Advance Australia Fair

The flagship carrier of Australia has the national animal as its logo. The classic Qantas hopping kangaroo is as recognisable as Coca-Cola.

These are the Business Class meals for the red-eye flights to and from Sydney.

Sydney to Tokyo – To Start

The butter used on their inflight meals is from Pete Saya Buttery. At the core of the Pepe Saya Butter is crème fraiche (soured cream). And to make crème fraiche they added lactobacillus culture (the same stuff in Yakurt) to the cream to ferment it for the flavouring of the fat in the cream. Once the cream matures, it is churned into Pepe Saya Cultured Butter. And the taste is fantastic.

Pork and shiitake dumplings

Pork and shiitake dumplings with pickled cucumber and spicy black vinegar and sesame dressing

A simple starter of fried gyoza with all the accompaniments thrown. Unfortunately the gyozas were cold. If not, they were pretty amazing gyozas up in the air.

Moroccan style beef tagine

Moroccan style beef tagine with chickpeas, roasted sweet potato and coriander yoghurt

The plating looked like it was just thrown together right out of the aluminium container. Other than that, the flavours were complex and fantastic. Fork tender beef stew with exotic Moroccan spices on a bed of cous cous, with sweet potato and chickpeas in the stew, and thickened with yoghurt. For added spiciness, there’s a dopple of chilli paste to provide the heat.

To Finish

And to round up the dinner service, there’s the sweet and cut fruits.

Chocolate mousse with sour cherries and toasted almonds

The chocolate mousse was rich and creamy, and the sour cherries jelly gave it the tartness required. To that, add the Chantilly cream and toasted almonds.

Prior To Arrival

Japanese stir fried noodles with pork, shiitake, sesame and gai lan

The noodles were mushy, and the pork was too salty. Maybe because it was really long into the flight, and I was looking forward to dinner in Tokyo.

Singapore to Sydney

I often take the red-eye because you leave Singapore around 11pm and reach Sydney 8am just in time for the first meeting, if you can get that 5 hours of sleep on board.

Seared snapper with spinach, pine nuts, polenta and preserved lemon salsa

The supper service was much lighter, but it was one of the best fish served in the air I have tasted.

Selection of cheese served with accompaniments

And to round it off, some good Australian cheese and dried fruits.

Sleep Well

They gave you a set of pyjamas for the flight, and they served excellent wine on board these flights. No wonder my Aussie colleagues often complained about the wines served on other airlines.

Entertainment On Board

These touchscreens were before SQ upgraded their in-flight products. And what I really liked was the live TV on board. Finally SQ (Dec 2020) caught up, but I have been watching live TV on these long flights since 2018. Watched the Rugby World Cup and FIFA World Cup matches on these flights.

Overall, I always enjoy my Qantas flights. The business class products were not as luxurious as the Asian airlines, but they make it up with plenty of good food and wine and generous spacious seats even in Economy.

Flight Taken : Jan 2019