Singapore: December 2023: Day 6: Return

Singapore

Day 6: Return

Breakfast at the JW Marriott South Beach executive lounge.

American and British breakfast items.

Asian breakfast items.

Omelet bar.

Breads on left, fruits, cheese, and veggies at center and right.

Bread and pastries.

Cheeses, salads, cold cuts...

Noodle bar.

Laska for breakfast. Win.

Tomato, bacon, veggies, sausage, tea...

Seating just past the bar area.

Bar and high-top.

Walkway between the lounge and the lobby.

Singapore Post Office inside Changi Terminal 2 Departures Hall (pre-security).

Wonderfall inside Terminal 2.

Near the United gates.

Already like 85F and 85% outside. Gross.

Onboard N24976, a not quite 4 year old 787-9 Dreamliner.

Yes, you can request team as your pre-departure beverage.

Parked at Gate F40, Terminal 2.

Mid-flight tapas service.

Main menu.

Wine list.

Taking off, with Terminal 1 below us.

Heading north-northeast over the cargo terminal.

At least the winds are in our favor heading east, less than 14 hours in the air.

Hot towel service.

Buffalo mozzarella is okay.

Braised chicken thigh and shiitake mushrooms was surprisingly good.

No hot fudge and no chocolate chips, had to go to backup plan.

Mid-flight tapas is not bad, but felt like more food than dinner, especially with the pork and rice dish at bottom left.

Pre-arrival meal of beef congee was delicious but as usual, too small a portion.

The normally pathetic "croissant" was actually decent looking for once.

8,476 miles flown per in-flight map, 8,642 miles per Flightaware.

Actual flight time 13hr 46min, 8,642 miles per Flightaware.

Rainy morning at SFO, N24976 at left center.

More jook at the Polaris Lounge. It was okay.

Have spent so much time here this week, it feels almost like home.

Row of Boeing 777 and Boeing 787's.

Not sure why N37514 has mis-matched nacelles. Maybe related to some of Boeing's anti-icing issues and fixes discovered since it was put into service in 2019?

Just arrived from Singapore, and already off to Tokyo.

SFO is a busy place.

Clouds after take-off on board N37514.

Final approach to LAX, SoFi Stadium right below.

Completely unexpectedly, the hotel breakfast had the final Singaporean food item I was seeking: laska. It wasn't the best, but most definitely was not complaining. *grins* And to be fair, for a complimentary hotel breakfast, the JW Marriott South Beach does an absolutely bang-up job.

Back to Changi Airport afterwards, checking out the Wonderfall again at Terminal 2 near the ticket counters, then over to the gates for the flight home. Was very tempted to stop at a Ya Kun Kaya Toast near the gate for a last snack, but decided against it...

The flight home was on-time and nicely quick at 13 hours 46 minutes compared to the just over 17 hour flight over, and while food on United will never compare to Asian or Middle Eastern carriers, the chicken/mushroom/rice for lunch was actually pretty damned good. The newly-introduced mid-flight tapas about six hours later didn't feel quite like a proper tapas, although the dumplings and the cold potatoes felt appropriate in portion at least, unlike the pork and rice, which was so substantial it almost could have been a dinner course.

Pre-arrival meal of beef jook was usual for United: actually very tasty jook, but much too small a portion. It did put the jook (congee) at the Polaris Lounge at SFO to shame, and made me wonder why United couldn't be bothered to do a better job on the ground. Then the final flight of the trip was a quick and smooth one onboard a shiny 737 MAX 9.