She then went back to the galley and soon after reappeared again with a comfortably looking pajama on the hanger.
“Do you want to change into your sleepers now?”
“Not now. I will probably do it later.”
“Ok. Let me hang them and store them in the wardrobe cabinet for you first for when you are ready.”
She then kneeled down once more and took my after take-off drink order.
“Mr. UMD, what do you want to drink after take-off? We will have a caviar service. Do you want to continue with the Champagne? Or you would prefer something else?”
I thought for a while and I said, “I would like some Japanese tea.”
“Great. I love Japanese tea too. Which one do you like? Have you had a chance to look at our drink list here? We have four selections of Japanese tea and they are all very good,” Santri said it with a certain pride in her voice. “My favourite is genmai cha,” she then continued.
“I like genmai cha too but I think I will go for something else first,” I replied and I quickly went through the menu and said, “I will try the Gyokuro.”
“Sure. So, it is the Gyokuro.”
The plane was then pushed back on time from the gate. The cabin was then secured for take-off after the safety video was played. CGK was slow after about 22:30 every night so that night was no different either and we quickly taxied to the runway and took off. We were soon reaching our cruise attitude and the cabin service began.
Santri came out from the galley with a tray on her hands. I could see her carrying a very nice pot of tea. Once she reached my seat, she set the tea set up properly on the side service area next to my seat. I really like it when an airline pays attention to such details in term of providing the best services to its customers.
Santri then went back to the galley and reappeared very quickly with another tray. This time it was the caviar. Despite being a proper caviar service with blinis and crème fraische, Garuda is also adding an Indonesian twist to its caviar service by having Kerupuk (Indonesian prawn crackers) as additional optional condiment to caviar.
“Here is the caviar, the blinis, and the ccentral kaca
ème that our chef Dani has prepared.” Santri pointed out at each item as she was explaining it to me. “We also have kerupuk here to eat with caviar.”
“Wow, that’s something different and new to me.”
“Give it a try, Mr. UMD. I am sure you would like it.”
Surprisingly, the kerupuk went very well with caviar and the cream. I really enjoyed them.
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“Mr. UMD, we are serving our In-Between Fuel menu. What do you want to eat after the caviar service? We will serve breakfast only prior to our arrival into Tokyo.”
As I mentioned earlier, I was actually quite full that night as I had lots to eat in town with friends before I headed out to the airport. Then, there was also the big feast in the lounge for the sake of sampling what Garuda First Class Experience is like. So, I declined.
“But just in case you want anything to eat before breakfast, please let me know.”
She then left me enjoying my caviar experience under some twinkling stars. While I was enjoying my caviar with blinis and kerupuk, the purser of the flight came to me to thank me for flying with Garuda. She then handed me an envelope with a complimentary WiFi password and username that I can use in-flight. It is the latest addition to Garuda’s latest improvement in its cabin product. Garuda has not yet officially commercialized this service to all its passengers. It is now available only for its First Class passengers. The plan is that First Class passengers will continue to enjoy this facility for free while the other 2 classes will have to pay a certain fee to use this facility. She told me to provide her any feedback so her team and Garuda can continue to improve. She thanked me again for flying First Class with Garuda that night before she disappeared to the Executive Business Class section behind me.
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Santri came back as soon as I finished my caviar. She asked if I had enjoyed the caviar and the kerupuk to which I replied yes. She then cleared the caviar tray and came back to check the tea pot. As the tea was running out, she asked if I would like to have another pot. I told her I would like another one but this time it would be the genmai tea instead. She gladly took my tea pot and my cup away and came back with a different pot of genmai tea to serve me. Soon after she set the tea pot up on the side service area, she asked what I wanted to have for breakfast. The breakfast menu was quite extensive which consists of Indonesian Breakfast, Japanese Breakfast, and European breakfast. I went for the European style breakfast with poached eggs and all the breakfast side dishes. After taking my order, Santri asked if I was ready to turn in.