Philippine Airlines – June 2008

 Flying back home to Manila for two weeks. My last PAL meal going to Bangkok was horrendous and I had low expectations for this flights meal. I was pleasantly surprised to have decent food.

This was a beef stroganoffy type of preparation and it wasn’t that bad for economy food. On the long haul flights, the meal also comes with the whipped butter and cheese and crackers which I like most from the meal tray.

This is the usual pizza bread and sandwich which PAL serves as a snack on long haul flights. I actually like this and I’m fine with having this on every long haul flight rather than the straight from the fridge cold adobo roll which they also serve as a snack.

My favorite is the Anzac biscuit which they include on MNL – AUS flights. The combination of oats and dessicated coconut in a not too sweet biscuit makes the Anzac my favorite type of biscuit.

 

Melbourne 2008

I’ve lived in Sydney for two years and love the city dearly. This time, I would be staying for awhile in Melbourne and though it does not have the famed harbour and opera house which greets me everytime the plane comes in to land, I’m sure Melbourne would have it’s own charms. Melbourne is renowned for its food and shopping and I am looking forward to exploring her nooks and crannies.

 
Melbourne city early morning.

 
Yarra river – looks so charming and peaceful. This is actually in the city.

 
Melbourne’s famed trams – the new solar-powered ones

 
Melbourne at dusk

 
The leaves have nearly all fallen, it’s officially winter now.

 

All Aboard Cathay Pacific – Manila to Melbourne

On my Manila to Melbourne flight, I got upgraded on the Manila – HK leg of my trip. Yey! Being a loyal CX frequent flier does come handy as it increases the chances for flight upgrades.

 

Sigh… the two hour HK trip seemed much shorter as I enjoyed my roomy seat. I enjoyed the dimsum platter for the in-flight breakfast.

 

On my HK – Melbourne leg… where are the ceramic plates!!! Back to reality and plasticware.

 

Noodles were better than my Pineapple Chicken dish for dinner.

Summary : Cathay Pacific’s meals are decent enough. Business class meals would of course be good since you’re paying top pesos for your seat. My experience with their economy class meals have been passable. Chinese dishes I have had would be prepared better than continental dishes like a generic chicken or fish dish. I normally would choose noodles and pile on the chili sauce to give flavor to my meal.

Here’s a related post on a Philippine Airlines flight I took. Share your plane food stories.

 

Eating my way through the Philippines

Travelling and eating my way around the Philippines.

My Lakbayan grade is C+!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

 

The Miele Guide – Asia’s Top Restaurants

The Miele Guide is a project of Aun Koh (Chubby Hubby ) and wife S. from Singapore. The Miele Guide aims to be Asia’s first truly independent regional restaurant guide. The Miele Guide will evaluate restaurants in 16 Asian countries—Brunei, Cambodia, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

 

Photo from Chubby Hubby’s blog

This project came about as most restaurant guides are western-centric. The Miele Guide will put together a list of the best restaurants from the region. In the first round, the restaurants are shortlisted by Asia’s top restaurant critics. The second round of evaluation depends on our participation so vote now!

 

Each voter has 10 votes with 3 votes allowed from the home country. Help promote the Philippine’s culinary excellence and vote.

Just take note that a visa card is required to register. Upon registration, the form requires the first six digits of your visa card. Some people might get apprehensive about this but it should be safe as it’s only the first six digits.

Voting is open from now until July 31, 2008 at www.mieleguide.com

In the Philippines, I voted for Lolo Dad’s, Antonio’s and Cafe Juanita. What’s your vote?