EXPLORING

& GNAWING

Discovering the world, one bite at a time!

Flights & Bites

Let’s pick up from where we left off shall we? The last couple of days has involved over 42 hours of flights/stopovers/flights, Toowoomba-Sydney-Bangkok-Dubai-Budapest. Hope the Deep Vain Thrombosis was worth it?

The Amex Lounge in Sydney proved a good timewaster. Unlimited food and beverages for 7 hours. That sounds like the greatest thing ever but the consequences of eating and drinking non-stop involve wedging yourself into a aircraft toilet many times in the subsequent days, something I want to limit as much as possible, so discretion trumped gluttony.

The offerings included a Mexican stand but all it did was just sit there and get a tan from the heatlamp, as if they were back in their homeland having a siesta. A Mexican stand-off if you will.

I did help myself to some of the other options including quiche and a chicken and lemon tagine (paired below with a salad sandwich and fighting for screenroom with a bowl of tomato soup). The breadroll was placed atop to make the whole thing arty and portray some artisan message, but the soup most likely used to call a tin can home. The roll looks suspiciously like the kind you get at the supermarket bakery if you were wanting to impress someone at a dinner party but you couldn’t be bothered making the effort. The tagine was tasty, the sandwich was the result of trying to grab something the same time a young lady reached for the the sparkling water next to me. Was I thinking she would be attracted to a man with healthy eating options on his plate rather than “a healthy appetite?” Yes. Was she? No.

Being there for near 7 hours I was hoping for sime rotation of the menu. Sadly that cliche of a change being as good as a holiday, apparently wasn’t discussed when mise en place  was happening in the kitchen. They just ladelled up the same. If was enough to make a man drink, so that’s exactly when the drinking started.

Getting inspiration from the book I began on a quest of vodka but unlike the title, eight crates were never on the cards.

And finishing up with the desserts. The rocky road was great. A nice touch also was the edible faux American Express card on top of the custards with rasberry topping.

Nothing like some gratuitous product placement. I think there are laws against advertising this kind of thing to the youngsters, but I am willing to turn a blind eye, only because chocolate was involved.

****

Flying on the A380 airbus actually makes the experience of sitting in a confined area for 17 straight hours somewhat bearable. Unfortunately the promised exit row seats didn’t eventuate but an aisle seat with surprising legroom comes a close second. It was my first time on an Emirates flight and I was impressed. They have a heap of entertainment options. There was a free live sport option which saw me watching the Melbourne Storm v Wests Tigers. Who would have thought you could watch the NRL at 40,000 feet above the Middle East? They even have a couple of cameras attached to the plane but at night they are useless, could be a colonoscopy for all I know.

Inflight meals were noodles or a name-your-meat and rice option. The top left of the above picture is a beef salad and next to that is a chocolate cake. They also served up the unused breadrolls from the lounge? All eaten with metal cutlery, not the plastic rubbish you get on other flights.

After watching a few movies during the flight – 3 Billboards (sensational), Get Out (very good) and The Shape of Water (unfinished, rating TBA) I decided to unleash my inner Guillermo del Toro and make my directorial debut. I call it “Thailanding”, of our landing in Bangkok.

 

That creaking noise is the plane. Hearing that now it sounds as if I was lucky to make it. Did not get a picture from Dubai. I was hoping I may have seen the engineering marvels rising out of the sand but it is hard to get a picture when the wing is obstructing the view. Tomorrow, Hungary.

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0 Responses

  1. Whoop whoop whoop… sounds exciting mate. Loved reading your post (u should write for the Chronicle travel section…) Looking forward to the next chapter!

  2. Geeez! For the massive fees you have to pay on your AMEX, you’d think they would be offering a bit more than a Mexican food poisoning stand. Emirates looks great though. You must have been chuffed to watch the League. Make sure you finish The Shape of Water on the return trip.

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