CX F HKG-LAX
CX884 – 777-300ER
Planned T/O – 1255
Actual T/O - 1306
Planned Arrival – 1110
Actual Arrival – 1023
Seat - 1A
So here it was – la crème of my trip I hoped! I have always wanted to fly Cathay F – it has been a dream of mine for many, many years and so I had used my BA miles to book this ticket. Cathay F – seat 1A!
Transportation
I got the hotel bus to the airport - it goes every 20 mins and I was dropped off at the Cathay check in desks.
Check-in
Cathay has a very nice area for F check in where you don't have to bother with silly things like weighing baggage or standing behind a counter. It is all done at a smart desk where a screen brings up your flight details so that you can see them. A man takes away your bags and prints out a luggage tag somewhere in the background - I had managed to get my bags booked all the way through to Las Vegas, although I still have to do the bag shuffle in Los Angeles.
I was quickly though security, and a small wait at the immigration desk but soon I was able to turn left to the First Class entrance to the Cathay Wing Lounge, which had just been newly renovated.
Lounge
There are multiple lounges for a BAEC Gold cardholder travelling in a Oneworld First cabin to try but as my flight was leaving from a gate near the Wing, I just stayed there. The First lounge is decked out in reds and blacks - all quite dark.
I actually prefer the decor in the Business lounge, which is more creams and beiges.
I passed the champagne bar, which was serving Moet, Moet Rose and Verve Cliquot.
I had not had breakfast so made a beeline to the restaurant in the lounge and had a small portion of scrambled eggs and bacon.
I then took a wander around the lounge and out to the duty free. I find the Hong Kong duty free very confusing as there is no logical route to take - I guess they are assuming folks will just wander but I do like a plan. I quickly ended up back in the lounge to wait for my flight.
Flight
I was welcomed aboard with an extremely friendly smile and shown to my seat by the lady in charge of the first class cabin. I thought the Cathay business class seat was good but this F seat was outstanding. Cathay has really surpassed every airline I have flown with in the seat competition. It is huge to start with, extremely wide and you could prob sit 2 people sit by side on the seat if you wanted to. It is extremely private and you can’t see anyone else in the cabin. The colors are muted but tasteful, with grays and browns and there are plenty of pockets to keep you organized.
She then offered me a pre-departure drink - well of course said I - a glass of Krug if you insist!! Oh you can taste the difference between cheap and expensive champagne and I think this is now my favorite!
The amenity kit and menus were handed out on the ground. The amenity kit consisted of a nice but slightly impractical Trussardi bag and had a great selection of goodies:
Aesop Parsley Seed anti-oxident facial toner
Aesop Mandarin facial hydrating cream
Aesop Rind concentrate hand and body balm
Aesop Rosehip Seed lip cream
Colgate toothpaste, toothbrush and mouthwash
Brush
Earplugs
I had never heard of Aesop before but googled it when I got home - I am sure I will smell like an English country garden after using all the items! I was also given a pair of Shanghai Tang pajamas, eye-mask and slippers and as I went into a Shanghai Tang shop in Hong Kong and couldn't afford a handkerchief, I know that is good stuff! I will be keeping them to parade around the apartment in!
The wine list consisted of:
Krug Grande Cuvee (didn't read the rest..............!!!)
White wine
- Saint Clair Marlborough Premium Sauvignon Blanc 2012
- Vincent Giradin Puligny-Montrachet Vielles Vignes 2008
Red wines
- Shingleback McLaren Vale Shiraz 2009
- Finca El Origen Gran Reserva Malbec 2009
- Chateau Lynch Bages GrandCru Classe
Port, cocktails and soft drinks.
The menu for today’s flight was:
Lunch
- Caviar and Balik - Caviar and Balik Salmon "Tsar Nikolaj"
The caviar and salmon was very decedent and served with grated egg and all the trimmings!
International favorites
- Cream of Chicken soup
- Mesclun salad with white and green asparagus, sun-dried tomato and balsamic vinaigrette
The salad was very nice but I hate sun dried tomatoes so put them out to one side.
- Grilled USDA Certified Angus beef striploin with bernaise sauce and shallot sauce, roasted portabello mushroom and pumpkin, fingerling potatoes with parsley
- Pan-fried breast of guinea fowl with red wine sauce, sauteed creamy mixed mushrooms, green beans, capsicum and pumpkin
- Green peas and mint agnolotti with roasted capsicum and caramelized pearl onions
The beef was in fact half a cow - I have never seen a steak the size of this and I have been to some good steak restaurants! It was about as well done as they could make it - still a little pink in the middle for me but a good effort. I couldn't finish it but the trimmings and sauces were also delicious.
Chinese favorites
- Pork soup with marrow and red dates
- Cold plate - pork shank terrine with black vinegar
- Stir-fried fresh water garoupa with superior sauce, served with steamed jasmine rice and stir-fried pak choy
Cheese and Dessert
- Cambazola, Comte, Double Gloucester, Chaumes
- Fresh berries with cream
- Warm chocolate bread and butter pudding with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce
- Double boiled fresh pear with Chinese almond sweet soup
I finished off with a small cheese plate, which is something you can’t really get wrong!
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
The table was laid beautifully and I got a little hand written card from the crew to say welcome onboard and that they hoped I enjoy my flight - a really nice touch.
The Krug was free flowing and I watched Silver Linings Playbook which was OK - not the greatest film every made but it did have Bradley Cooper in so it kept me amused!
Soon it was time for bed and the very nice lady made up my bed while I popped to the toilet to put on my pajamas and slippers. When I came back a big duvet awaited me and I got into a very comfy bed. Would I like another pillow was the difficult decision I was faced with - OK yes please I said with a huge smile on my face! The bed was wide and long and comfy but the cabin temperature was a little too hot for me so I got a couple of hours sleep and then got up - I wanted to get myself back into the Vegas time zone anyway so this worked out nicely as I got up at about 0500 Vegas time. I whiled away a few hours playing games on my iPod, drinking diet coke at this stage. The cabin crew would not let my glass go empty - they must have some sort of camera on me because as soon as I put down the empty glass a lady comes and asked it I want another! Great service.
Snacks
- Pizza with Prosciutto and Arugula
- Hong Kong style egg tart
- Braised beef shank in noodle soup
- Shui gaw with choy sum in noodle soup
- Hot pot rice with spare ribs in black bean sauce and choy sum, served with pork soup and carrot and buddhist palm melon
Brunch
Starters
- Orange, Apple or Grapefruit juice
- Forrest berry smoothie
- Fresh seasonal fruit
- Natural of fruit yoghurt
- Assorted cereals
Main
- Organic free range eggs - freshly scrambled, fried or boiled served with home fried potato, grilled breakfast steak, chicken sausage, shimeji mushrooms, asparagus or mixed vegetables in tomato concasse
- Dim sum with chili sauce - shrimp and pork dumpling, crab meat with asparagus and pork basket, chive and pork dumpling, chicken and ham wrapped in bean curd sheet, mushroom and vegetable dumpling
- Dace fish julienne with pak choy congee, served with baked spring onion puff
Bread basket - assorted breakfast bread and fresh toast served with Mrs Bridges Scottish preserves, Tasmanian meadow honey and butter
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
Breakfast was another great meal - scrambled eggs and toast. I was not really hungry after the previous feast but I thought I should try it as I was here!
All too soon the Captain told us we were making our final approach to Los Angeles and that we were coming to the end of a fabulous journey.
Los Angeles was a zoo as always - it took me over an hour to get through the immigration lane, thank god I could use the US one with my Visa as the visitor line was huge and I think my sense of humor may have failed me! I do not understand why it takes me 5 mins to get into China but an hour to get into the USA with a Visa. Anyway once that fun was out of the way I had the customs queue to stand in. By this stage the bags had been offloaded from the carousel and I had to knock a kid out of the way who thought my bags were a toy that he could wheel around. The customs queue was another 30 mins for no apparent reason other than to hand a bit of paper over. Bureaucratic nightmare is what Los Angeles and US arrivals in general is.
My bags were checked all the way through to Vegas so after I had wheeled them past the customs chap, a huge guy put them back on a baggage carousel and then went off, hopefully to Vegas! I then had to walk to Term 4 and go through the whole security rigmarole again. Finally I was off to the American airlines Flagship lounge to wait for my flight to Vegas with a crappy glass of white - Krug it most certainly wasn’t!