the Krisflyer Gold lounge.  The lounge wasn't too crowded when we were there.  It had a decent selection of hot food (including mee siam).  These Osim leg massagers as well as the Osim massage chairs kept my kids busy for a bit.


Vietnam Airlines Business Class Singapore to Ho Chi Minh
Airbus A321, Flight Time- 2 hours

Our first leg of the flight was to Ho Chi Minh.  The aircraft used was a relatively old Airbus A321. Curious that this version of the A321 had only 2 rows of Business class seats, in a 2-2 configuration, in front of the plane, making a total of only 8 Business class seats.  I was surprised because I had thought there were 4 rows.  The seats were wide and comfortable enough for a regional flight, however, they were old-school, and there was no individual inflight entertainment system.

Overall, service was very good for the short flight, even though the flight started out a little bumpy.   The usual hot towel and welcome drink (I got champagne) was served.  We had 3 choices for food, and the taste was not too bad.  More details in the video below.


Bus ride from plane to Terminal
Upon landing, there was no aerobridge, and passengers had to disembark via staircase and take a bus to the terminal.  Disembarkation is always tricky with stairs, because of cabin luggage.  Thankfully we made it.  Not sure how it is done if the passenger has difficulty climbing stairs!  For Business class passengers, there was a separate bus catered just for us.  So the 6 pax in Business took one small bus to the terminal, which meant we did not have to wait for the rest of the passengers and we arrived at the terminal very quickly.  Here is a video of the planes I saw on the way.  The bus had to stop because an Emirates Boeing 777 jet was pulling into an aerobridge.  If the bus didn't stop and we got in front of the jet, we may be sucked into (or blown away) the jet engines.


Lotus Lounge Ho Chi Minh Airport
The lounge was rather crowded when we got there.  Fortunately, the far end of the lounge was still empty and the four of us could find a very nice corner to park ourselves.  We would be here for quite some time (the layover was more than 6 hours!) because we arrived at around 7PM local time and the flight was not till close to 1AM the next morning.  If you were wondering why the flight connection time was so bad, well the answer was that we chose it to save money.  There was a later flight from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh that arrived at around 9pm.  However, taking the earlier flight saved us a few hundred dollars.  Since we had access to a lounge, why not.  Just chill, we were on holiday.

This review gives you a good overview of the lounge.  We enjoyed the hot Vietnamese Pho, even though we weren't very hungry as we had just had food on the plane.


In the next blog post, I will show you the Ho Chi Minh to London leg, this time on a brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.  But before I go, here is a video of us walking to the Lotus Lounge, while in Ho Chi Minh terminal.

Thanks for reading!

Ms Aung San Suu Kyi Visit Singapore Local Market Ghim Moh plus Food Videos

A rare visit by a famous foreign dignitary to our very own local Ghim Moh Market!  This famous person was none other than Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, who was in Singapore for an official visit at the invitation of our Prime Minister.   This morning, she visited the Ghim Moh Market and even had breakfast, featuring local delights, at the food centre!  I was there for my normal breakfast when I spotted this large group of people (including media), gathered at the drop-off point at the nearby HDB estate, waiting for some VIP to arrive.   What a treat to see Ms Aung at such close range.  Awesome!



Now, what so great about Ghim Moh Food Center?  Well, it is an awesome place to get food!  Here let me post some videos.  First, how about some prawn noodles?  Yes, prawn noodles, dry.


Next, let's check out some hot and fluffy pancakes from Granny's pancakes. Very nice to eat, but surely high in calories too.


Care for some delicious carrot cake? It is an awesome place to get carrot cake and many other dishes too.

And some noodles, or Mee Pok Dry. I patronize this store often. It is very nice.

 

Won-ton Noodles - Kong Shang Hua - this is my favourite store for Won-Ton noodles at Ghim Moh Cooked Food Center.



Let's check out the Braised Duck Rice store, which operates during lunch, and is right next to the Kong Shang Hua Won-Ton noodles store. Also very nice!

Care for some famous Chwee Kueh? This uncle has been selling Chwee Kueh for decades. He is certainly getting on in age, but his store continues to be very popular. Try some, before he retires!

Thanks for reading!

Singapore Airlines Business Class Singapore-Canberra-Wellington Capital Express Flight Review Videos

I fly on Singapore Airlines Business Class, from Singapore to Wellington via Canberra.  This was the new "Capital Express" route, connecting the three important capitals of Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.  This route commenced 21 Sep 2016. This would mark the first regularly scheduled international service into Canberra.  SQ uses the Boeing 777-200 on this route, with 38 Business class seats in 2-2-2 configuration and 228 Economy class seats in 3-3-3 configuration.

SilverKris Lounge Changi Airport Terminal 3 Teochew Cuisine
Check in at Changi Airport Terminal 3 was very smooth. I start my trip with a visit to the SilverKris Lounge for SIA Business Class passengers.  They were offering authentic Teochew cuisine and I had a good meal there.


Singapore Airlines SQ 291 Part 1
SQ291 would depart Singapore at 2300hrs, or 11pm. Today, we departed from gate B10, which was a very far gate from the main area in Terminal 3.  In fact, at gate B10, you are almost at Terminal 1. Anyway, I didn't mind the walk.  Boarding was smooth and this first video shows boarding, and I get settled in my seat for this first leg, which would take around 7 hours.  Turns out that passengers can choose whether to have the meal service shortly after take-off, or before landing, or both.  So I chose to get some sleep shortly after takeoff. 

Singapore Airlines SQ 291 Part 2
In Part 2, I show you the meal before landing. The cabin lights were turned on about 2 hours before landing and the pre-landing meal (in this case breakfast) service began. Starting with a bowl of fruit, we went on to the main course. I had 'Booked the Cook', so I got the Chargrilled Soya Beef for breakfast. A most interesting breakfast indeed! However, I wasn't too hungry and didn't eat much.


Canberra Airport Landing and U-Turn on Runway
Landing into Canberra airport was smooth.  The runway felt pretty short and the Boeing 777-200 jet had to do a U-turn at the end of the runway, before taxi-ing to the terminal.  An interesting experience!  Here is the landing video, in bright glorious sunshine.

Canberra Airport International Departures Lounge
We had to wait at the Canberra Airport for about 1.5 hours before we could re-board the plane to resume the journey.  Here is a short snippet of the Canberra Airport international departure lounge. This lounge was opened to all passengers, not just premium passengers.


Canberra to Wellington Flight and Landing
This was the final leg of the flight, from Canberra to Wellington. The flight took about 3 hours.  I was very tired and slept throughout most of this flight.  I didn't eat at all.


Here is the Press Release by Singapore Airlines on the launch of the 'Capital Express' Service from Singapore to Canberra and Wellington.

Singapore Airlines Launches 'Capital Express' Service To Canberra And Wellington

21 September 2016 - Singapore Airlines has launched its new ‘Capital Express’ service, linking Singapore for the first time with the capital cities of both Australia and New Zealand.

The inaugural flight, SQ291, departed Singapore Changi Airport at 2300hrs local time last night and arrived at Canberra Airport at 0815hrs local time this morning. Following a short stop-over at Canberra, it continued on to Wellington and arrived shortly after 1500hrs local time.

Customers departing from Singapore and Canberra were treated to an assortment of food and beverages at special boarding gate events held to commemorate the inaugural flights.

The ‘Capital Express’ service will operate four times per week on a Singapore-Canberra-Wellington routing, with return services operating on a Wellington-Canberra-Singapore routing.

Singapore Airlines is the first airline to operate regularly scheduled international services to and from Canberra. It is also the first airline with flights between Canberra and Wellington.

Flights will be operated with 266-seat Boeing 777-200 aircraft fitted with 38 Business Class seats and 228 Economy Class seats.

The new Canberra services will add to Singapore Airlines’ already extensive Australia network, which includes flights between Singapore and Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Regional arm SilkAir also serves Cairns and Darwin, while low-cost subsidiary Scoot serves the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. The new Wellington services will complement existing services between Singapore and both Auckland and Christchurch.

Singapore Airlines’ network in Australia and New Zealand is further enhanced through its extensive partnerships with Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand.

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Supermoon in Singapore 14 Nov 2016 9:52pm

Managed to get this video footage of the supermoon in Singapore, just as the skies cleared a bit. Super moon!
 

Chui Huay Lim Teochew Cuisine Singapore

Had dinner at the Chui Huay Lim Teochew Cuisine restaurant. This restaurant (operated by Jumbo Group) is located within Chui Huey Lim Club (190 Keng Lee Rd).  This place was very crowded during the weekends, so you should reserve in advance otherwise you won't be able to get a place.

This video shows you the food we tried, including braised duck, ngoh hiang and some other teochew favourites. For dessert, we tried the Orh Ni and Tau Suan. Overall, a fine meal and the price was attractive because one of my relatives had a voucher to boot. Cool!



Some of the food on our table.  You can see the Ngoh Hiang, the Duck and the Salted Egg Prawns. All very good!

Overall, food was pretty good.  Recommended.

Hainanese Chicken Rice - Hail Chicken Rice!

According to BBC Travel, this dish is worth the 15 hour flight from Europe!  The BBC article is a wonderful read.  I didn't know much about the history of Hainanese Chicken Rice even though I eat it fairly often.  Well done and thanks to BBC for profiling this awesome dish from Singapore.

On this blog post, I share some videos I made of the chicken rice that I have enjoyed.  First up, is the Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice.  This is their outlet at United Square.


Chicken Rice is widely available everywhere. In food courts, coffee shops. Here are more examples. This one is at Funan Digilife Mall (which I think is going to be renovated)

Here is another example, from another local food court. A Chicken Rice set meal. Always delicious!

Yet another chicken rice store, in the suburban areas. This one is near Jurong East MRT station.

A store selling chicken rice in Toa Payoh.

And yet another plate of chicken rice in a local coffee shop. Wonderful!

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Wu Shu Demonstration, World Champion, Singapore, Lunar New Year 2016

This was Lunar New Year 2016 season and I chanced upon this Wu Shu demonstration at a local shopping mall. It was very interesting because this is the first time that I was watching such a demonstration!

  In the first video, the display starts with an energetic performance by a few fine young mean. Full of energy and vigour. Then, what was very surprising was when the emcee announced that a 10 year old Taijiquan exponent would come show his moves. Ten? Wow. Look at that chap. The moves look easy, but they are awfully hard. You have to keep balance, keep posture, focus, breathe... don't believe you try it yourself! Impressive patience for a 10 year old.

 

After that, we resume the more energetic performance with this young boy using a double sword. Very fast movements. He could probably slice his opponent into a thousand pieces, with a few swishes of this nimble arms. Awesome. I enjoyed it.

 

The next performance was another surprise. A young lady, looking fairly lean (and mean to a certain extent), came on stage and started her Taiqiquan moves. Her performance was clearly very polished. Just look at the movement, the rhythm, the harmony, the balance! Then she accelerated her motions (from about 1:45 of the video below) to show you that she has the swift moves too. I am sure in a real life battle situation, she could go even faster. I wouldn't mess with this young lady.

Later on, I found out that she is a World Champion! Wushu Gold medallist at the World Championships back in 2013. Wow.

 

Next, the two young men demonstrated their sword fighting skills. I thought that I was seeing double but it turned out that they were twins!

 

After the official demonstration routine was completed, the male Wushu exponents showed off a few basic self defense techniques for ladies. Had quite a good laugh. They made it look easy, but I think these slick moves require some practice.

 

Overall, very pleased to have caught this performance. It was a very good show by the young Wu Shu exponents. Impressive display of skills. Well done boys and girls!

AirAsia Flight Singapore to Langkawi Meals while Landing!

We fly AirAsia from Singapore to Langkawi, Malaysia. AirAsia is a very large budget carrier, owned by Tony Fernandez of Malaysia. It has been a stunning success, however, it was hit by a crash last year when AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed, presumably due to bad weather and some pilot error.

The flight time was quite short, only 1hr 20minutes, approx. Now the fun started. We had pre-booked our meals, however, it looked like a large number of pax also pre-booked their meals and turned out that the service was very slow. There appeared to be a large group of pax on the plane, travelling together. Many of them also pre-booked meals.

The pilot had announced the start of descent, yet we hadn't gotten our food! Then, the cabin crew (4 of them) started to dish out the pre-booked food more and more rapidly, even as the plane was descending. It turned out that we ended up eating our meals right through descent and landing! Is this normal? Well, I got the entire experience on video, and you can watch it to believe it.

Some stills. I spotted this very long bridge from the air. Later on, I learnt that this was either the Penang bridge or the Penang Second Bridge (the latter bridge is longer). Not sure which one this is.

By the time I got my meal, we were already very close to landing.

This is how the Bukhara Chicken Briyani looked like. The taste wasn't bad.

Upon landing, the plane quickly taxi-ed to the terminal and I saw this Malaysian Airlines jet that had just pushed back.

This was a small airport, no aerobridge.

Another view of the plane, in the bright sun.

Earlier in the morning, this was the first part of the video of the Air Asia flight, taxi-ing out of Changi International. The plane was slightly late in arrival, but the disembarkation of passengers and our embarkation was relatively quick. We had to taxi for a very long while before take-off. During the taxi, I saw the upcoming Terminal 4, which is about 70% completed. I think Terminal 4 will open in 2017. Once we took off, I could see a large piece of land being cleared. This should be the site of the future Terminal 5. Here is the video.

Singapore Garden City - Forest Walk, Canopy Walk, Henderson Waves, Botanic Gardens

To the outsider or foreigner who knows little about Singapore, he may have heard that Singapore is an economically vibrant city, but what is less well known is that Singapore is also a Garden City. We are a beautiful city, with many gardens, parks and nature reserves. In my free time, I have made some videos of some of these awesome park connectors and unique aspects of our Garden City. Feel free to share this blog link and video links with your friends, especially those who are not familiar with Singapore!

Henderson Waves This is the tallest pedestrian foot bridge in Singapore. The design is really unique and the architecture is beautiful. There is a different feeling when you come in the night, versus the day. This video shows you the Henderson Waves during a bright and sunny day.

Forest Walk Near the Henderson Waves, you can find the Forest Walk which will bring you down to Alexandra Road. They have built a metal zig-zag bridge, right through a secondary tropical forest. You are high up in nature, and you can see the trees up close. Amazing.

Canopy Walk As the name implies, in this walk, you are high up in the Canopy of a rain forest. Very interesting. Feels like I was flying!


Botanic Gardens Now a UNESCO Heritage site, the Gardens have a long history. Within the Gardens, there is the National Orchid Garden and within that a VIP Orchid Garden. All worth a visit.



Thanks for watching!

Meng's Teochew Bak Chor Mee at Jurong GEM Food Court

I tried Meng's Teochew Bak Chor Mee (Pork Noodles) at the GEM foodcourt in Jurong East. Pretty good. $5 per serving. It was a large serving and definitely filled me up. The taste was strong. Apparently, they use 18 types of sauces. The noodles also come with a soft-boiled egg. Nice.
 

Tiger Airways Singapore to Hong Kong Flight Review, Tsui Wah Breakfast plus HKIA #Tigerair

We flew to Hong Kong and back recently on Tiger Airways, budget carrier owned by Singapore Airlines. Based in Singapore, TigerAir operates a fleet of 25 aircraft (Airbus A320) to almost 40 destinations.

This is the first time we are flying with Tigerair.

Overall, the flight for 4 pax (2 adults and 2 kids) cost us SGD $530 in total including taxes, return. This is about USD 375 or US93.75 per person. The flight from SIN to HKG takes almost 4 hours and the return leg about 3.5 hours.

Our departure was early morning, 0605hrs.

In this video, I show you snippets of Singapore Changi Airport that morning.



Check-in counter at Terminal 2, Singapore Changi Airport. Common check-in for all Tiger Air flights.

This is in the restricted area, after immigration. The time was around 5am. Many stores were still closed, though most of the eateries were opened. This is Singapore Changi Terminal 2. Well, we don't have a 24 by 7 airport, unlike Dubai.

Beautiful floral display at Singapore Changi. Early morning, but still many tourists taking photos.

In the line to board the plane. This was taken while waiting in line on the aerobridge.

On board the aircraft, at my seat which was an aisle seat. Aircraft was a single aisle Airbus A320. This is a Budget carrier.

Cockpit door was not yet closed. Passengers were still boarding. I could see the cockpit crew doing preparatory work for this flight.


This video shows you the flight itself. Pretty smooth. We ate breakfast before boarding the aircraft, so we did not purchase any food while on board.  We ate some breakfast before the flight.  After landing at HKIA, we also we had some food before making our way into town.

 

This video shows you some footage post arrival at HK International. We were at a satellite terminal and we had to take an airport bus to the main terminal. It was a very bright and sunny day. HK was going to be hot!

 



Some pictures of airplanes upon arrival at HKIA. This was the Airbus A320 that flew us to Hong Kong. The livery is neat.


HKexpress.com. I've not tried this Airline before.


Before taking the airport bus A21 to Tsim Sha Tsui, we had breakfast at an eatery called Tsui Wah, at the public departure area of Terminal 1 HKIA. They do breakfast sets. Easy to order, easy to eat. The kids loved it.

Hot milk tea in Hong Kong is a standard drink.

Here is a video of the walk to Tsui Wah and what we had for breakfast, after landing at HKIA.

This was taken from the Airport bus at the satellite terminal. Yes, we had to take an airport bus from the satellite terminal to the main terminal. Check out my video for the bus ride.

After arrival at HKG, we had some food at an airport eatery called Tsui Wah. Once our stomachs were filled, it was time to head into Hong Kong. We took Citybus A21 to Tsim Sha Tsui area, where our hotel would be.

Back to Hong Kong & Macau Landing Page.