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Qatar Airways & The Booze-Fuelled Brunch

Andy · November 12, 2020 · Leave a Comment

QR17's tragically empty cabin...

Having promised myself to give alcohol a skip – following on from my comparatively mild earlier journey – until at last several hours into the flight, it was with great disappointment that I broke my own promise within a minute of being seated; reasoning that it was a very acceptable drinking time – at least on some far-away continent. And thus, began what will likely be my final flight of 2020, much to my livers presumed great delight.

Airline: Qatar Airways QR17
Route: Doha – Dublin (Approx. 7 hours)
Class: Business

With such an early morning departure and an entirely empty cabin (there were about 7 passengers in business), it was my sense of duty that saw me tucking into the first offered glass of champagne – which presented itself much to my surprise if I’m honest, considering the time and the empty cabin – that came my way. The crew, similarly, felt an apparent sense of obligation to keep this lone ranger topped up throughout the thankfully accelerated boarding (otherwise I might have lacked the ability to stand immediately after take-off), before we got on our way.

QR Pre-departure beverages
One for the road. Or in this particular case, several.

For reasons that entirely escape me, but which I presume had something to do with my attempt to maintain a degree of sobriety between multiple glasses of champagne, and as I waved goodbye to my home of 7 years in Malaysia and hurtled towards a new life in Ireland; I apparently saw fit to command a chocolate waffle.

I’m not sure how one would craft a fresh waffle using only an aircraft oven, and while it was a little tough and somewhat chewy, again, it was a surprisingly strong effort with what I would have imagined would be a troublesome order to prepare meaningfully given our environment.

After that I was ready for an immediate power-nap/morning coma of approx. 2 hours, before waking up in time to receive an iced coffee. I’ve never come across an ice coffee being served on a plane, but it tasted as good as if I’d made it myself (I know that doesn’t re-assure anyone of its quality, but it was good, promise) and had I not earlier insisted on an immediate resumption of my dining feast upon completion of this beverage, I might have had another.

Qatar Airways ice coffee
Qatar’s very respectable iced coffee.

But time is money – or miles, in this case – and a glass of wine was brought forth without a moments delay, followed shortly by the next course. Once again, I went for something reasonably light, opting to skip the ceremony and pomp of the full multi-course extravaganza.

Much like earlier, it was a steak sandwich of sorts and despite its rubbery, somewhat false appearance, it tasted almost outstanding when compared to a multitude of other airline business class culinary efforts. At the same time, the wine continued to be topped up at all times and with very intense dedication (again, bearing in mind we were in the midst of the pandemic and global lockdowns in mid-June), such that walking confidently off the plane rapidly became more of a challenge than a given.

Qatar's Booze-Fuelled Brunch
My steak sandwich and appropriate beverage – and as always, water so as to give the outward appearance of sophistication.

Overall, another solid and memorable (surprisingly) effort from Qatar Airways. Once again, the crew were personable, chatty and incredibly dedicated to providing outstanding food, service and all the drink one could tolerate (even for someone with an aardvark-like ability to aspirate beverages like myself). This journey served its purpose, in what was a very unusual journey for me returning home permanently to Ireland, almost in surreal fashion; topping off one of the most luxurious, enjoyable flights I’ve ever had to Ireland – all in the midst of the pandemic.

Filed Under: Breakfast, Featured, Inflight, Lunch, Meals, Outstanding Tagged With: doha, ireland, qatar, qr17

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Andy

Hi, I'm Andy - Irish world traveller, with a penchant for dissecting and complaining about global inflight cuisine.

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Gramtastic Memories

After being denied boarding with Ryanair the previ After being denied boarding with Ryanair the previous evening (despite in fact trying to board), it was with a new level of patience and gratitude that I enjoyed this SAS Plus breakfast service from Heathrow to Copenhagen. Have times changed? No.
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SK500 / London - Copenhagen ✈️ / Economy 💺
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As it is well known and understood by all, breakfast is a meal I consistently detest on-board flights of all airlines and cabins. Generally stodgy, with meat of questionable provenance, it is a meal I look forward to the least.
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So you can imagine my surprise and actual enchantment with the more sensible, reliable offering afforded on this SAS flight from London Heathrow to Copenhagen, in SAS Plus.
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Included in our Scandinavian forest-branded box today, was a yoghurt, blackberry granola, a cardboard tin of mango & orange smoothie, a slice of cheese and a very lovely - and incredibly sugary - jar of orange marmalade. 
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To the hungry passenger this all may sound incredibly minimalist and disappointing, but in my mind, where the alternative is a tinfoil tray of stodge, it was exactly what was required. 
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The only notable exception to this otherwise delightful medley unfortunately being a bread roll that was proffered at a later stage, that seemed designed to emulate the toughness of the Scandinavian winter. I suspect I may have lost several teeth in that particular battle. 
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Sobriety was the order of the morning, and so I settled on a cup of coffee with refills offered but quickly forgotten about.
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Overall, this was actually one my favourite in-flight breakfast meals served onboard of all time. Fresh, not too much, and with nothing that could cause an immediate stomach disagreement, I only wish more airlines would follow this train of thought.
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#eatsbythewindowseat #windowseatpreferred #inflightmeal #meal #economyclass #airplanefood #airplanemeal #flight #LHR #CPH #inflightcuisine #SK500 #fly #sas #sasplus #economy #scandinavianairlines
After the culinary catastrophe that represented br After the culinary catastrophe that represented breakfast earlier in this flight, I was surprised to be woken halfway through for another gastronomic effort.
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SQ305 / London - Singapore ✈️ / Economy 💺
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With the apparent luck of the Gods on my side for this meal service, I was offered the regular choice of chicken curry or prawns in brown butter sauce (what on earth is a brown butter sauce comprised of, I dread to think) - or a leftover meal from Premium Economy, the apparent 'beef steak' meal.
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Calling this particular esculent a 'steak' felt like we were being incredibly economical with the truth, but I will admit it at least visually appeared far more tantalising than what had been witnessed earlier in the flight. 
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In terms of taste, I was impressed by the satisfying palatability of this meal - admittedly drowned in gravy, it all went down with no trouble. The spinach was by all means wilted beyond redemption or saviour, but again, tasted fine once suitably drowned in the accompany gravy.
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Accompanying our evening meal tonight was a harmless bread roll, as well as crackers and cheese, and a very delicious Lily O'Briens chocolate mousse pot - this, for me, was of course the pinnacle of the meal. 
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All washed down this evening by a carefully rationed two glasses of mystery white wine.
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Overall, this was a great comeback after the abysmal horror that had graced my tray table earlier on in the same flight and gave me hope - reasonably well placed - for the remainder of my Singapore Airlines' flights. 
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#eatsbythewindowseat #windowseatpreferred #inflightmeal #meal #economyclass #airplanefood #airplanemeal #flight #LHR #SIN #inflightcuisine #SQ305 #singaporeairlines #sq #economy
It's no secret that I have yet to enjoy an in-flig It's no secret that I have yet to enjoy an in-flight breakfast, and this culinary abomination would not be the meal to change that unbroken record.
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SQ305 / London - Singapore ✈️ / Economy 💺
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I was disappointed from the outset, immediately upon realising that breakfast would be our first meal on today's flight, and realising that I was likely to encounter nothing less than an unmitigated culinary horror show. 
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With a choice between the ominously non-descriptive 'scrambled eggs' or Indonesian chicken noodles (when was Indonesian noodles a strong representation of Singaporean cuisine?), I elected somewhat abruptly, surprising even myself, to opt for the scrambled eggs. Drinks on offer were tea and coffee, though fruit juice was available on request. Alcoholic options were not presented at all.
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Peeling back the tinfoil metaphorical shop shutter of this highly unenticing meal, I was greeted by a medley of assorted breakfast items of varying portion sizes and states of visual unpleasantness.
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The taste was equally unpleasant - ranging between the nuclear-temperature worryingly soft scrambled eggs to the pork sausage that seemed to require a troubling amount of chewing.
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The bread roll and room temperature yoghurt represented by all accounts the dual peaks of the meal.
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Following my attempt at the meal, it was time to sample the wine options; "white or red". The white wine, name unknown, was not disagreeable though had a fruitiness that made me wonder how sharp it might be at ground level.
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Overall, one of the greatest post wake-up disappointments and another reason why airlines and breakfasts are deeply incompatible bedfellows. 
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#eatsbythewindowseat #windowseatpreferred #inflightmeal #meal #economyclass #airplanefood #airplanemeal #flight #LHR #SIN #inflightcuisine #SQ305 #singaporeairlines #sq #economy
Here we have the (paid for) offering's of TAP - op Here we have the (paid for) offering's of TAP - operated by Portugalia, if that makes any difference - on our crossing to Lisbon. I always enjoy a paper cup of wine...
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TP1323 / Dublin - Lisbon ✈️ / Economy 💺
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With no expectations going in to this journey, I was initially pleasantly surprised by the option-lacking, but somewhat good value menu that was furnished on-board. Unfortunately, it will be noted that many, if not all, hot food options come marked 'Not available on Embraer', which of course is precisely what I was contained within. 
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With just a nudge under 3 hours to spare, I decided to indulge in the value meal including an option upgrade to wine, as opposed to a soft drink. As you can see, this also came served with a cup of questionable-quality water freshly dispensed from the aircrafts water tank.
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It's been some time since I've been served an actual mini-sized glass bottle containing wine - so heavy that I pondered upon how much extra fuel had to be carried in order to ferry these countless glass bottles from place to place. Before of course, I poured myself a room-temperature serving of the very beverage.
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On the whole, while also served slightly colder than room temperature and somewhat stodgy, the pastrami sandwich was perfectly acceptable - if perhaps not exactly haute cuisine - for the journey.
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The wine meanwhile started off fruitier than expected, but as with most alcohol, became palatable the longer I spent drinking it - to the point where it actually became very enjoyable and a second top-up wouldn't have been out of place, were we not landing shortly thereafter. 
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The 'Mediterranean crisps' were appropriately described, and included enough salt to trigger irreparable kidney damage - perhaps that's why the cup of water was considered necessary. 
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Overall though, for a flight of only 3 hours within Europe where food and drink offerings are always a paid-for extra, I left satisfied and curious to know where I might find that wine again. A surprising, half thumbs-up for TAP*.
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#eatsbythewindowseat #windowseatpreferred #inflightmeal #meal #economyclass #airplanefood #airplanemeal #flight #DUB #EIDW #LIS #inflightcuisine #tp1323

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