gabbysz
Mar 19, 01, 5:28 am
We decided to take advantage of the new non-stop from EWR-HKG and booked the cheap $629 fare plus 50,000 miles upgrade to BF.
Our Itinerary was as follows:
EWR-HKG Mar 8 CO-099 Seats 2A/B
HKG-EWR Mar 18 CO-098 Seat 2A/B
We also went to Singapore and the Maldives during this trip but I will file this as a separate trip report.
On March 8, we arrived 2.5 hours before the flight and had no wait at the check-in at BF at EWR. Of course, we also had to nudge the 3 reps who were gossiping at the BF counter to get service, until finally we were directed and then redirected to a second counter for check-in. The check-in process took 5 minutes and we proceeded to the very busy PC by gate 109. I wonder when Continental will start a separate lounge for International BF folks? One great comment about the PC was that I needed some international Fedex waybills (which they were out of), and one of the reps actually when down to another PC and picked some up for me.
At boarding time we proceeded to the gate and boarding began right on time. We were the first ones on the plane. and were instantly greeted by an FA who showed us to our seats, took my husband's coat, and asked for our pre-flight drink preference. We also were given our headseats, menus and amenity kits in short order. As a side note, when will Continental wake up and smell the coffee about their old tired amenity kits? Those horrendous socks have to go, and should be replaced by the nice slippers provided by Asian airlines. Also where is moisturizer, deodorant, etc to help us surivive this long flight?
The FAs were great on this flight (taking pictures of passengers when asked, handling lots of special "little" needs), two very experienced FAs (one male and female, who never skipped a beat), and one fairly new chinese speaking FA who tried VERY hard to meet our needs. He was excellent, including providing very nice tea pouring ceremony every time we asked for chinese tea.
The flight left on time and we had the following menu:
TO BEGIN
Warm roasted nuts
served with your preferred
cocktail or beverage
APPETIZER CART
Herbed and peppered smoked salmon loin
Prosciutto with melon
Creamy horseradish sauce
SALAD
Lollo rosso and Boston lettuce
served with cucumber and tomato slices
Offered with your choice
of balsamic vinaigrette or buttermilk ranch dressing
Freshly baked bread
and assorted rolls with butter
EXECUTIVE MEAL OPTION
If you should prefer more time to work or relax,
we suggest this complete meal presented all at once,
whenever you wish.
Appetizer Salad
Lollo rosso and Boston lettuce
served with cucumber and tomato slices,
topped with herbed and peppered smoked salmon loin
Offered with your choice
of balsamic vinaigrette or buttermilk ranch dressing
Entree
Please choose your main course
from the entree selections featured on this menu
Chocolate
MAIN COURSES
Chef's Preference
Grilled Sterling Silver™ New York sirloin steak
enhanced by morel sauce and roasted garlic,
accompanied by mashed potatoes with minced black truffle
Sautéed spinach with butter Grilled cherry tomatoes
Breast of Chicken
Breast of free-range chicken complemented by lemon butter sauce,
served with a ragoût of artichoke, sun-dried tomatoes, olives and capers
Toasted polenta Grilled asparagus spears
Red Snapper
Fillet of snapper with a corn crust, accented by lemon herb sauce,
offered with char-grilled jumbo shrimp and ripe plantain
Haricots verts, red bell pepper and carrot julienne
Chinese Noodle Bowl
Char-grilled jumbo shrimp
offered with stir-fried Trofie pasta,
Japanese omelette julienne and asparagus
Red bell pepper julienne
Steamed rice is available upon request to accompany any entree
FRUIT AND CHEESE
Select American and imported cheeses
accompanied by fresh seasonal fruit, assorted cheese biscuits and bread,
served with aged Port wine
DESSERT CART
Featuring Mark Alexander Country Fresh vanilla ice cream sundae
offered with your choice of toppings
or warmed peach cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream
Freshly brewed Timothy's Custom Roasted Italian Blend Gourmet Coffee
Timothy's Verona Blend Decaffeinated Coffee
Selection of teas including Chinese specialty teas with a choice of milk or lemon Hot chocolate
Enjoy a cup of freshly brewed Timothy's Italian Blend Espresso or Cappuccino
available exclusively in BusinessFirst on our 777 and 767 aircraft.
SKYSNACKSTM
Refreshments and a selection of light snacks will be available.
Please help yourself.
*****
MID-FLIGHT REFRESHMENT
Shasui pork and egg noodle soup
with bok choy hearts and green onion
*****
Assortment of Dim Sum
Cha Shu Bun
accompanied by a crispy baked cake with scallions,
steamed dumpling and shu mai pork
Chinese mustard Raspberry hoisin sauce
Selection of Open-faced Sandwiches
Fresh mozzarella and Roma tomato
Roast beef and Swiss cheese
Smoked salmon and egg
Apple Bavarian tart
LIGHT MEAL
Will be offered prior to landing
APPETIZER
Fresh seasonal fruit
Freshly baked bread and assorted rolls with butter
MAIN COURSES
Breakfast Pizza
Featuring sausage, egg and cheese
enhanced by tomato concassée
Italian chicken sausage Grilled pork loin
Rice Bowl
Char-grilled jumbo shrimp
accompanied by stir-fried vegetables with black bean sauce
Jasmine rice
Congee
Traditional Chinese rice soup
accompanied by roasted duck and Shasui pork
Spicy bamboo shoots
*****
Chocolate
Freshly brewed Timothy's Custom Roasted Italian Blend Gourmet Coffee
Timothy's Verona Blend Decaffeinated Coffee
Selection of teas including Chinese specialty teas with a choice of milk or lemon Hot chocolate
My husband had the chicken and I had the steak. The steak was excellent, but the chicken a little dry. The smoked salmon loin was excellent as always. We had the steamed rice which was also quite good.
The snack service was really a noodle bowl with a couple of tablespoons of broth in the bottom of the bowl, but the noodles were quite good. The sandwiches were a little dry but the dim sum was tasty.
For the final meal I had the breakfast pizza which was really a quiche but was okay, and my husband had the rice bowl, which was good. The fruit was a little dry and hard.
Skysnacks ran out about 10 hours into the flight and all that were in the basket from that point on were pretzels. Before that there were Lay's chips, chocolates and Milano cookies.
The entertainment channels were okay, but I wish Continental would celebrate the Oscars during Oscar month and show more Oscar nominated movies during March.
Also, it would have been nice to have the pliot give us some commentary during the flight.
But overall, a great experience heading out to Hong Kong. The flight was long and I could not imagine doing this in coach comfortably.
The flight seemed to arrive in the Hong Kong area early (about 30 minutes) but held until we landed about 10 minutes late.
Next...will post the return flight details.
Our Itinerary was as follows:
EWR-HKG Mar 8 CO-099 Seats 2A/B
HKG-EWR Mar 18 CO-098 Seat 2A/B
We also went to Singapore and the Maldives during this trip but I will file this as a separate trip report.
On March 8, we arrived 2.5 hours before the flight and had no wait at the check-in at BF at EWR. Of course, we also had to nudge the 3 reps who were gossiping at the BF counter to get service, until finally we were directed and then redirected to a second counter for check-in. The check-in process took 5 minutes and we proceeded to the very busy PC by gate 109. I wonder when Continental will start a separate lounge for International BF folks? One great comment about the PC was that I needed some international Fedex waybills (which they were out of), and one of the reps actually when down to another PC and picked some up for me.
At boarding time we proceeded to the gate and boarding began right on time. We were the first ones on the plane. and were instantly greeted by an FA who showed us to our seats, took my husband's coat, and asked for our pre-flight drink preference. We also were given our headseats, menus and amenity kits in short order. As a side note, when will Continental wake up and smell the coffee about their old tired amenity kits? Those horrendous socks have to go, and should be replaced by the nice slippers provided by Asian airlines. Also where is moisturizer, deodorant, etc to help us surivive this long flight?
The FAs were great on this flight (taking pictures of passengers when asked, handling lots of special "little" needs), two very experienced FAs (one male and female, who never skipped a beat), and one fairly new chinese speaking FA who tried VERY hard to meet our needs. He was excellent, including providing very nice tea pouring ceremony every time we asked for chinese tea.
The flight left on time and we had the following menu:
TO BEGIN
Warm roasted nuts
served with your preferred
cocktail or beverage
APPETIZER CART
Herbed and peppered smoked salmon loin
Prosciutto with melon
Creamy horseradish sauce
SALAD
Lollo rosso and Boston lettuce
served with cucumber and tomato slices
Offered with your choice
of balsamic vinaigrette or buttermilk ranch dressing
Freshly baked bread
and assorted rolls with butter
EXECUTIVE MEAL OPTION
If you should prefer more time to work or relax,
we suggest this complete meal presented all at once,
whenever you wish.
Appetizer Salad
Lollo rosso and Boston lettuce
served with cucumber and tomato slices,
topped with herbed and peppered smoked salmon loin
Offered with your choice
of balsamic vinaigrette or buttermilk ranch dressing
Entree
Please choose your main course
from the entree selections featured on this menu
Chocolate
MAIN COURSES
Chef's Preference
Grilled Sterling Silver™ New York sirloin steak
enhanced by morel sauce and roasted garlic,
accompanied by mashed potatoes with minced black truffle
Sautéed spinach with butter Grilled cherry tomatoes
Breast of Chicken
Breast of free-range chicken complemented by lemon butter sauce,
served with a ragoût of artichoke, sun-dried tomatoes, olives and capers
Toasted polenta Grilled asparagus spears
Red Snapper
Fillet of snapper with a corn crust, accented by lemon herb sauce,
offered with char-grilled jumbo shrimp and ripe plantain
Haricots verts, red bell pepper and carrot julienne
Chinese Noodle Bowl
Char-grilled jumbo shrimp
offered with stir-fried Trofie pasta,
Japanese omelette julienne and asparagus
Red bell pepper julienne
Steamed rice is available upon request to accompany any entree
FRUIT AND CHEESE
Select American and imported cheeses
accompanied by fresh seasonal fruit, assorted cheese biscuits and bread,
served with aged Port wine
DESSERT CART
Featuring Mark Alexander Country Fresh vanilla ice cream sundae
offered with your choice of toppings
or warmed peach cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream
Freshly brewed Timothy's Custom Roasted Italian Blend Gourmet Coffee
Timothy's Verona Blend Decaffeinated Coffee
Selection of teas including Chinese specialty teas with a choice of milk or lemon Hot chocolate
Enjoy a cup of freshly brewed Timothy's Italian Blend Espresso or Cappuccino
available exclusively in BusinessFirst on our 777 and 767 aircraft.
SKYSNACKSTM
Refreshments and a selection of light snacks will be available.
Please help yourself.
*****
MID-FLIGHT REFRESHMENT
Shasui pork and egg noodle soup
with bok choy hearts and green onion
*****
Assortment of Dim Sum
Cha Shu Bun
accompanied by a crispy baked cake with scallions,
steamed dumpling and shu mai pork
Chinese mustard Raspberry hoisin sauce
Selection of Open-faced Sandwiches
Fresh mozzarella and Roma tomato
Roast beef and Swiss cheese
Smoked salmon and egg
Apple Bavarian tart
LIGHT MEAL
Will be offered prior to landing
APPETIZER
Fresh seasonal fruit
Freshly baked bread and assorted rolls with butter
MAIN COURSES
Breakfast Pizza
Featuring sausage, egg and cheese
enhanced by tomato concassée
Italian chicken sausage Grilled pork loin
Rice Bowl
Char-grilled jumbo shrimp
accompanied by stir-fried vegetables with black bean sauce
Jasmine rice
Congee
Traditional Chinese rice soup
accompanied by roasted duck and Shasui pork
Spicy bamboo shoots
*****
Chocolate
Freshly brewed Timothy's Custom Roasted Italian Blend Gourmet Coffee
Timothy's Verona Blend Decaffeinated Coffee
Selection of teas including Chinese specialty teas with a choice of milk or lemon Hot chocolate
My husband had the chicken and I had the steak. The steak was excellent, but the chicken a little dry. The smoked salmon loin was excellent as always. We had the steamed rice which was also quite good.
The snack service was really a noodle bowl with a couple of tablespoons of broth in the bottom of the bowl, but the noodles were quite good. The sandwiches were a little dry but the dim sum was tasty.
For the final meal I had the breakfast pizza which was really a quiche but was okay, and my husband had the rice bowl, which was good. The fruit was a little dry and hard.
Skysnacks ran out about 10 hours into the flight and all that were in the basket from that point on were pretzels. Before that there were Lay's chips, chocolates and Milano cookies.
The entertainment channels were okay, but I wish Continental would celebrate the Oscars during Oscar month and show more Oscar nominated movies during March.
Also, it would have been nice to have the pliot give us some commentary during the flight.
But overall, a great experience heading out to Hong Kong. The flight was long and I could not imagine doing this in coach comfortably.
The flight seemed to arrive in the Hong Kong area early (about 30 minutes) but held until we landed about 10 minutes late.
Next...will post the return flight details.