Weds, 30th July 2008

Dinner tonight. Fern with dried shrimp, chillies and shrimp paste.

Airline/Airport Meals Part 3

And on board we go...

Shortly after takeoff, and the obligatory safety announcements, settling down, etc, etc; dinner was served - what was available? There was a prawn salad,

and a choice of wok fried beef, seafood or pasta for mains

I had pre-ordered a steak (gasp!) but when they noticed I hardly touched it; it was changed for the gratinated seafood which explains why there are 2 main courses here,

and chocolate gateau for dessert

with cheese and coffee/tea.

Lights were dimmed after dinner and I think I must be the only person awake *why :-)* in the entire cabin along with a poor little baby who was yelling her head off and her exhausted mother. I smiled and mouthed 'it's ok' in sympathy at exhausted mother and cabin crew gave me a pair of earplugs. The hours passed quite quickly from reading just about every single magazine available including Men's Health, sipping water and flicking channels; baby quietened down or passed out from exhaustion and I had a little 2 hr snooze, had some green tea; and before too long I had a little snack.

A Smoked Salmon with Macarspone Cheese on Toasted Sesame bun

And (I hope you are still with me) :-) 2.5 hours before touchdown, breakfast was served. A range of cereals in individual bowls were offered on a trolley with the fruits. Baby (a toddler actually) by now was awake and very cheerful after being changed and was wandering unsteadily between her parents' seats. Her brother with headphones firmly clamped on enjoyed his breakfast watching a cartoon.

And before too long, the flight was over - approx 13 hours later.

Airline/Airport Meals Part 2

How to spend 9 hours in Changi.
As soon as I landed, I thought Singapore will not be Singapore without some laksa so here is a bowl of steaming hot spicy coconut milk with the lovely fat springy meehoon, beansprouts, fried tofu, fish cake, hardboiled egg and sambal.

Then I strolled around the shops, very excited as most of the goodies had their prices slashed for the GSS. Bought guitar hero on DS for Hazel and went for a little sit down here, where I had a spoonful of rice with beef rendang, and a spoonful of melon soup, and a glass of water.

Strolled around the shops again. Popped over to T3..... popped back to T2, walked some more and starting to get tired of loading/unloading my bags on/off trolleys, etc.

Back to T3 for a little break.

Texted a friend and asked if it would be so co-incidental that we would be on the same flight later. No, but stamped out of T3 briefly for a chat and a drink which turned into soupy dumplings and wanton soup at Crystal Jade.

Stamped back into T3, dashed in/out of Mulberry, showered here,

and fresh as a daisy climbed onto the aircraft. What did I THEN had for the next 13 hours? And more aircraft mealsss coming up!

Airline/Airport Meals Part I

Weds, 9th July 2008

Quick glass of water at Brunei International Airport before the flight.

The champagne was delicious.

Lunch was:

Prawn, Tamago & Cucumber Salad with Citrus Mayo Dressing

Baked Barramundi with Prawn Colconnon, Asparagus & Lemon-Cumin Oil Dressing

(it's spelt with an 'o' in the menu but with an 'a' anywhere else I've looked)

(With choice of Gulai Kambing & Wok Fried Chicken with Rice)

Banana Coconut Cake with English Cream

I thought I will have the barramundi just because it was created by Matthew Moran from the Aria Restaurant in Sydney. Not that I know who he is/or anything about the restaurant.. :-) But do have a look at the menu on their website - lovely.

I really enjoyed the potatoes - they contained little pieces of prawn and spring onions and were very creamy and chunky at the same time. The lemon-cumin oil dressing soaked into the potatoes and this made me eat almost all of the portion. NO regrets at all.

And a cup of cappucino after lunch.

Arriving - Thurs, 10th July 2008

Me, taken a few hours before landing.

On arrival at the hotel, I headed to the breakfast room to have this enormous English breakfast consisting of fried bread, homemade sausage, half a Portobello mushroom, Black pudding, grilled tomato, hash brown, bacon and egg. With strong tea and toast/butter/jam.

and to think only a few hours ago, on the aircraft, I was tucking into Roast Duck with Braised Noodles complete with pickled green chillies and a mug of green tea.

This hair do (thanks, Analyn & Mei Ling) lasted the long flight and 9 hours of transit in Singapore the day before; still in my travelling clothes, I feel quite awake with only 2 hours' sleep on the flight in.

Popped over to Waitrose, a bare 3 minutes' walk from the hotel. Wine, water, fruits, mags and Beano Max for Hazel.

And of course, hidden amongst the shopping, a slice of lemon cheesecake topped with almond flakes with a sweet biscuit base....

Weds, 23rd July 2008

My sis Jayne and her family (minus Thomas -15) who's in France on an exchange programme. They live in Vancouver and isn't it such a co-incidence that we are in the UK at the same time, not having seen them for 3 years.

Like my new life saver walking shoes? Thanks, Belle, for giving me a pair of your new socks. I bought a pack for Hazel the following day. Those who know my eldest sister Wm will notice how much my two elder sisters look like each other. Sister J is a serious sun-worshipper whereas I am protected by sunblock / hat / sunnies (or duck for cover) at the first sight of sunlight.

We had a glorious day in Farnham, Guildford, Shere, Godalming and back to Farnham. Along the way, we stopped at Nell's Country Kitchen at the Lucky Duck for Cream Tea; and the Refectory for a country pub dinner. Food posts up soon.

Mad Traveller

Packing severely stressed me out and these are my cases arriving at the airport and departing from the hotel.

I have made a fervent promise to myself to never ever EVER overpack ever again.

Next time I go anywhere, I will be one of those chic people who can survive on a 2 week trip with a pair jeans/pants, 2 white shirts, good belt & jacket and 1 pair shoes/1 pair sandals and 1 dress which can double up for day/evening with a quick switch of accessories; and minimal toiletries. I will however make some attempt to explain why I had so many cases one day soon.

Down the local chip shop

A freshly deepfried large portion of cod and thick cut chips sprinkled liberally with malted vinegar and showered with salt.

Eat with packet Tartare Sauce and wash down with a bottle of cider. The chip shop is called The Traditional Plaice.

I took it back to the hotel and ate it at their bar restaurant. Wow - it was good. The fish was firm and sweet and the batter light/thick and crunchy.

p.s On second thoughts, perhaps large was too big a portion even for me - I could not manage all the chips.

Monday, 21st July 2008

These are my god-parents - Tony and Eleanor Lock whom I have not met for 7 years. They have aged but have lost none of their sharp wit, keen intelligence, sense of humour & adventure. They drove an hour into Farnham to save me a 2.5 hour train journey (with 2 changes) to theirs. We had a good afternoon together with Eleanor and I sinking 1.5 bottles of Pinot Grigio between us. It was sad to wave goodbye to them at the end of the day. I felt almost as lost as the day they left 13 years ago.

Here they are visiting Mark and me in RIPAS a few hours after he was born in 1994. There is another pic of them and us; with me in my red checkered regulation RIPAS gown but I can't find it now.

And a few days later at home.

Back to the present ...... We had lunch at Prezzo, an Italian Restaurant. Please click the pics for full descriptions of the gorgeous food.

Eleanor had risotto, Tony a pizza and I had a chicken caesar salad.

For desserts, Tony and I had an apple tart each - I had mine with ice-cream and he with cream, and Eleanor had a Vanilla and Hazelnut bombe.