Philippine Airlines to Melbourne

Last March I went to Melbourne, Australia with my friends. We took Philippine Airlines since it’s the fastest way to get there. The direct flight took a mere 8 hours. Because I used my mileage and flew on business class going to Melbourne and economy back to Manila.

I had enough miles to fly on business class all the way but they said there wasn’t any allocation left on the Manila leg yet the business class section was half empty that flight. I also got to ride on two different planes since nobody knows what plane Philippine Airlines will actually use until the day of your trip.

This is my friend Deb who sat in her favorite seat while I sat at mine at the opposite end.

This is the business class seat of PAL’s B777-300ER. The interiors were newer and more comfortable than on the A300-300 we took back to Manila. The economy seats on this plane had individual screens on the back of each seat.

The leg room was really big.

The bag for the amenity kit was by Bally.

amuse bouche

minted chicken pomelo wrap, coriander prawns with Thai dipping sauce

I loved the chunky kare-kare sauce with ground peanuts. I just wish there was more like an extra bowl more. Look at my sad rice not even a drop of sauce on it.

prawn kare-kare by Chef Glenda Barretto

I always enjoy PAL’s cheese plate. There was quite a few almonds under the cheese slice.

cheese and nuts

I didn’t like the cake served but I was quite satisfied with the dark chocolate from Royce. I passed on the ice cream cup.

Magnolia ice cream, dessert & Royce dark chocolate

chamomile tea

A couple of hours before landing we were served a light breakfast. I didn’t like the cold meats that were too salty so I just ate the cheese with the ensaymada and the couscous salad filled with lots of dried fruit.

shaved roast beef with fiesta ham, fruit couscous salad and cheese

The mango jelly and nata de coco was a nice addition to the fruit bowl.

fresh fruit bowl

The ensaymada on a previous flight was yummier.

ensaymada

On the way back to Manila I was in economy class which I didn’t mind since I sat on the side with two seats and the seat next to me was empty. Notice there wasn’t any video screens on the back of the seats. This plane is an A330-300 if I’m not mistaken.

economy class amenity kit

I forgot what this pork dish was called but it was okay.

Dessert was a raspberry ripple cake from an Australian bakery. Not bad at all.

For our snack before landing we were given a roast beef panini with onions and tasty cheese. I swear that’s what was written on the bag. It doesn’t look appetizing but it was quite palatable. Even the tasty cheese.

roast beef panini with onions and tasty cheese