The time difference in the summer between Sydney and Brisbane often means early morning departures in time for that 10am meeting. A regular on QF507, if you’re the type to sleep through your alarms, Nundah is a great base that keeps you close enough (15-20 min translink) to the thriving city action of Brisbane. If staying in the city the preference is Accor and Hyatt who aften offer QFF member bonuses but ocassionally when the need arises we explore places like the Prince of Wales which is an 8 minute Uber to Terminal D domestic, conveniently located near a Woolworths to stock up the mini fridge and its air conditioned and impeccably clean. Having stayed here on a number of corporate day trips it’s easily accessible on Translink and the staff are always accommodating in the event I’ve had to check in outside of the usual office hours.
AirTrains don’t run that early so I’ll schedule an uber about half an hour before gates close, check in online using the Qantas App and zoom straight through security – if you really want to be cheeky and maximise your sleep-in time, you could rock up 15 minutes from your flight and you’re pulled out of the long queue and escorted through security when they make the final calls assuming you don’t need to go through self service baggage drop.
The steaks are good on Prince of Wales and there’s a heavy metal night and other live entertainment on weekends which I’ve been fortunate enough to catch the end of on ocassion, but typically my stays here are often no longer than 6-8 hours.
Across the road is Rose Niyom Thai which is a great escape from the humidity of a recent trip in its air conditioned setting of ornamental Thai trinkets and standard portrait of the Royal family of Thailand.
The portion sizes of entrees are perfect to share between two – the soft plump prawn dumplings are topped with toasted nuts while another variation reminiscent of Japanense tempura uses a coconut batter adding a very interesting barky nuttiness to the gentle flesh.
The taste of duck is drowned out by the packed salad, but I find this the case with many fresh rice spring roll dishes it lines up with amongst the similarly rationed Vietnamese establishments – so most likely just a personal preference. Impossible to have without the dipping sauce in my opinion.
Of all the Thai curries – green is the favorite with its inviting hues of green chilli mellowed out, but still hotter than the red with its coriander roots and coconut milk base. A quick scoop through with the ladel shows an even ratio of chicken breast and vegetables. Having had many many variations of this that incorporate carrot, eggplant, broccoli and various widths of bamboo – the thin french fries of bamboo and beans are the perfect balance that allow the chicken to hero the dish and live up to its name!
The heat calls for seafood freshness and on this visit it’s Singapore style humid with a sticky grime that latches onto your face.
The house made chilli dressing brings this seafood sculpture together with collisions of citrus, fish sauce and sweetness emanating as you work your way through the prawn, calamari, scallop and mussel. Pure heaven. This and the papaya salad version a must for the summer.
A short stay where every fun moment had to be meticulously planned in between a tight work schedule, the early morning trip to the airport was smooth and having done this route many times at dawn, there have been no traffic delays between 5am to 7pm. On either end of the airport entrance are dedicated caged smoking areas, security checks are always quite swift if you pack your carry-on in a certain way to have all electronics and fluids easily accessible and easy to re-pack into their place in case you’re pulled aside for random drug testing. With the recent renovations and modifications to the terminal, Brisbane Airport is now giving more reasons to check in even earlier…
The new dining precinct at Brisbane Airport:
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