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Database: Academic Search Premier Section: AMERICANS ABROAD THE SUBLIME OF THE SINGAPORE GIRL
There she stood, the personification of loveliness, in the doorway of the first-class cabin of Singapore Airlines. She epitomized the famed Singapore girl--personable, polite, and pretty. She led me immediately to my spacious, plush seat that would be my comfortable home for nearly 18 hours. I was departing New York for Hong Kong via Frankfurt, Germany, and Singapore.
While nestling in my seat, my softspoken Singapore girl graciously offered a dish of heated cashews and almonds along with a cool drink. Before long, she slipped slowly down the aisle in her open-back sandals that matched her attractively form-fitted Malaysian-style outfit. I was served from a rolling cart neatly set with white bone china, crystal stemware, and gleaming silverware. Butter was appealingly shaped into swirls with a touch of green parsley. She provided a series of delicious appetizers as a prelude to a grand dinner aloft.
First served was satay, a Malaysian delicacy of bite-size chunks of barbequed chicken and lamb, threaded on long, thin skewers, coated with a spicy peanut sauce. Crisp, triangular wedges of cucumber and tasty onion rings made this dish an unexpected and irresistible introduction to Asian food. Cold rolled smoked salmon, resting on red-leaf lettuce, was more mouthwatering when dipped into a creamy parsley-mustard sauce.
The soup course was hot chicken consomme that contained a small quail egg. A tasty alternative was thick and creamy New England clam chowder. This was the first time I ever had more than one soup selection, and Singapore Airlines is to be congratulated for providing such a choice. Other international carriers served one soup in first class and usually as an alternative to another dish.
The perfectly roasted rib eye of beef was presented with sauteed Parisienne potatoes, asparagus, and broiled tomatoes. Other main courses were lobster with mango in orange sauce, lamb noisette with truffled goose liver, and duck with ginger and shallots.
At the conclusion of dinner, a cheese service offered a variety of crackers and chunks of cheddar, Monterrey jack, and Camerabert. I succumbed to the soft, creamy Brie which spread so delightfully on a very soft walnut bread. With difficulty, I resisted the vanilla and poppy seed ice cream saturated with kumquat sauce and preferred a piece of fresh fruit. However, I couldn't pass up the meal's finishing touch: two delectable chocolates hidden inside a small lavender box. Yes, indeed, good things do come in little packages!
The health-conscious could find a lighter meal comprising appetizer, main course, and dessert. This was particularly helpful for business travelers and those who had dined more heavily during the day.
Because of medical reasons, I was restricted to drinking soft beverages. However, there was an impressive list of champagnes and wines available.
During the course of the trip, instructive colored maps were flashed on the large pull-down screen in the cabin which displayed the entire route of the flight. No need to wonder what our position was in the sky as we flew over the Northeastern coast of the United States, Newfoundland, across the North Atlantic, Ireland, United Kingdom, and Belgium before setting down for a short stop in Frankfurt. Also furnished was time at destination, altitude, wind speed, and number of hours yet to be traveled to final destination--all indicated in both English and German.
The cabin's large screen relayed current world news and interesting documentaries. Time passed quickly as I watched the wonders of Paris. A small individual personal video could be raised from beneath the armrest between my seat and the adjoining seat to allow me to see first-run movies of my choice or an absorbing account of the pelicans' life cycle.
After dinner, on the eastbound flight, the stewardess showed me how to convert my electronically controlled seat to a horizontal lounge for comfortable sleeping. My feet, already encased in a one-size-fits-all sock-bootee, relaxed on the raised, cushioned footrest. How pleasant it was to snuggle under the lightweight wool blanket. In this communal bedroom in the sky, a woman across the aisle adjusted the soft, dark eyeshades, while the man in front of her snored unabashedly.
Two hours before landing in Germany, the window shades were raised to welcome a new day. Refreshing hot towels preceded a continental breakfast of chilled juices, a boat-shaped wedge of papaya dressed with thin CirCleS of oranges, and hot croissants or soft pull-apart rolls that waited to be smeared with jellies or marmalade. Hot tea or coffee washed down cherry and apricot danish.
Though passengers were free to leave the plane for a brief walk through the Frankfurt airport, I chose to relax aboard. New passengers boarding for the 12-hour flight to Singapore were greeted and made comfortable with current newspapers, magazines, and drinks.
When airborne, the route displayed on the cabin's screen formed a southeasterly curve over Munich, Salzburg, Iran, the former Yugoslavia, Turkey, India, and Malaysia, ultimately touching down in Singapore.
On this second leg of my journey, my gracious Singapore girl provided a cuisine luncheon consisting of chilled Malossol caviar, beef consomme with herb pancake or zucchini veloute with crab meat, charbroiled beef tenderloin with sun dried tomatoes or turbot in champagne and herb sauce, saffron rice mixed with raisins and almonds, buttered French string beans, carrots glazed with honey, and fennel in cream sauce. The meal concluded with pear liquor-flavored iced parfait, chocolates, and tea.
Surprisingly, after lunch, cabin lights were dimmed. Having dozed but a few hours between New York and Germany, the opportunity tO sleep again was welcomed.
Two hours before arriving in Singapore, I was aroused for a full breakfast of apple juice, melon-kiwi-orange fruit appetizer, scrambled eggs with bacon, grilled tomato, croissants, and tea. While others ate cereal or yogurt, the more robust could have consumed alternate selections of trout fillet or lamb brochette.
My luggage was automatically transferred to the three-hour, 35-minute flight to Hong Kong, but with time between connections, I rode the moving walkways in Singapore's Changi Airport to wait in the first-class lounge. Of all my travels throughout the world, I was amazed to find the Kris Lounge one of the largest ever encountered. Very relaxing were the deep, soft gun-metal gray leather sofas and raspberry accented chairs. Fresh floral arrangements, many with sprays of orchids, brightened the deep room, while huge potted ferns gracefully filled niches.
My curiosity was aroused by the contents of a large black potbellied kettle containing a thick hot porridge-like rice dish (chicken con-gee). I ladled a small portion into a soup bowl and then, from small round dishes surrounding the pot, added scallions, fried onions, noodles, and ginger sauce. I ate this tasty mixture with a small porcelain ladle, an implement very common in Southeast Asia.
Watching the exotic tropical fish in a tall vertical tank in the airport's Kris Lounge was tranquilizing. Only on the island of Sentosa, in Singapore harbor, had I seen at such close range so many beautiful yellow, black, cobalt blue, and brown and white-striped fish, ranging in size from one to six inches. In the clear water, they darted playfully around the stone-like gray coral, while nearby, tentacles of white and beige coral swayed to a slow rhythm.
After I boarded the final flight into Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines once again performed its wizardry with food. As we winged north over the South China Sea, I was given a brunch menu. Not desiring eggs or cereal, I was thrilled to find, after consuming a fresh fruit appetizer, tasty curried scallops with toasted almonds and pimentos. This dish was enhanced with young corn, carrots, spinach with sesame seeds, sauteed Shiitake mushrooms with herbs, and boulangere potatoes. Unusual orange-banana crepe with vanilla ice cream formed a satisfying dessert, followed by ginseng tea.
Meals were served by my mild-mannered Singapore girl. Sincere in her desire to render the ultimate in service, she seemed to anticipate my every need. As cabin lights were dimmed for those who wished to rest, magically she appeared at my side to press the correct button for my overhead light so I could continue to write notes. When she saw me heading for the lavatory, she entered first to make sure all was tidy, wiped the sink clean, and then held the door open for me to enter. Her care extended to moments of slumber. Upon awakening, I noticed my water glass had been silently refilled. A request for orange juice produced a crystal goblet attractively garnished with a fresh orange wedge and a cherry.
For first-class passengers, the stewardess did not distribute the usual amenity kits filled with toiletries. Instead, she made sure to keep the sparkling clean, bright lavatory well stocked with such disposable items as toothbrushes and dentifrice, razors and shaving cream, dental floss, pocket combs, and emery boards. Refreshing small bottles of mouthwash, moisturizers, and colognes lined the side ledge near the sink. However, Singapore Airlines did provide its first-class travelers with unique and worthwhile gifts. I treasured the handsome red Pierre Cardin pen, a leather-bound diary with colored tab index for expenses, projects, and assorted information, as well as a set of three CDs. Rendered in a fine symphonic style were Asian and European classics as well as Andrew Lloyd Webber's show tunes.
After I had completed the round-trip flight to New York a few weeks later, I truly understood why Singapore Airlines had the reputation among other international carriers of being the Number One airline in the world. As I said goodbye to the Singapore girl, I reflected on the customized services, comfort, and exotic foods. What an airline!
PHOTO (COLOR): Attractively attired Singapore girl graciously serves gourmet meals to first-class passengers.
PHOTO (COLOR): Among the many courtesies extended by the Singapore girl are patient instructions in using the in-flight telephone.
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By Laurel F. Lehrer
