Philippines

The breakfast spread at the Marriott Cafe, off the lobby of the main tower for the Marriott Manila, is much more impressive than the Marriot executive lounge's smaller spread. This buffet spread is easily competitive with the best in Asia, although having insufficient stomach space to actually try most of the food, I would not go so far as to say it's anywhere near the best in terms of quality. What I did eat ranged from okay (pork adobo) to so-so (okonomiyaki, french toast), to quite good (bacon, veal sausage). Sadly did not have time for the cook-to-order noodle bar. ;_;

The walk from the hotel, a short few minutes outside in the heat and humidity, and then across the Runway Manila skybridge is less than 15 minutes, maybe even less than 10. Check-in, especially if you're a frequent flier, is efficient with minimal lines, although the airside frequent flier lounges are just okay. Cathay Pacific's lounge looked nice but I was not able to go in, the Singapore Air lounge was okay in terms of style and buffet spread, did not peek into any other lounges. To be fair, the food at the SQ lounge surprised me; the chicken pho, steamed bun, and shu mai all looked a little sad, but in reality were quite acceptable.

Boarding was interesting; the usual secondary screening at the gate, then two separate seating areas. Turns out United cordons off about 60 seats nearest the jetbridge for their frequent fliers, which is one of the first times I'd seen this setup in recent memory. Boarding was actually reasonably efficient, in large part to having the exact same crew as my arrival yesterday, and it was a smooth flight back to SFO as United flight 190.

Food on the return wasn't any better; presentation was good on both, but this time the broccoli with the main was a bit overcooked. At least the salmon was better than the fried cod, and the chocolate cake for dessert was beautiful. The pre-arrival meal was the usual so-so quality pork sausage, potato, and eggs, at least the bit of mango was a nice touch.

Departure was more than 45 minutes late due to fueling equipment problems at the gate; consequently, arrival to SFO ended up an hour late. This was actually perfect for photography, with thick layers of fog being held back by the Santa Cruz Mountains lit perfectly on arrival, and San Francisco as the fog receeded 90 minutes later on departure for my final flight of the day.