Review of Singapore Airlines flight from Bangkok to Singapore in Business

Welcome to the second report of this series. In this report, my wife and I fly from Bangkok to Singapore as the first part of a miles redemption from Bangkok to Singapore to Newark. We also discover the joy of airline lounge hopping!

These are the flights we flew for our trip:

Checking in: Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

As this was my second time in BKK, I knew the terminal well enough to navigate. Singapore Airlines uses row K, where the counters pretty much open the entire day due to the many flights daily to Singapore.

We checked in and obtained our boarding passes before using the priority security at the far end of the terminal. This got us through security and customs in around 15 minutes, far quicker than the normal line for other passengers.
However, there was a hiccup on our USA ESTA which the staff took some time to remediate due to unfamiliarity. We may have filled up a field wrongly in our ESTA, but the mystery will not be solved.

Lounge Hop 1: Turkish Airlines lounge

As a business class passenger of Singapore Airlines, we're entitled to use any Star Alliance business class lounge. BKK has 4 Star Alliance lounges so we made it our mission to do airline lounge hopping instead of cafe hopping. Arriving at 10am gave us ample time to complete our mission!
The Turkish Airlines lounge was the first one we visited.

The lounge is pleasant during the time we visited as there were no Turkish Airlines flights. I counted less than 5 people in the lounge when my wife and I were there!
The TK lounge had an open bar that we could order any cocktails. I ordered an expresso martini and it was delicious. It gave me the caffeine hit I needed for the long travel day, delivered through an alcoholic medium.
The lounge had a few breakfast food items, cakes and snacks. The only Turkish items I saw there were the hummus and the self-service Turkish coffee station.
As this was only the first lounge we visited, I had to pace myself like a competitive eater and not overstuff myself on the first lounge. I got myself a few snacks and some delicious Thai dessert. I do not know what those are called but they're green bean paste shaped like fruit, encased with jelly.
The lounge attendants replaced the breakfast items with lunch items at 11am but I did not partake in them. My wife tried their spaghetti and liked it.

Lounge hop 2: EVA Air lounge

Our next mission was to visit the EVA Air lounge. The entrance reminded me of a club.

As the lounge was crowded with 2 EVA Air flights departing for Taipei and London in close proximity, I did not take many photos in the lounge.
The lounge had a decent selection of food for the buffet. I got myself a glass of Thai Milk tea, which was way too sweet for my liking. I also got myself a bowl of tom yum soup and some cakes and pastries. There were also fresh coconuts for people to take.
The lounge had the best walkway to the toilets out of the 4 lounges we visited. It felt like we were in a club and heading to the toilets to puke after binge drinking. I like the eclectic decor though.
After 1h, we left the lounge and headed to arguably BKK's flagship lounge: Thai Airways Royal Orchid Lounge.

Lounge hop 3: Thai Airways Royal Orchid Lounge

We visited two TG lounges in this trip. The bigger Royal Orchid Lounge is superior and will be featured in this report.

The Royal Silk Lounge is a long lounge that stretches along maybe 4 gates. As TG's flagship lounge, they offered the most food and beverages out of the 4 lounges we visited. The bar offered a mind-boggling 30 cocktails? I'm not sure myself as I was half-tipsy after ordering 3 or 4 cocktails there.
I had some snacks that I enjoyed.
There was also plenty of Thai food options for people wanting a taste of the cuisine.
Absolutely worth flying a star alliance airline in business class to visit this lounge again!

Lounge hop 4: Singapore Airlines Silverkris lounge

We visited SQ's lounge as the grand finale. I was probably 80% full and 75% tipsy by this point, with my wife encouraging me to complete the mission of reviewing all four Star Alliance lounges.

We reached the Silverkris lounge around 1h 20mins before departure. Due to SQ709, the lounge was crowded and it looked to be a full flight back to Singapore.
The lounge had a big bar and a separate buffet counter. I was pleasantly surprised to see our unofficial national dish, the Hainanese chicken rice on offer. I soldiered on and sampled some. The chicken rice is delicious and a good introduction to Singaporean cuisine.
I do not remember if I partook in any cocktails due to my tipsiness.

Lounge hopping summary

In summary, these are my opinions on the four Star Alliance lounges. The experience of everybody will vary since food, service, decor are subjective.

Best decor: EVA Air lounge
Best ambiance: Turkish Airlines lounge
Best food: Singapore Airlines Silverkris lounge
Best cocktails: Thai Airways Royal Orchid lounge

Next, I board the flight in a full and somewhat tipsy state.

Inflight experience

After the experience in SQ710 on the way to Bangkok, I had managed my expectations of service due to the short flight time. My expectations were thoroughly exceeded and this was the best short haul flight I flew in my life!

SQ709 is operated by 9V-SCI, a 5.5 year old B787-10. I did not manage to take a nice picture of it in BKK due to the hostile design of the glass panes.
The B787-10 features SQ's regional business class product, which is the same seat as Turkish Airlines' long haul A350 business class.
The usual seat comforts were present with a bottle of tasteless distilled water and noise-cancelling headphones in the storage cupboard beside me.
A flight attendant confirmed my halal meal with me before takeoff.
We were presented the menu as shown in the picture. As none of the options appealed to me, I decided to risk it all by pre-ordering a halal meal, just to see what a business class halal meal will be like.

The business class halal meal consisted of slices of smoked chicken on a caesar salad base. This tasted ok but was nothing extraordinary.
The main course was handed to me without any description. I deduced the main course to be a halal stir-fried prawn vermicelli. It tasted bland and reminded me of the army rations I had when I was 19. The vermicelli tasted better after adding the sambal chilli sauce in the tub above the bun, to the left of the Lurpak butter.
Dessert was a sweetcorn coconut milk pudding of some sorts. I enjoyed the dessert but preferred the one in the menu.

My wife ordered a seafood meal and enjoyed her fish and beans.

As we declared this trip to be a special occasion to SQ during booking, the senior steward came to congratulate us and gave us a rose made of aluminum foil sprayed with some fragrance. We also got a delicious chocolate cake that we enjoyed in the lounge after the flight.
This same steward was also chatty and provided excellent service to our aisle. Truly a gem to the airline!
This small gesture made me feel that this is the best short haul flight I've flown.

After a short 1h 55 minute airtime, we landed safely in Singapore Changi Airport where I photographed our ride, 9V-SCI.
By this time, I was getting really excited as I was around 5h away from fulfilling a dream of mine, to fly the world's longest flight from Singapore to New York! (I consider both JFK and EWR to be of negligible difference in distance)