The burgers are NOT better at Hungry Jack's (Burger King)

You don't go to the airport for fine dining. It is true you can find a branch of Dank St. Depot at Sydney Airport and the Qantas Business Class Lounge isn't horrible but you should really lower your expectations just a tad for everything else. It is fast food after all. A number of the big franchises are represented in the food hall and includes... drum roll... Hungry Jacks.
Usually fast food from the big guys is adequate. There is a standard to which you expect and most of the time that standard is satisfied or sometimes even exceeded. And that is why I went to Hungry Jack's in the International Terminal at Sydney Airport. I ordered something simple - a cheeseburger. After waiting a few minutes I was handed a bag containing a cheeseburger wrapped in paper. As soon as I picked the cheeseburger out of the bag I knew it was cold. I had a WTF moment. The store was busy enough that there were no burgers queuing up on the counter. Apparently they were being made fresh to order. I saw my burger being handed through from the kitchen to the counter server who bagged it.
I opened the wrapping and poked the bun. Cold. I lifted the bun and felt the meat. Stone motherless cold. It even had that look that it had been cold for some time. You can tell when something has not been fresh made. As I said WTF?
I took it back to the girl who served me and I told her that the burger was cold. She took the burger back and handed it in to the kitchen. It looked like she said a few cranky words to the cook too. After a couple of minutes a bag was handed though from the kitchen to the girl that served me. She gave me the bag and apologised.
I walked away and opened the bag. The wrapping paper looked familiar. It looked in just about the same half arsed wrapped state I left it when I handed back my burger. It was the same burger I had handed back. This burger was hot though. Almost too hot to touch. All the kitchen had done was zapped the burger to within an inch of its life in a microwave. I'll be fucked if I will accept a re-heated burger.
I went back to the counter and spoke to the girl who had served me again "This burger is the same cold burger I gave you," I said. "I expected a fresh burger and not a microwaved crappy burger."
She looked at me blankly and said, "But it is hot. We heat it for you."
"Please give me a fresh burger," I said. She attempted to take back the burger I had but I said she could have that back when I got a fresh burger.
A few minutes later she returned with a new bag and I give her the old burger. I walked away again opening the bag. This burger seemed hotter than the last one. Unnaturally so. I opened the wrapping and the burger was steaming. The bun was soggy and had that freshly microwaved look and feel. Fuck this I thought.
I went back to the same girl at the counter and said, "This isn't a fresh burger either. It has been microwaved. It is crap. I wanted a fresh burger not microwaved crap."
She looked at me with a slightly surprised look and said "But this is this the way we do it. All the hamburgers are like this."
"In that case," I said, "I want my money back. I wanted a fresh burger and you are only going to give me microwaved crap so please give me my money back." All $2.70 of it. I know, I know, so much angst for so little money. It is a little embarrassing but there is a principle at stake here.
She had a quick word with one of her colleagues and then gave me my money. She still looked a little nonplussed though.
So there you have it. Apparently at the International Terminal at Sydney Airport Hungry Jack's serves microwaved, or, I should say they re-heat pre-prepared burgers. That is shit and I won't put up with it. Fuck 'em.
Oportos was the recipient of my money today. I had a Norm chicken fillet burger. And Mrs Fields for some delicious chocolate chip cookies. Hungry's can go [insert something appropriate here].
As an aside one of the better airport burgers I've ever had was a burger at Burger King at La Paz Airport in Bolivia. Then again it may have just been the altitude. La Paz Airport is at about 4100 metres. I might have been a little light headed and a turd sandwich may have tasted as good. ;-)

Airport farewells suck...

Airport farewells suck and that is why Ben and Sonja let me go with them to say goodbye... I was happy to see the back of them... and I drove.

You can even get the traditional Nixon drink at the airport... iced coffee... with extra cream.

I said goodbye so they could go and have some private time to get over their grief at having to say goodbye to me and then I went upstairs to the observation deck. And look, I found the Qantas A380 they're flying to Europe on. It was also persisting down up there. 'Tis a bloody wet day in ol' Sydney town today.

Before I got out of the rain I spied the Socceroos' 747. That was the plane the Qantas Socceroos used to get to South Africa for the World Cup.

Another thing that sucks at the airport is airport food. More on that in the next post.

Sushi Iwa - Ginza Tokyo 3

Last post before we board. A380 landing

Too much time on my hands?

Blogging and Baileys

Pancakes will help me sleep... Only got to bed at 4 this morning and up at 5

Might just eat for the next 2 hours

The view from the Qantas business class lounge

No maccas for us this morning. We getting a proper civilised breakfast. Thanks JAL.

So far so good. The Silver Service taxi arrived at home on time at 6AM. 6AM! Shit, haven't seen 6AM in years. We got to the airport by about 6:20 and checked in pretty quick smart. We used the Premium Economy express queue which we found out a little later also got us tickets for Qantas' Business Class Lounge. Coffee, juice, cereal, pastries and toast all gratis. I thought all my christmas' had come at once and then they brought out the pancakes! It's a pity we're here so early because there is a shitload of free booze too. Really though is it too early for Baileys? Hmmm.
About an hour now before we board. There's Baileys and ice with my name on it.

Pickup

Airport arrivals

Copernicus happy to see us

Picking up Copernicus from his holiday cubby and cat creche at Park, Bark and Purr at the airport. Poor thing looks like Hannibal Lector behind the perspex door.

So easy to fly in from Melbourne, catch the airport shuttle to the long term car park, then across the road to Perni's holiday shack and then home to order a Turkish pizza. Now we have a big night of tele ahead of us. Survivor and Fringe are back and we're getting close to the season finale of Defying Gravity.

Tiger to Melbourne mate

Airbus A320. Plenty of leg room for short haul flight. Not bad Tiger.

Encasa for Tapas

Mmm imported Weetabix

Benno brought me a gift. Lovely German Weetabix. Thanks Ben. Identical to English Weetabix and Kenyan Weetabix for that matter but all delicious. Expensive and difficult to get in Oz. Actually it is almost impossible to get the Weetabix branded cereal now. Sanitarium registered or trade marked the name Weetabix in Australia and has banned anyone from importing Weetabix. Bastards. We can get generic Whole Wheat Biscuits from the speciality English food importers and even Coles now too. But they are expensive. They do, however, come out of the same factory as Weetabix. So in your face Sanitarium.
Interestingly, the product that went on to become Weetabix was invented here in Australia in 1898.

Ben and the Germans fly in

Ben and the Kößer family have touched down in Oz. It's Ben's first time back to Australia in 3 years and the first time with Sonja as his wife - they got married in Germany. A little bit of a delay coming through customs because of the Aussie Rugby Sevens teams were on the same flight. Men and Women's teams. Apparently the women's team won the World Cup in Dubai hence the waiting media (see photo below) and cheer squads.

Karl was on the receiving end of some typical Sydney Customs snarky arsehole treatment too unfortunately. What is it about Sydney customs officials? The worst experiences we've ever had going through customs anywhere in the world have been in Sydney. Jeeze they can be arseholes. Anyway, everybody made it here safe and sound and now they're in a rental car heading to Nowra.

Willkommen in Australien Kößer Familie.