10.217 Stir-Fried Salt and Pepper Tofu

10.217

10 (Sat) August 2019

Stir-Fried Salt and Pepper Tofu

(with mushroom, baby corn, and sugar snaps)

3.0

on board Qantas Airways – QF 20

-Manila en route to Sydney-

solo

Mission to Fiji, Day 1.

In transit. Heading to Nadi for the Fifth Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentarian Forum on Global Health – first to finalize preparations, then to facilitate the event itself, which will begin 10 days from now. This will be the fifth and final trip to Fiji in relation to the meeting (see previously 10.192 Rourou Moci).

LATE DINNER

As always, I am grateful for and respectful of the opportunity to travel, especially via business class, including lounge access. Any comments here, even the negative ones, are simply relative to other business class experiences, not complaints per se.

fullsizeoutput_84ea — Not flashy, but well-designed for convenience.

And yet, the job has begun to suck all the fun out of it. All that remains is the physical pain and mental strain and emotional bane. As a result, I see myself becoming quite the cranky traveler.

fullsizeoutput_84eb — When I opened the travel kit, I was very disappointed to discover this box of skin products with fingerprint smudges on it.

fullsizeoutput_84ec — And this so-called “sleep suit” (is that what Aussies call pajamas??), I was annoyed by the satin ribbon – both by the waste of fabric and also by the extra effort required on my part to undo it.

Thank god for GMTD, I can squeeze a tiny if weighty drop of satisfaction from the opportunity to add another airline to the list of in-flight business class dining experience (see BEST IN FLIGHT). Tentatively, pending the food on the return flights, Qantas Airways shoots to #4 with its first entry.

fullsizeoutput_84ee — Roasted Pork Shoulder (3.25): *with potatoes, broccoli, and apple and rosemary jus (jzoo).*

The food was good.

Initially, I had ordered the tofu – partly because I was curious to have tofu on a plane for the first time, and to see how an Australian carrier would do a vegetarian Asian dish. The tofu itself was kinda weird – deep-fried yet dried out. But the rest of the vegetables were fresh and crisp and peppy, accompanied by a nice soy-based gravy. A very respectable dish.

But, come on, it wasn’t enough. I was still hungry. For the first time ever, I asked if they had any leftover meals that I could have. Sure – whatever I wanted. I requested the pork dish that I had seen the passenger across the aisle enjoying. It was really, really good.