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PVG-HKG
Cathay Dragon A330, Business Class
Upon arriving to Shanghai Pudong International Airport, I checked in at the Cathay Dragon business class counter and went through immigration and security, which were smooth and painless. Security did make me take a sip of my Chinese medicine cough syrup since it was larger than the maximum size for liquids. I stopped in duty-free and bought some Shiseido face wash, which was actually about 30% less than I pay at home. I made my way to the China Eastern lounge, which was comfortable as far as lounges in China go. I used Priority Pass to enter.


They had a noodle bar, which was quite tasty, and self-serve alcoholic and soft drinks.




Since it was near my gate, I also made a quick stop at the Cathay Pacific Lounge, which was darker. It also had a noodle bar, but it contained fish, so I didn’t try it. This lounge also had self-serve beverages and a buffet, as well as cold sandwiches in the refrigerator.
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I boarded my flight and had a Passion Tour signature cocktail as my pre-departure beverage. It was fresh and tasted of gin, lemongrass, and passion fruit.

Once again, I had no one sitting next to me, so I had plenty of room to spread out. I was offered a newspaper and I selected the New York Times.

This was a comfortable aircraft, and it’s nice that they have the lavatory stocked with Jurlique products for refreshing even on a short flight.

The dinner service proceeded, starting with a tray with an appetizer, salad, water, and drink of choice (I had Bordeaux.)
Beef Pastrami, horseradish crème, pickles, and semi dried tomato and
Mixed Lettuce salad with Italian balsamic dressing. Of course I had this with garlic bread.

For my entrée, I selected from the Asian Delights menu, which that day was Indonesian nasi goring with chicken skewer. This was a tasty and well-spiced dish.

I finished with a Haagan-Dazs ice cream and then has a Manhattan and Milk Tea for my after dinner drinks. I was offered some mixed nuts and rice-crackers, which were tasty.




After arrival, I went through Hong Kong immigration and then went to register for the Hong Kong e-channel, which was easy. (I had missed the enrollment office on my previous arrival, not realizing that it’s located before baggage claim.)

I stopped by the Cathay Pacific Lounge – The Arrival, mostly just to see it.

It was pretty empty at that hour. I ordered Chicken Kara-age as a snack.



I made my way to the Plaza Premium Arrivals Lounge where I had planned to sleep for the night. I figured I wanted to be up early to have time to enjoy the Cathay Pacific departure lounges, so I didn’t think it was necessary to leave the airport. Unfortunately, they were doing a deep-clean, so they rooms weren’t available until 1:00 am. So I waited until then and then went to take a five-hour sleep. The bed was comfortable enough, especially for a quick sleep. There was a nice shower in the room, but I didn’t use it.
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Hong Kong Airport - Departure
My alarm went off and I went upstairs to the departure level to check my luggage. The First-Class check-in area was well-staffed and a porter took my luggage to the back to be sent on their way. (There are no conveyer belts in the First-Class area.)

After going through security and the immigration e-channel, to which I now had access. I went to The Wing First Class lounge to have a bath. As expected, the Cabana was lovely, with a huge sink area, a lovely deep bath, and a rainfall and waterfall shower. I thought I’d like some Moët rosé Champagne to have with my bath, so I went back out to the Champagne bar to grab one. This was so nice to soak and relax in the airport.




I found it sort of humorous that the toilet stall/room inside the cabana had a lock on the door. I was trying to think of a situation where you’d have someone locked inside the Cabana with you but you’d be worried about that person coming uninvited into the toilet stall.


After the Cabana, I made my way through the mall area to buy some Codeine cough syrup. I made a quick lap through the Hong Kong Disneyland store.


Then I boarded the airport train and made my way to The Pier First Class Lounge, which had a really beautiful design.



I went first to the dining room to have some breakfast, a lovely eggs benedict.



I then went to try the automatic beer dispenser machine, which was fun.


My buzzer went off, alerting me that it was time for my foot massage, which was sooooo relaxing and comfortable.


I had a little time to lounge, so I asked for one of the private day rooms, which is private, but just with a curtain, and has nice tarmac views. I enjoyed a Betsy beer in the day room.




Yes, I know I’m eating and drinking a lot, but I love taking full advantage of all the treats! Accordingly, I went back to the dining room for some Dan Dan Mian, which was a really delicious peanut noodle bowl.



Alas, it was about time to head to my gate for boarding. They had stanchions set up for the U.S. flights and I went through the bag check security. Boarding wasn’t quite ready, and I made my way to the side where the First Class sign was located.


HKG-ORD
Cathay Pacific 777, First Class, Seat 1A
This was my first time flying Cathay Pacific, so I was quite excited. I was welcomed aboard and shown to my seat, including the location of my personal closet where I could stow my bag. The seat was beautiful and spacious. It was only slightly less private feeling than the SQ suites, since there was no door, but I actually sort of liked the open spaciousness.





I was offered a beverage (and photography service), and I opted for Krug.



Kit and Catherine were the two flight attendants for the three of us in First Class, and they provided great service. I’m glad I had read that unlike the SQ staff, who walk the cabin extremely frequently, CX relies more on the call button, so I knew that the few times I needed something I could press it and they quickly responded with a smile. The call button off switch was located in the galley rather than on the seat, so they could turn it off easily and the “ding” wasn’t loud in the cabin. Kit brought me my pajamas and amenity kit, and I changed into the very comfortable Pye pajamas.



After take-off, I had a gin and tonic and Catherine took my lunch order.


I had preordered the Year of the Rooster CX 2017 plush from the inflight duty-free. It’s a cute souvenir!


I started with caviar
“Caviar and Champagne: Caviar and Champagne, a perfect match. Served with traditional garnishes of blinis, chive crème fraiche and chopped egg.” This was a lovely service, with a mother of pearl spoon. I also really love that CX provides a personal bread basket for each meal. I, of course, had some of the caviar on garlic bread. I had a lovely welcome note from Kit and Catherine.


For my next course I had Roasted Red Pepper Soup, which Catherine topped with fresh ground black pepper at my seat.


The “seasonal salad, asparagus, Kalamata olive, sun dried tomato, and Italian vinaigrette” was nice and refreshing with a flavorful dressing. I really like the China that CX uses for its service. It’s beautiful.


For my entrée, I had the steak.
“Grilled USDA Certified Angus beef striploin with Bearnaise sauce and shallot sauce, roasted Portobello mushroom and pumpkin, fingerling potatoes with parsley.” This dish was great – probably the best steak I’ve had on an aircraft, and I loved that it was served with two sauces in small pitchers.


For dessert, I had “Fresh berries, whipping cream.” This was a nice finish to the meal. I had it with the dessert wine, which was Bailey of Glenrowan Founder Series Liqueur Muscat NV, from the Australian wine promotion. Didn’t love that wine.


I finished off with some Cognac, Tesseron Lot 76 XO Tradition, before dozing off to sleep. It was good, but not as tasty as the Hennessey Cognac XO served on SQ. Catherine brought me a personal snack basket for the flight.




Kit made my bed up and I got a few hours of sleep.


I love scones with clotted cream, so midflight I had the tea service snack, with Milk Tea that Catherine made for me.
“Afternoon Tea Set. Scone, clotted cream and strawberry preserves, assorted savories and sweets.”


I had time to enjoy a few movies on this flight. Alas, it was getting close to time for the flight to end. I ordered breakfast and my tray was set. I started with fresh seasonal fruit, which was served with a personal bread basket including fresh toast.


I ordered eggs that were fresh fried on board, which was a nice treat! The yolks were even runny.
“Organic free range eggs – freshly scrambled, fried, or boiled. Dingley Dell bacon, Cumberland sausage, vine ripened tomato, pan-fried cheese and spring onion potato cake.”


What a lovely flight! The service was really top notch and polished. Kit and Catherine were always available and helpful. I would love to fly CX again and would have a hard time deciding which I thought was “better” between CX and SQ. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to experience both on this trip.

Chicago O’Hare International Airport

Talk about a downgrade!
CBP was easy at ORD with Global Entry. I made my way to the American Airlines check-in and reprinted my boarding pass so that it would have TSA preCheck. I headed to the American Airlines First Class lounge to wait for my flight home. The food was just ok, but I was impressed with the variety of the liquor selection. Even though it didn’t have super high-end choices, it was nicer than I expected from AA.



This sparkling sake was ok, more interesting than tasty.

Finally it was time to board my AA flight, which was running a little bit late due to late incoming aircraft.

ORD-DCA
AA 737, Seat 2A, Business Class

This flight was fine. As is often the case on American Airlines domestic flights, no pre-departure beverages were offered.
I had preordered the vegetable coconut curry with cous cous. It really didn’t have much flavor, and neither did the boring salad, but luckily I had been eating nonstop for 24 hours. (OK, maybe for 2 weeks.)



The flight was uneventful and I made it home safely, picked up my luggage, and headed home in a Lyft.

Overall, this was a really great trip, the perfect combination of catching up with friends, visiting fun sights, and enjoying a lot of really wonderful airline service. For anyone who likes Disney, I very highly recommend a visit to the new Shanghai Disney Resort.

Thanks for reading!!!