Two Parks and a River – PART 2: NY & SFO-SIN on SQ15 (77W in Y)

[yflyer]

If you have just joined us, this is a continuation from Part 1, which can be found here...

I spent the weekend in New York City before flying to San Francisco.





I stayed in Midtown, close to Times Square, at the Four Points Sheraton Midtown Times Square.



This was located at W 40th Street and 8th Avenue, a stone's throw from Times Square, which illustrates the point that you can be very centrally located in Manhattan, without having to spend a fortune on a top-end hotel. Despite the wonderful location, this hotel was between a third to almost 50% cheaper than the price of the top-end brands in Midtown.

[yflyer]

The rooms at the Four Points were not large, but perfectly comfortable. Staff were very friendly and helpful, and as mentioned, the location was very good. I would be very happy to stay there on future visits.











As a point of comparison, the last time I was in New York City, I stayed at the Westin New York Times Square. This is a great hotel, with a better location closer to Times Square, and much nicer rooms, and of course the Westin Heavenly Bed and Heavenly Bath, but given the price difference, I would actually pick the Four Points (With the heavenly rate...) over the Westin whether I was travelling on business or on a personal holiday.

[yflyer]

After checking in to my hotel, my first task was to shake off the jetlag, and orientate myself to the city by taking a long run to Central Park and back.



I jogged up 8th Avenue and entered Central Park via the entrance at Columbus Circle.



The weather was warm that day -- perfect for a long run, and Central Park was buzzing with activity.



There were several recommended running routes for Central Park, and I based my route on the main route right round the park. A great route for runners and cyclists as well, there are well defined routes that take you right round the park, past most of the main sights/attractions.



As I ran along the main Park Drive, I was surprised to find a huge body of water, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in the middle of the park.



The Guggenheim museum, just across the street from the Park, was also visible along the route.





A very satisfying run through the park, and after exiting the park, I jogged down 7th Avenue until traffic became too dense to run through at Times Square, where I encountered that city icon, the Naked Cowboy, who had not yet switched from briefs to boxers, based on his latest endorsement deal with Fruit of the Loom.

[yflyer]

Now that I had burned off a few calories, it was time to indulge...

As suggested by kelvgoh, I headed to Shake Shack. There was a branch in Midtown close to Times Square, at 44th Street and 8th Avenue. I originally wanted to go there in the evening, however there was a long queue stretching outside the outlet, along the street, so I headed there the next day, on Sunday morning, immediately after they opened at 11am.





It was already busy at around 11.10am, but at least the short line was within the restaurant, and not spilling out onto the street like it was at 10pm (!) the previous night.





They had an extensive menu, with burgers as the main event, of course, but also hot dogs, and other treats -- fast food taken to the next level.

[yflyer]

They had a very enlightened menu...apart from top notch burgers, there was wine and beer...



There is definitely a positive correlation between the quality of a burger restaurant, and whether or not they serve wine/beer to accompany their burgers...

What I did not expect was another menu for pets as well...



They even have dark chocolate bars custom made by boutique chocolatier Mast Brothers...



But the proof was in the eating...

I ordered a burger, a hot dog (Hey...so much food to try, so little time...), fries and a chocolate shake...



I had originally ordered a beer to accompany my burger, but somehow the order taker neglected to mention that they did not serve beer till after 12 noon, so the folks at the delivery counter swapped it for a chocolate shake, as I did not want to wait 45 minutes till noon to get my beer...

Verdict? The burger was delicious! Absolutely top notch, and of course so was the shake. The hot dog was good, but no different from hot dogs elsewhere.

Thanks, kelvgoh, for the wonderful dining suggestion! Shake Shack joins In-N-Out and Byron (In the UK) on the list of my favourite burgers outside of Singapore....

[yflyer]

Other places I visited on this trip included the iconic Apple Store...



...and close to the Apple Store, the F.A.O. Schwarz Toy Store...



...which is a great place to pick up toys for the kids back home...





During the trip, I also visited the Lincoln Center for a concert by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Great performance, and wonderful orchestra. I enjoyed the concert immensely, despite the mediocre acoustics of the hall, which were no match for the phenomenal acoustics of the Esplanade Concert hall in Singapore, where the NY Phil performed when they were in Singapore several years ago.



Other things encountered included street vendors selling NY memorabilia and copies of movie scripts...





A weekend was way too short a time to do all I wanted to do in New York, which left a lot to see and do for a future trip...

On Monday morning, I caught an early flight to SF, on UA's p.s. (Premium Service), which is covered in a separate TR here.

[yflyer]

I stayed in two hotels, while I was in San Francisco.

The first was the Aloft San Francisco Airport hotel, which is covered in a TR here.

Later, I moved to the city, to the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, covered here.

I also went on another long run across the Golden Gate bridge and back, then back to Union Square.



By that time, I had been away from home for a while, and was beginning to feel homesick for Asian food. What better place for this than San Francisco...

I headed to one of my favourite places, Hon's Wun-Tun House, near Chinatown.





This place has been around for more than 40 years (According to a conversation with the cook that I overheard...)...



They have a wonderful menu consisting of won ton noodles, beef brisket, rice and other delights.



I would recommend their won ton noodles soup, as well as their beef brisket, beef tendon and rice dishes...



A great place to get your Asian/Chinese food fix while in San Francisco!

[yflyer]

After a few days in San Francisco, it was time to head to SFO to catch SQ15 from SFO to ICN.

My preferred flight from SFO to SIN is usually SQ1. The late night departure timing of SQ1 means that I get a good night's sleep before waking up close to Hong Kong in the morning after a 14 hour flight.

But this time, I would be on SQ15, a 2.10pm departure, and stopping over in Seoul for a few days.

I drove from the Grand Hyatt in San Francisco to the airport, returned my car at the rental centre, and rode the peoplemover from the rental centre to the International Terminal.



Along the way, I spotted my ride for the day, already parked at the gate, along with other aircraft including a UA 787.



I headed straight to the Silver Kris Lounge after checking in and clearing security. My impressions of the lounge are covered here.

While I was at the airport, the World Cup football match between Germany and Ghana was taking place...they were screening this in the lounge, and I only realised this when Germany scored a goal, and the hitherto quiet lounge erupted in a cheer. Evidently there were many German supporters flying SQ (or some other Star Alliance) carrier that day!

Later when I left the lounge to head to the gate, I noticed large crowds gathered at the bar/lounge in the airside area, and even more cheers, as Ghana equalised, then took the lead...





By then, it was time to board, and I headed to the gate where SQ15 was about to begin boarding...

[yflyer]

SQ15 SFO-ICN

SQ15 SFO-ICN was operated by a 77W.

This was in a comfortable 3-3-3 layout, with the same old "new" Y seat as the A380 (and A330), in other words, a very good seat with excellent IFE.

[yflyer]

After an initial round of drinks, lunch was served. Three choices were available in Y - two international and one Indian vegetarian.





I thought SQ was quite adventurous to put eel on the menu. I chose the eel, and it was quite delicious, with a generous portion of eel, which had good flavour.





Dessert, distributed later, was a chocolate coated ice cream cookie. This was very rich, but quite tasty.

[yflyer]

About 4 hours into the flight, we flew over the Aleutian Islands, off Alaska.

There were quite impressive volcanos along this chain of volcanic islands, many of them clearly visible above the clouds and some still belching plumes of white smoke.





By this time, most pax had their window shades down, but a few, who had been monitoring the progress of the flight, did raise their window shades to take in the spectacular view.



Two of the volcanoes visible from the flight...





Further on, an even more impressive series of volcanoes were visible...

[yflyer]

Light bites mid-flight...







A couple of hours before landing, a light meal was also served...





Again, pax had a choice of 3 mains. I chose the Korean style braised beef.





This was very tasty. I also appreciated the attention to detail, such as the small tub of Korean chilli paste included on my tray.

We landed on time in ICN. I cleared immigration quickly, picked up my checked luggage and caught the KAL Limousine Bus service into Seoul on a warm, muggy Sunday evening.

[yflyer]

I arrived in Seoul on the evening of the 22nd June, a Sunday evening, and checked into the Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas.

There was message for all guests checking in: There would be a public viewing of the World Cup match between Korea and Algeria taking place, which would involve mass cheering etc...in other words, forget about getting any sleep...

Asleep in my room, I was roused several times to loud cheering from the public viewing, although I was on a fairly high floor. This was an incredibly enthusiastic crowd, and from the cheering I thought Korea was winning.

It was only the next morning that I read the news that Korea had lost the match. But what enthusiastic supporters they had.

After a couple of days of meetings in Seoul, I headed back to Incheon Airport for SQ15 ICN-SIN.

[yflyer]

Before heading to the gate at Incheon Airport, I paid a visit to the Asiana Lounge in the Satellite terminal, which is the same terminal where the SQ SilverKirs Lounge is, and where the SQ flights depart. This is a lounge accessible to Star Gold members.



I prefer the Asiana lounge to the SilverKris Lounge at Incheon, covered here.

More on my visit to the Asiana Lounge here.

[yflyer]

It was finally time to board my flight home, on SQ15 ICN-SIN.





Just a few notes on this flight, as the SQ cabin service and hard product in Y has been covered previously in this TR (hot towels, first round of drinks / peanuts, then meal service...).



Today's menu...