Current Qantas First Lounge Menu (SYD/MEL) and relevant topics

[serfty]

Unlike MEL, SYD doesn't have any other convenient spaces

SYD FLounge still has an area with three of the original white desks. It is up from the Bar near the showers, just across from the "privileged" dining area.

There is at least one printer available although the iMacs are long gone.

Competition for the desks is high in the mornings.

 

[SYD]

SYD FLounge still has an area with three of the original white desks. It is up from the Bar, before the showers. It is across from the "privileged" area.

There is at least one printer there although the iMacs are long gone.

Competition for them is high in the mornings.

From memory at least three if not four work desks.

Plus two or it’s it three conference rooms! If one really needs to polish that last minute PPT, phone ahead to book a room.

 

[bernardblack]

I'm in F on QF7, with a scheduled departure 12:00, next week. I understand the menu cutover from breakfast to lunch is 11:00. What are the odds I can (from the reserved F area) get breakfast then place an order right on 11:00 and get to try the lunch menu too, before I have to board?

 

[anat0l]

I'm in F on QF7, with a scheduled departure 12:00, next week. I understand the menu cutover from breakfast to lunch is 11:00. What are the odds I can (from the reserved F area) get breakfast then place an order right on 11:00 and get to try the lunch menu too, before I have to board?

Pretty thin chance (or fat chance?) in my opinion.

You'd have to place an order, receive the order, eat it, and then go to board. Sure, QF7 is likely to board probably closer to the lounge (i.e. it won't be Concourse C), but boarding normally starts at about 45 minutes before departure; final calls probably issued at around 20 minutes before departure. Expecting all of the first sentence to happen in 15 minutes is ambitious at best.

Maybe you can try and ask the server if they can place an order or heads up the kitchen to start an order immediately at 11 am, that would improve your odds. Chances will also improve if it's a smaller plate, e.g. fried squid, and one plate.

 

[serfty]

I'm in F on QF7, with a scheduled departure 12:00, next week. I understand the menu cutover from breakfast to lunch is 11:00. What are the odds I can (from the reserved F area) get breakfast then place an order right on 11:00 and get to try the lunch menu too, before I have to board?

Maybe you can try and ask the server if they can place an order or heads up the kitchen to start an order immediately at 11 am, that would improve your odds. Chances will also improve if it's a smaller plate, e.g. fried squid, and one plate.

Yes, I have previously vworked with staff to have all day dining food delivered strait after 11am, but it was rushed.

Since @bernardblack is in First, they may be able to work with staff to arrange an earlier "lunch".

 

[peach iced tea]

Yes, I have previously vworked with staff to have all day dining food delivered strait after 11am, but it was rushed.

Since @bernardblack is in First, they may be able to work with staff to arrange an earlier "lunch".

I guess it depends if the kitchen is ready?
Maybe a pavlova would be easy to order

 

[mad_atta]

The pork belly, grilled cabbage with bonito butter was the best thing I’ve had at this lounge in the last few years. I’d love for them to keep this cabbage on the menu even without the proteins.

Don't forget the spanner crab in there making it extra delicious!

I said much the same thing - probably the best thing I've ever had in the lounge. As I recall mine looked a bit different but was clearly similarly delicious. Looking forward to trying it again in a couple of weeks time - should make up for the (likely very weak) onboard catering on QF41.

 

[sudoer]

It feels like there's been a concerted effort to lift the quality of the all day menu quality this year, both in the regular F restaurant sections (e.g. making the minute steak available, adding the signature cheeseburger, etc) and in the quality of the F/P1 dishes. Sadly that doesn't seem to have extended to the breakfast menu, which if anything, has gone backwards. It would be nice if breakfast was varied a little more, and there was something extra for the roped section.

The below three dishes are from the all day F/P1 menu.


Raw Australian tuna with green apple, lime, avocado and corn tostadas
This was a miss - tostadas nowhere to be seen and the lime juice was overpowering.


NZ little neck clams with egg noodle, spring onion and XO butter
Delicious, would absolutely order again. Quite a generous portion too (counted 15 clam shells left at the end!)


Beef short rib with caramelised onions, celeriac puree and red wine sauce
I thought the clams would be the highlight, but this stole the show. The beef was fall-apart tender - to this point it could be eaten without a knife. The onions were perfectly caramelised too, and the puree was smooth and buttery.


Pavlova / Lark Devil's Storm No.183
As I write this post I've realised the pavlova was supposed to be strawberry and pomegranate, but was mostly passionfruit. It was still as good as usual. The Lark was nice, but I am far from a whisky connoisseur and admittedly only ordered this as an impulse because it was on the P1 menu. Don't ask me to describe it as anything other than "drinkable"

 

[bernardblack]

As a QF-metal F pax, are they still doing the call/email the day before to book a spa slot? Or do I have to just arrive early and hope there is space? (Ticket was booked through AA and not QF, if that is relevant.)

 

[levelnine]

As a QF-metal F pax, are they still doing the call/email the day before to book a spa slot? Or do I have to just arrive early and hope there is space? (Ticket was booked through AA and not QF, if that is relevant.)

Yes. Email.

 

[Oscarq]

Sydney First Lunch menu, Raw Tuna, Beef & Pavlova all very tasty. Mistakenly devouring the Raw Tuna before photo.

 

[tm84]

Pretty poor service this morning. Ordered scrambled eggs, toast and some hash browns at 6am. The eggs and toast arrived 20 mins later, asked for more toast and the hash browns, twice, which took another 20 mins. Left at 6:50am still not having got my drink that I ordered at 6:20am. Water only filled up once. Maybe because my flight to NZ is in economy?!

 

[tm84]

Pretty poor service this morning. Ordered scrambled eggs, toast and some hash browns at 6am. The eggs and toast arrived 20 mins later, asked for more toast and the hash browns, twice, which took another 20 mins. Left at 6:50am still not having got my drink that I ordered at 6:20am. Water only filled up once. Maybe because my flight to NZ is in economy?!

Not one person has come up to me now while I’m sat in the seats by the window - literally everyone else has been served at their seat. I’ve just got to make my own cup of tea after being sat here for 40 mins! Literally do not know what I’ve done but this is actually the worst lounge experience I’ve ever had.

 

[DejaBrew]

this is actually the worst lounge experience I’ve ever had.

Submit feedback.

 

[muppet]

Not one person has come up to me now while I’m sat in the seats by the window - literally everyone else has been served at their seat. I’ve just got to make my own cup of tea after being sat here for 40 mins! Literally do not know what I’ve done but this is actually the worst lounge experience I’ve ever had.

Unfortunately it can happen even at the best of lounges/bars/restaurants. Most likely an innocent oversight by staff during a busy morning rush.

Sometimes you need to be proactive and seek assistance/service, get someone’s attention. I reckon chalk it up to bad luck, let the staff know what you’d like. You can submit a compliant, but when the reply comes through in 2 months, it won’t have got you a tea served to you today…

 

[lovestotravel]

Not one person has come up to me now while I’m sat in the seats by the window - literally everyone else has been served at their seat. I’ve just got to make my own cup of tea after being sat here for 40 mins! Literally do not know what I’ve done but this is actually the worst lounge experience I’ve ever had.

They just didn't like you... Nah it happens sometimes, and I always wonder why when it does.

It's annoying when it feels like you are the problem

 

[tm84]

Unfortunately it can happen even at the best of lounges/bars/restaurants. Most likely an innocent oversight by staff during a busy morning rush.

Sometimes you need to be proactive and seek assistance/service, get someone’s attention. I reckon chalk it up to bad luck, let the staff know what you’d like. You can submit a compliant, but when the reply comes through in 2 months, it won’t have got you a tea served to you today…

Yeah get what you mean about being proactive, it’s just that no one else was being that. It’s all good, I made my own cup of tea - nice and strong!

They just didn't like you... Nah it happens sometimes, and I always wonder why when it does.

It's annoying when it feels like you are the problem

I was thinking am I on the no serve list!

 

[anat0l]

Starting with the crowd pleasers: first the stalwart squid...



followed by the pork belly with spanner crab and sesame and bonito butter...



Pork belly was slightly tough at the skin; might have been sitting in prep or the rewarmer a bit too long, but the flesh was tender and very flavoursome.

I'm not in a sufficient class nor status to order the steamed clams, so I had to settle for the steamed ham (IYKYK the reference)



It's as bold as a simple cheeseburger can be. Interestingly they don't toast the buns highly - they must be just warmed. Plenty of American burgers don't have crumbly buns, so this must be a nod to that.

Had the QF3 Manhattan out of pure curiosity - I say pure curiosity because I wouldn't normally order a Manhattan, period (not much of a spirits person). Definitely has a sweet finish to it. The attendant said that it wasn't one of their very popularly ordered coughtails.



Finished with another stalwart: the pavlova in a glass, with strawberries and pomegranate. They always add passionfruit to these, but they never mention it on the menu.

 

[anat0l]

Round 2...

Start off with the buffalo mozzarella salad, which I requested without sourdough wafers.



I have to admit I was expecting a bigger ball of mozzarella; maybe slightly creamier (but then I might be confusing it with burrata). The flavours of harissa carrots and lemon fennel are nice. It's a fresh dish overall. Harissa won't blow your head off, but the spice is there.

Next is a requested half serve of coughin lamb noodles, served with cucumber strips and coriander...



The lamb alone is worth the price of entry. Lamb shoulder cooked and spiced with coughin to perfection, juicy and has a spice to it (it's there, not killer but it is there). I don't know if that is a half serve I requested, but they were very generous with the lamb. I imagine they must have been a bit heavy with the meat for me.

Last of all was the chocolate and hazelnut meringue slice with persimmon and cocoa sorbet. This is how it appeared on the lounge menu, but not in the online menu via the Qantas app.



If I were blindfolded and asked to taste a mouthful of this, I'd likely tell you it's a mousse, not a meringue. I couldn't tell what part of this is meringue - nothing was crispy (like a meringue), marshmallow-y, eggy... just not picking it.

That said, it is a nice dessert. Definitely on the sweet side - order a coffee with this, preferably espresso, or eat it slowly. The cocoa sorbet, you'd think would be a bitter foil to this, and it is to a point, but it is a sorbet, so they had to use sugar to fix it. The shaved persimmon is a bit weird overall. I think it also was meant to foil the "meringue", but because it is shaved quite thinly, despite having a very neutral taste, I don't think it stands up well against the other elements.

 

[DrJ]

Pork belly was slightly tough at the skin; might have been sitting in prep or the rewarmer a bit too long, but the flesh was tender and very flavoursome.

You had pretty much the same as I had last week. Sorry you drew the short straw on the pork belly, I found it very good on the day I had it. Unfortunately I had only a few bites before MrsDrJ decided that the sardines weren't her thing, and I did the noble thing and swapped with her...

Agree the NP burger is surprisingly good.

Thanks for road testing the manhattan so I didn't have to - guessed it would be too sweet, as 99% of commercial coughtails are. My idea of a manhattan is 2 shots of decent bourbon, half a shot of Cinzano Rosso, and a dash of bitters.
As long as Taittinger remains in the house, I am not tempted by much else!

Had the QF3 Manhattan out of pure curiosity - I say pure curiosity because I wouldn't normally order a Manhattan, period (not much of a spirits person). Definitely has a sweet finish to it. The attendant said that it wasn't one of their very popularly ordered coughtails.