We flew mostly Singapore Airlines for this trip, flying from London to Singapore, Singapore to Brisbane, Melbourne to Singapore and Singapore back to London. I was quite impressed with the meals presented on board Singapore Airlines – while the food is not spectacular (c’mon, it’s airline food!), it’s miles ahead of anything British Airways or Air Canada has.

Braised Fish with Oriental Sauce

Rice Vermicelli with Chicken and Vegetables

That’s a fish with Oriental sauce dinner on top and a noodle breakfast below.

We gave ourselves enough of a stopover at Singapore’s Changi Airport on the way to Brisbane to take one of the free coach tours (recommended stopover time of 5 hours…we had 7!). Unfortunately, it was pouring the entire time, making the tour more of a laugh than anything. Of course, with such a long stopover, we were able to fit in two whole meals before our next flight: prawn noodles first and then Hainanese chicken rice! The first dish is a noodle soup whereby the soup is based on a delicious broth made from prawn shells. The second dish is extremely famous throughout Singapore and is a boiled chicken dish (in our case it was roast chicken – more of a Malay influence, I believe) served with chicken rice, a delicious rice cooked in chicken stock.

Prawn Mee

Chicken Rice Set

All the food above was eaten airside, past immigration. If it had been easier for us to get out and then back in again, we would have made our way to the staff canteen in Terminal 1. To get there, first search for the Burger King in Terminal 1, on the ground floor. Walk around to the back of it and exit the building. Take a sharp left and walk down the stairs. Et voila, the staff canteen (air conditioned!)! Canteen is a bit misleading as it’s more of a food court with a number of hawker stalls. We feasted here just before our flight back to London from Singapore and the food is good – certainly some of the best at the airport! There is also a canteen in Terminal 2 but it’s more difficult to get to – take the shuttle train between the two terminals instead.

Don’t get me started on the shopping at Changi Airport*! On my way back I bought many Nyonya cakes from Bengawan Solo. And there may have been shoes from Charles and Keith. And…uh…. yeah, best shopping at an airport I’ve ever seen, hands down! Shopping and eating – excellent ways to kill time before a flight!

*If you’re flying onwards to Australia or New Zealand, I suggest you do NOT purchase any food to bring along as these countries have extremely strict quarantine laws and many beagles ready to sniff out your goodies.