Spice bar at Melbourne Qantas Domestic Business Lounge

Not fully Spice Bar related, but curious change today from last week.

I was in around 3:45-4, spice bar was fine (still same menu as above - pork was good). However the other buffet hot dishes were gone and instead tgere was a kind of charcuterie board laid out - cheese crackers etc.

Now, no idea if this is a new change (exact same time last week they had the usual options). The selection seemed popular, but I felt it a downgrade to not have the other hot food at that time (I'd hope they would return around dinner time)

So interested to see if this is a change or just a one off.
 
Was at the spice bar late last week, and have to say that the pork dish was very popular in the lounge (I preferred over the kimchi rice).

The other hot dishes in the buffet area were chili con carne, lentil dahl, and an Asian noodles dish.

A few guys in front of me in the spice bar line asked for extra pork - which the server had no issues in adding.
I went up for round 2 of the pork, and a different server refused to add any extra pork, so YMMV.
 
aleks12345 said:
Was at the spice bar late last week, and have to say that the pork dish was very popular in the lounge (I preferred over the kimchi rice).

The other hot dishes in the buffet area were chili con carne, lentil dahl, and an Asian noodles dish.

A few guys in front of me in the spice bar line asked for extra pork - which the server had no issues in adding.
I went up for round 2 of the pork, and a different server refused to add any extra pork, so YMMV.
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That’s the moment when you ask for another serving and say it’s for your partner and they only want pork with no extras due to dietary requirements.
 
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KSC said:
That’s the moment when you ask for another serving and say it’s for your partner and they only want pork with no extras due to dietary requirements.
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Rookie error on my behalf. Ended up having a good feed regardless ☺️
 
Went the pork. Quite taste with the chilli. Steamed rice needed something to make it a little more exciting though. One of the better dishes I thought.

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Monday 18th March. Definitely the most disappointing Spice Bar offerings I've had. Distinct lack of spice in both and the cauliflower offering was frugal at best.
 

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BrettV said:
Monday 18th March. Definitely the most disappointing Spice Bar offerings I've had. Distinct lack of spice in both and the cauliflower offering was frugal at best.
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Had the poached chicken dish today. About three tiny bits of chicken and the rest broth and noodles.
Dish its self was fine and the flavour from the broth was good though I spiced it up a bit with chili flakes and onion from the self-serve area.

Imagine it’s a hell of a lot cheaper for them than the former pork offering. Pity I never got to try the pork because it looked better than the current menu.

Went back to have a look at the self-serve options after - all the lamb had been scooped out of the lamb stew by 1pm so it was basically an all vegetarian spread of stir fry noodles, chickpea curry, potato soup and rice.
 
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Crisp chow mein with pork and salted chilli (and my usual addition of kimchi and chilli).

Really tasty on its own with a good serve of the salted chilli.

Other option is laksa with tofu. Not my thing and have heard folks around me describe it as watery.

And bonus barmaid not afraid to pour a couple of slugs of Jameson and save unnecessary visits.
 
Went the other day and Spice Bar had the same menu per the above post.

Also noting that the rest of the so called "all day dining options" (for the hot food) at 4pm was empty until about 5pm and the Spice Bar was the only option for any hot food.
 
It definitely appears a new change that they seem to clear the buffet hot options after "lunch" time and back for "dinner" now. Downgrade.
 
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Also available was butter chicken, steamed white rice, vegetarian tangine and a vegetarian stir fried noodle yesterday evening. Multitudes better than the SYD dom J offering, but that’s a low bar to surpass.
 

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