Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - What is meal service on midnight long haul CX flights?

My husband and I are flying LAX-HKG-JNB F next week. Both the LAX and JNB flights depart near midnight. When I initially booked, the earlier of the two ex-LAX flights left about 9pm. Now it has been rescheduled to 11pm, with the following one at midnight. The LAX-HKG flight is 15 hours long, and the HKG-JNB flight is 11 hours long.

What is the meal service on these flights? I've looked at some old trip reports and seen menus, but I am still somewhat confused. I really can't imagine wanting a large meal at midnight. Reports speak of breakfast being served before landing in Hong Kong. (The flight lands at 6am HKG time.) I am not a breakfast person, and breakfast choices rarely excite me. Yet it is a 15 hour flight, so from my body time, it is as if I am flying from midnight to 3pm the following day. When will I have the opportunity to eat some great Cathay food, other than after departure when all I want to do is sleep?

How is the evening meal served in the F lounge? Is there meal service in both the Pier and the Wing? I am thinking that I should eat on the ground, so that I can sleep once airborne.

The return flights have better schedules. We leave JNB at 1pm, and leave HKG at 4pm.

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In Cathay F you can eat anything from the menu at any time, so if you want breakfast after takeoff and dinner before you land that's OK. (Although you might want to move the timing slightly away from when the main meal service is just to avoid making life too difficult for the cabin crew.)

Both the Pier and the Wing serve a large buffet dinner up until the last flights leave. These would typically consist of a variety of salads, cold meats, sushi and/or sashimi, two or three hot dishes, a variety of desserts, a cheeese board, fruit, chocolates, and so on. They can do pretty much any type of coffee (capuccino, latte, espresso, all normal or decaf) there are about 8 wines to choose from by the glass, plus anything else you might want from the bar.

You can also request specific dishes which they will do for you if they have the ingredients in stock (obviously this takes longer).

But if you want vintage champagne and caviar then you have to wait until you are onboard for that!

The lounge in LAX is a joke with nothing but light snacks and most of the time is very full. The meal service out of LAX is a full dinner service and most people tend to eat some to all of what is offered since you will be in the air for a very long time.

If you can change your tickets, you should consider flying up to YVR and taking the afternoon flight to Hong Kong--not only do you not have to worry about 2 midnight departures on the same trip, the connection in HKG is only 4 hours.

Hi SanDiego1K...

You'd still get caviar out of LAX. Plus a supper meal..

Best to have the tasty Chinese offerings..always better to sleep with Chinese in your tummy (sic)!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by christep:
In Cathay F you can eat anything from the menu at any time, so if you want breakfast after takeoff and dinner before you land that's OK. (Although you might want to move the timing slightly away from when the main meal service is just to avoid making life too difficult for the cabin crew.)

Both the Pier and the Wing serve a large buffet dinner up until the last flights leave. These would typically consist of a variety of salads, cold meats, sushi and/or sashimi, two or three hot dishes, a variety of desserts, a cheeese board, fruit, chocolates, and so on. They can do pretty much any type of coffee (capuccino, latte, espresso, all normal or decaf) there are about 8 wines to choose from by the glass, plus anything else you might want from the bar.

You can also request specific dishes which they will do for you if they have the ingredients in stock (obviously this takes longer).

But if you want vintage champagne and caviar then you have to wait until you are onboard for that!</font>

Are these buffets available for Business Class passengers as well?

Hi SD1K,

Just took the LAX-HKG flight 10 days ago. As GB said, you will received a full meal service with caviar. Serving their usual Krug.

As others have said, CX will serve what you want whenver you want. I normally order what I want when they come around just in case they run out of my choice. That has only ever happened once but I didn't ask for that meal until half way into the flight. Normally, CX is great. More than enough meal choices for everyone unlike UA. Also, the white rice is cooked on the plane.

Breakfast choice is an option of chinese and english. I wish I kept my menu so I could post it here. I just remember the typical eggs, bacon, etc... and for chinese, dim sum, congee, etc... The eggs are cooked fresh on the plane.

As others have said, the LAX CX lounge is terrible! The F lounge is a tiny room at the back of the C lounge. I should have gone to another 1W lounge. The BA/QF F lounge has better seats and more lighting. And as I remember from before, the food is better than the CX lounge.

Have a good trip! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by glenngpr:
Are these buffets available for Business Class passengers as well?</font>

The buffets in the First Class lounge of the Wing and Pier in HKG is available for any class of service **IF AND ONLY IF** (IFF) you are a OW Emerald member (CX DMD, AA EXP, etc). Otherwise, you need an F ticket. Sapphire or J seats (without status) get the Business Class Wing and Pier lounge which are also very, very nice.

Step inside 1st Class Wing and Pier, you will be an Emerald member!

Sorry glenngpr the buffet selection mentioned is in The Haven restaurant which is open only to those passengers with First Class lounge access.

Business Class lounge has the Noodle Bar with hot noodle dishes requested from the servery, as well as a range of drinks, ice cream, sandwiches, pastries and usually there is a hot dim sum option available. There's also the Long Bar which I assume serves alcoholic drinks and in the Pier, the Juice Bar featuring freshly made juice.

Thank you for all the information. Tango, I didn't even realize that Vancouver had an afternoon departing flight. It would have made little difference, though - I booked in July, and have been checking regularly for F seat availability on a diffferent date from every North American city. Vancouver was never available.

I remember talk about Cathay having some very special teas on board. Guy Betsy, I believe you are the one who told me about them. I remember that one in particular was very costly. Of course, I want to try it! Can anyone help with the name?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SanDiego1K:
I remember talk about Cathay having some very special teas on board.</font>Fuding nanyang and jasmine needle. The nanyang is superb but it is a traditional chinese tea -- so not like western tea! The Jasmine is more conventional and also exceptional. The attendant can show you how to drink the tea (it is served chinese style, though I suppose they will use a teapot if you insist).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by B-HXB:
Sorry glenngpr the buffet selection mentioned is in The Haven restaurant which is open only to those passengers with First Class lounge access.

Business Class lounge has the Noodle Bar with hot noodle dishes requested from the servery, as well as a range of drinks, ice cream, sandwiches, pastries and usually there is a hot dim sum option available. There's also the Long Bar which I assume serves alcoholic drinks and in the Pier, the Juice Bar featuring freshly made juice.</font>

I am an AA EXP, so I'm good to go in The Haven?!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by glenngpr:
I am an AA EXP, so I'm good to go in The Haven?!</font>

YES, Enjoy!

Don't worry about it! Cathay Pacific F/As are extremely flexible in serving you anything at anytime you want. If you want to switch the supper and breakfast schedule, you can tell the F/As... I am sure this can be arranged.

For midnight menus, the service began with the caviar and salmon cart, and then the rest of the meals are a la carte -- usually a soup, a salad, two western entree choices, two Chinese favorites, light bites such as pizza and pasta, and various Chinese snacks such as noodles and congees, and then dessert -- cheese plate, Chinese dessert...

You will enjoy the flight for sure!

Carfield

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is a Congee, in food terms? As I've seen this mentioned in different menus and on-the-ground dining experiences.

Thanks,
Gene

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by GeneCMH:
Please excuse my ignorance, but what is a Congee, in food terms? As I've seen this mentioned in different menus and on-the-ground dining experiences.
</font>

It is a common Chinese breakfast item that is basically a rice-based porridge. You take broth, add rice (and other stuff, at the maker's discretion) and slow cook for several hours, until the whole thing turns somewhat glutinous. Then, right before eating, you can add in other stuff (like peanuts, etc.) if you so desire.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by HKG_Flyer1:
It is a common Chinese breakfast item that is basically a rice-based porridge. You take broth, add rice (and other stuff, at the maker's discretion) and slow cook for several hours, until the whole thing turns somewhat glutinous. Then, right before eating, you can add in other stuff (like peanuts, etc.) if you so desire.

</font>

The other stuff you add at the beginning is mostly to flavour the rice porridge (it could be dried scallops or chicken stock or meat bones). Once the basic porridge is done, you can either eat it plain or you could add meat into it. You would actually put raw meat in boiling rice porridge and serve the porridge once the meat is cooked. The garnish is for texture (peanuts as suggested for crunchiness) or flavour (e.g. green onions).

We know now that CX offers a "Supper" and a full breakfast on its LAX-HKG late night flights. It was recommended at one point that SanDiego1K consider the afternoon departure out of Vancouver. I am booked on that flight next September.

So now I'm curious. And hungry.

Has anyone here flown First Class on the 2:55pm departure out of Hong Kong? It's a 13 hour flight and I'm thinking that we'll get both a lunch and a dinner. Anyone know for sure?

I've also heard CX's YVR-JFK First Class catering is nothing to get excited over. True?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Seat 2A:
So now I'm curious. And hungry.

Has anyone here flown First Class on the 2:55pm departure out of Hong Kong? It's a 13 hour flight and I'm thinking that we'll get both a lunch and a dinner.</font>It was dinner and breakfast (when I flew it in 2002). But CX will serve you any menu item at any time during the flight so there is nothing to stop you from ignoring the breakfast menu and having dinner twice (and calling one of those lunch). The only time CX hasn't had a specific dish available in F was their Keiseki meal (NRT-HKG) and I had to settle for a whole lobster tail instead. I doubt it is possible to eat CX out of food even on a full flight, they really do over-cater (unlike other airlines). I've had flights as the only passenger in F yet they still catered 6 full meals. So you can be very hungry, indeed (at least before you board -- a bit hard to do at HKG, though).

Interesting thread as I too shall be flying to JNB on CX, though not until the end of February, also on an award. Flight is ex-YYZ, so it leaves a bit earlier, at 10pm. Still a late dinner/supper and then we stop in YVR for an hour to refuel [top-up] then off for the main journey. This may be a bit more acceptable to our bodies, with a time to digest before sleeping.

Enjoy your time in SAfrica, and on board CX. [I too am looking forward to a tea tasting.] And don't forget to have some great game meats and local wines on the terrace at The Butcher Shop in Sandton Square. And if you get to Cape Town, try Mamma Afrika on Long Street for superb local cooking and great live township music.

As my flights are just a couple weeks away and we're talking about food...

Are there any particular staples of CX F cuisine that I absolutely should try?

Same question for their wines and liquors. While I can appreciate any high quality product, I do not have any experience with truly premium wines/champagnes. What do you CX F veterans recommend. (I don't mind champagne and prefer reds)

Thanks...

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by GeneCMH:
As my flights are just a couple weeks away and we're talking about food...

Are there any particular staples of CX F cuisine that I absolutely should try?

Same question for their wines and liquors. While I can appreciate any high quality product, I do not have any experience with truly premium wines/champagnes. What do you CX F veterans recommend. (I don't mind champagne and prefer reds)

Thanks...</font>

Can't help much on the wines as I don't really drink, but as for food, I highly reccomend trying the noodle soup option, which is offered as a snack, but could be servec in lieu of a main course, should you so desire. It is a large bowl of soup with noodles and, usually, shredded beef, served with a wonderful hot chili sauce on the side. I also highly reccomend the dim sum as a breakfast option. The portion is small (only 3-4 pieces), but quite good and they'll give you seconds if any are left.

Overall, I usually prefer the Chinese options as they are almost always excellent and the western options, while quite good, are often, IMO, uninspired. They do serve the Chinese foos with freshly steamed rice, which is a wonderful addition.

On a typical late night departure ex-SFO (my usual route), I would eat the following for my main meal:

-Small canape served upon boarding
-Caviar and salmon with all the fixins'
-the soup (often a seafood chowder out of
SFO)
-a Chinese main course (orange duck on my
last flight ex-SFO)
-dessert (usually a tub of Haagen Daz ice
cream)

For my midflight snack (approx. 6-8 hours into the flight):

-Noodles in soup
-another tub of Haagen Daz

For breakfast:

-Fruit appetizer
-Cereal
-Blueberry muffins (these are great)
-Dim Sum
-Dim Sum (if available)
-Fresh OJ

To Drink:

Plenty of Cathay Delight , which is a non-alcholic drink of kiwi juice, coconut milk and a sprig of fresh mint (simply devine)