Brisbane Lounge Changes

[JohnK]

They Cantina menu changes frequently.

On Wednesday this week they offered Quesadillas.

I seriously don't care for Mexican food and what I saw on Friday looked awful. The empanadas were ordinary and I don't need to eat something that needs so many additives to make it edible.

I also hate it when someone is standing there serving. I want to serve myself.

It looks to me as if they spent all this money to extend the lounge and now skimping on food to recover the cost.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Pizza is ok but since Mr. Perry is the master of burgers he could have introduced a Burger Project inspired menu. Maybe that is going to be the theme in MEL...

I seriously don't care for Mexican food and what I saw on Friday looked awful. The empanadas were ordinary and I don't need to eat something that needs so many additives to make it edible.

I also hate it when someone is standing there serving. I want to serve myself.

It looks to me as if they spent all this money to extend the lounge and now skimping on food to recover the cost.

And I hate burgers.
I suppose you can't please everyone but I seriously doubt that they are skimping on the food to recover construction costs.

This is what I call skimping on food. It's some gruel that was on offer last year in the old J lounge at BNE

 

[boomy]

I also hate it when someone is standing there serving. I want to serve myself.

Agree about self serve, especially when it comes to alcohol. I'm not big fan of the "wine bar" in BNE. They serve exactly the same wines as before but now need to queue up to get a glass. Waste of time.

It looks to me as if they spent all this money to extend the lounge and now skimping on food to recover the cost.

If anything they spend more money in the new lounge. Regardless if you like Mexican food or not, it cost more to make than just serving the standard stuff.

Btw, speaking of skimping on food, it can be worse, much worse. On Thursday I was stuck few hours in SYD J lounge due to delays. All they had for dinner was rice and some offal meat dish with 90% sauce.

Edit: Just saw Princess Fiona photo above. This is exactly the disgusting thing that was served in SYD.

 

[Pleb Status]

When the QF SIN lounge first opened, the food offering was very good for a J lounge (and better than a lot of F lounges I have been into) but has been enhanced over time to cut costs.

When the QF PER Dom J lounge first opened, some here on AFF opined that it was the 'best domestic lounge in the world' but the food offering is now just the standard QP fare plus the pizza (which is still pretty good if you want pizza).

From the comments here (as I have not visited the new lounge at this time), the 'best' crown now appears to have moved to the QF BNE Dom J lounge but history suggests it is only a matter of time before the food offering drops to the standard QP fare plus a Mexican 'special'. QF were probably hoping for a bit longer honeymoon period before the complaints started however.

Mexican food can be created very cheaply if required and it was most likely one of the reasons it was selected. Just like pizza can be made at a very low cost per serve if required. It would be a struggle to create a decent burger etc at the very low cost per serve that QF are looking for over the long term.

Edit: Are they scanning your WP card at the lounge entry at the moment? Maybe I can sneak in for a quick look whilst I am at BNE this afternoon.

 

[Pushka]

Like creme brûlée in Singapore. They also had pizza somewhere else recently but damned if I can remember where. It was very very good.

 

[boomy]

When the QF SIN lounge first opened, the food offering was very good for a J lounge (and better than a lot of F lounges I have been into) but has been enhanced over time to cut costs.

Haven't been to QF SIN lounge lately but I can say QF HKG lounge kept its high standards* of food and service since day one and keeps being popular despite fierce competition from the home based airline.

*There was one cost cut - no more champagne for P1s

Edit: Are they scanning your WP card at the lounge entry at the moment? Maybe I can sneak in for a quick look whilst I am at BNE this afternoon.

Depends. If not busy they do but if there is long queue at the desk then usually another staff member will be just looking at the cards and let pax in.

 

[kermatu]

We do have some of the best Dom J lounges no doubt. But it is hard not to find fault when you are used to a high standard and/or a new product (such as a new lounge) is hyped up by QF. I haven't been in the new lounge yet so can't comment. But comments that it feels like PER and SIN in terms of degradation / disappointment over time are worrying, and surprisingly quick. I've never been a fan of the combined lounges and while PER is a nice space, the food and drink are underwhelming.

Biggest issue for me with lounges is the volume of pax and over-crowding. Hard to expect QF (or any airline) to offer up top notch food and drink when so many people come through even the J lounge. I will freely admit to using the J lounges when only travelling Y, guesting people in, and some lengthy stays due to transit - so I'm part of the problem. But I can't help but feel that 'status creep' through double SC promotions and the like are not helping - a short term sugar hit comes with a longer-term cost.

Still, looking forward to visiting the new lounge at some stage. Glad my expectations have been managed courtesy of this thread.

 

[GoldCanyon340]

Mexican food can be created very cheaply if required and it was most likely one of the reasons it was selected.

It's the old Billy Connolly joke: "All Mexican food is the same. You just wrap it different ways."

 

[RichardMEL]

I really wonder if the Mexican thing is cheaper than say Pizza (let alone burgers, or if you want to be hipster about it - Sliders) to produce etc.

I still say that ANY theme - pizza, mex, burgers, thai whatever would get old pretty quick specially for regular visitors... I don't quite understand why they couldn't change them around a bit on a seasonal basis.

Yes, I know, the mexican dishes change in BNE but it's still the same basic kind of thing.


As for the other comments - some people love Mexican or pizza or burgers and others can't stand one or the other... isn't this the age old problem of catering for groups? You can never please everyone can you? And yes I know the lounges have the "usual" options in addition to the "specials"(eg: mexican) but still... I can see the dilemma.

Either way our lounge offerings are still head and shoulders better than those in the US/Canada and most of europe. We tend to forget that sometimes. Just like QF J meals on short sectors... try a SFO-LAX on AA and then complain about the toastie or soup option on QF

 

[TomVexille]

As for the other comments - some people love Mexican or pizza or burgers and others can't stand one or the other... isn't this the age old problem of catering for groups? You can never please everyone can you? And yes I know the lounges have the "usual" options in addition to the "specials"(eg: mexican) but still... I can see the dilemma.

You're spot on there. Plenty of people don't like the pretty standard curries and other dishes served up now. Some people just can't be pleased.

 

[anat0l]

As for the other comments - some people love Mexican or pizza or burgers and others can't stand one or the other... isn't this the age old problem of catering for groups? You can never please everyone can you? And yes I know the lounges have the "usual" options in addition to the "specials"(eg: mexican) but still... I can see the dilemma.

Some people believe you can cater for all, e.g. one meat dish, one vegetarian dish, one Chinese, one Japanese, one Indian, one Italian, one Mexican, burgers, sandwiches, soup, chips, salad...

The main problem is that most lounge buffets, let alone domestic level ones, aren't stocked up to the nines to that degree, and unless you want really average or below average quality food, it's not entirely practical to do so.

And before anyone asks: most Chinese around the world isn't real (and even the Chinese in Air China's best lounges in Beijing is horrible - how's that possible?), siu mai on the buffet does not mean you know Chinese, sushi does not mean you know Japanese and often it is poor quality, serving steak or a dry roast meat on the buffet is just asking for trouble, there are more curries out there besides Butter Chicken or Tikka Masala, the best tasting pizzas or pasta are usually the simplest...

Either way our lounge offerings are still head and shoulders better than those in the US/Canada and most of europe. We tend to forget that sometimes. Just like QF J meals on short sectors... try a SFO-LAX on AA and then complain about the toastie or soup option on QF

The problem is that as long as the Asians seem to do it all better, no one is happy. That's without keeping in mind that the food in some of those lounges is also very, decidedly average (average for Asian food, and/or average as food in all).

Of course, let's think about the Asian domestic lounges that are out there.....

 

[JohnK]

This is what I call skimping on food. It's some gruel that was on offer last year in the old J lounge at BNE

That dish was in the BNE Qantas lounge on Friday. I may have tried it but saw it on the way out.

If anything they spend more money in the new lounge. Regardless if you like Mexican food or not, it cost more to make than just serving the standard stuff.

Tacos, nachos, salsa, chilli beans. They are not widely popular. And in my opinion extremely boring.

My wife and I wanted something hot to eat on Friday afternoon.Pizza? Stew? Some sort of braised meat? Some sort of Chinese? Even some curry?

No we are stuck with Mexican food that is cold and needs 72 spices to make it edible. No thanks.

 

[GoldCanyon340]

Once ADL gets its J Lounge then the special will be pie floaters. Forget your hipster sliders and spicy Mexican food!

 

[anat0l]

Once ADL gets its J Lounge then the special will be pie floaters. Forget your hipster sliders and spicy Mexican food!

NPPPF?

Maybe they will do German food, as a nod to Hahndorf......

 

[docjames]

They really cant win. No single food choice will suit everyone, but variety between lounges is a good idea (everyone would complain if all they got was eg. pizza everywhere). Similar to how Intercontinental try and have "core Intercontinental" features, but each hotel is reflective of the local city / culture, i think the concept of having each Qantas lounge that reflects locally is a good way to go. Means some variety, but also consistency of offering.

So I think it's sensible to have a "theme" at each major lounge, and the mexican theme suits BNE well (casual dining / street food type).

A "burger" lounge in MEL is also a win (burger bars are very popular in melbourne at the moment), and for those who travel the broader network, variety across lounges is a win.

No matter what food is chosen, those who predominately fly one route (eg. BNE-SYD vv) they are going to get "bored" with the food. But those who travel more widely will get "less bored" if there are varied local themes.



I do agree that if you're going to offer the food (no matter what it is), it has to be of decent quality, and available in reasonable quantities at reasonable times of day.

 

[eric2011]

ah remember the good old days when lounges first appeared. You were offered a cup of Tea and a biscuit and thought this is fantastic, how lucky are we

 

[Deleted member]

The issue isn't with the theme per se.
the "Mexican Theme" is a fail because the food is bland, dry and totally unsuited to a "Hot Box" arrangement.
Having had Mexican food in such diverse places as "Mexico" I can assure you , this food is a far from being Mexican as is possible.
The best way to pass judgment is to actually attend the Lounge. on my last Visit (Saturday) Pax were deserting the "Posh" J lounge, in favour of the Curry and rice option in the QP.
we were with a good size crowd (6 of us all up) and the consensus was a resounding thumbs down.
it didn't help that the "Buffet" choices were poor to bland as well. Heck , they hadn't actually managed to turn the soup Urn on, so even that was cold. I didn't try the soup, was was advised that hot or cold, it was a poor effort.

They really cant win. No single food choice will suit everyone, but variety between lounges is a good idea (everyone would complain if all they got was eg. pizza everywhere). Similar to how Intercontinental try and have "core Intercontinental" features, but each hotel is reflective of the local city / culture, i think the concept of having each Qantas lounge that reflects locally is a good way to go. Means some variety, but also consistency of offering.

So I think it's sensible to have a "theme" at each major lounge, and the mexican theme suits BNE well (casual dining / street food type)


A "burger" lounge in MEL is also a win (burger bars are very popular in melbourne at the moment), and for those who travel the broader network, variety across lounges is a win.

No matter what food is chosen, those who predominately fly one route (eg. BNE-SYD vv) they are going to get "bored" with the food. But those who travel more widely will get "less bored" if there are varied local themes.



I do agree that if you're going to offer the food (no matter what it is), it has to be of decent quality, and available in reasonable quantities at reasonable times of day.

 

[Deleted member]

the problem isn't with the Mexican theme, it is with the poor quality "faux" Mexican theme.

I really wonder if the Mexican thing is cheaper than say Pizza (let alone burgers, or if you want to be hipster about it - Sliders) to produce etc.

I still say that ANY theme - pizza, mex, burgers, thai whatever would get old pretty quick specially for regular visitors... I don't quite understand why they couldn't change them around a bit on a seasonal basis.

Yes, I know, the mexican dishes change in BNE but it's still the same basic kind of thing.


As for the other comments - some people love Mexican or pizza or burgers and others can't stand one or the other... isn't this the age old problem of catering for groups? You can never please everyone can you? And yes I know the lounges have the "usual" options in addition to the "specials"(eg: mexican) but still... I can see the dilemma.

Either way our lounge offerings are still head and shoulders better than those in the US/Canada and most of europe. We tend to forget that sometimes. Just like QF J meals on short sectors... try a SFO-LAX on AA and then complain about the toastie or soup option on QF

 

[durbrain]

The empanadas on Friday were excellent! And the tomato salsa is one of the best I've tasted.

It's a lounge, not El Pablo's 3 chef hatted private eatery.

Some of the people in the lounge need to realise they are not the centre of the QP catering universe! The "beef rendang" in Sydney today wasn't particularly appetising and was no less "faux" than Mexican in BNE - but that's life! If you want a private meal, charter your own flight!

 

[BacchusMarsh]

And the tomato salsa is one of the best I've tasted.

Agreed on the salsa.