This would be the final leg of our trip in Singapore Airlines First Class to the Park Hyatt Maldives. Both of these are difficult to access, so this was definitely a unique trip We booked the Singapore Airlines space with Mileage Plus miles during a glitch while they were updating some systems. The Park Hyatt was booked using Passport Escape award, which is no longer offered, and due to some devaluations, this property is even more expensive.
Back in Singapore First Class
After our brief layover in Seoul, we were back on board our 777-300ER that would take us to San Francisco. This was the same plane we flew from Singapore, but now first class was booked to 5 of 8 seats. No champagne was available on the ground, but with more than 10 hours of flight time to come, I could manage. Maybe this is a rule, but it was a bit of foreshadowing for the upcoming service. I flew enough legs on Singapore to know how amazing their service can be, it was easy to figure out a great crew from a merely good one.
Upon being seated the first hot towel was offered, one of 5 or 6 times throughout the flight. Service began soon after leveling off. This dinner meal would be more extensive than the lunch on the flight from Singapore. I already listed the drinks menu for the previous flight from Singapore to Seoul, but the food menus for each meal service are below:
Dinner from Seoul to San Francisco
Create your gastronomic experience from our selection of tantalising options
Canapes
- Satay with onion, cucumber and spicy peanut sauce
Appetisers
- Chilled malossol caviar with melba toast and condiments
- * Smoked salmon with ginger and coriander, shaved fennel and apple vinaigrette
Soups
- * Cream of garden pea with peppermint and prawns
- Korean chicken and ginseng clear soup
Salad
- Mizuna with shaved fennel and cherry tomato
Balsamic and virgin olive oil dressing or Ranch dressingMain courses
- *Roasted scallops with ceps mushrooms, shallot royale and spices cream
- Stir fried chicken with ginger and spring onion, selected vegetables and fragrant rice
- #Pan fried beef fillet in mushroom sauce with roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes
- Korean style eel with spicy sauce, jap chae and steamed rice. With soup and kimchi on the side
Finale
- * Berry financiers with cottage cheese and passion fruit sauce
- Korean glutinous rice cake with fruit salad
- Brie, boursin, smoked and blue cheeses served with dried fruit, nut, grapes and crackers
- Fresh fruits in season
- A selection of gourmet coffees & fine teas served with pralines
* Exclusively created by Georges Blanc, Vonnas
# A healthier choice – lower in cholesterol and saturated fat
Singapore Airlines First Class Meal service
I had satay one more time, on what would likely be my last Singapore Airlines flight for a while. I’m not a big caviar fan, so I just opted for the smoked salmon.
first course with sparkling water and 2003 Dom
tasty options from the bread basket
Mizuna salad with fresh ground pepper, tastes similar to Arugula
After my disappointing meal on the Singapore to Seoul flight, I opted for a safer main course, in this case the fillet. It wasn’t as magical as the medium rare steak on my Cathay Pacific flight, but it was tasty and cooked to a nice medium temperature.
beef fillet
My wife had the stir fried chicken, which she said was excellent
After the steak I had a little dessert…
…and some cheese
and another hot towel after the meal
Bedtime
After dining, I decided to try to get some sleep. It was pretty early on Singapore time, but in the effort to beat jetlag back at home, I knew some sleep would be quite helpful.
I asked one of the crew to make my bed. The First Class seats are nice for sitting, and quite good for sleeping. The only issue I have is that in order to make a bed, the back must be flipped over, so there is no ‘in-between’ or lounging position. The bed must have been quite comfortable, as I slept quite well, and didn’t have the opportunity or desire to partake in the snack menu.
light bites from Seoul to San Francisco
Should you fancy a little snack or something more substantial in between your meals, simply make you selection known to our crew, during the flight
Noodles
- Gatso Udon Local noodles in soup
- Create your own noodles dish in a rich chicken stock
- Choice of fresh noodles : kway teow or egg noodles or rice noodles
- Garnish with either : Chicken and black mushrooms or prawn and lettuce or black mushroom and Chinese greens
- Rice porridge with green tea
Sandwiches
- Croissant with creamy chicken and tomato
Snacks
- Cashew nuts, honeyed walnuts or macadamia nuts
- Chips
- Cookies
- Assorted biscuits
- A selection from the fruit basket
- Assorted cheeses with garnishes
Once we were about 80 minutes from our arrival, breakfast service was offered. By this time I was awake, and ready for some more food.
Here is the “before touch down” menu:
Before touch down from Seoul to San Francisco
As your destination nears refresh your senses with our delightful culinary treats
To Start With
A choice of apple, tomato or freshly squeezed orange juice
Fruits
Fresh fruit plate
Starters
Choice of cereals or yoghurt
Cornflakes with milk or Birchermuesli/Plain or fruit yoghurtEntrees
Seafood udon soup White wheat noodles in light chicken broth garnished with prawns, scallops, sliced fish and seaweed
Griddled hotcake with honey, chicken sausages, oven glazed tomato and scrambled eggs
Korean beef porridge Served with water kimchi and marinated beef
Fresh eggs prepared on-board (baked, boiled or scrambled)
With your choice of bacon, chicken sausage, vine ripened tomato and mushroomsFrom the Bakery
Assorted breakfast pastries and bread with butter, jam, marmalade or honey
Finale
A selection of gourmet coffees & fine teas
Breakfast before arrival
tasty freshly squeezed orange juice
Cinnamon roll. Not as slathered in icing as those served on United, but still good.
pancakes with freshly scrambled eggs
In continuing my quest to get readjusted to North American time zones, I opted for a western breakfast. It was fine, but nothing outstanding. The eggs were fresh, and that made a difference.
Soon we were approaching our landing in San Francisco. It was a typically scenic day flying over the San Francisco Bay on approach. We were close to touching down, but suddenly the engines spooled up, and we made a go around. This flight was in June 2013, about a month before the tragic crash landing of Asiana 214 on the same routing. The pilots later announced that some traffic was slow moving off the runway, which caused our aborted landing.
an unintended self portrait that shows the circuitous routing we took before landing
Despite a little bit of excitement on our approach, there were no further issues other than a long wait to clear customs. Thankfully this was our last trip without Global Entry. This was a great trip overall. The Park Hyatt Maldives were lovely, and we really enjoyed our flights on Singapore Airlines. Thanks for following along.
