Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - food: new lows

Sent a letter to CX along these lines yesterday:
The quality of food has been dropping post-SARS, and it has yet to come back.
Nobody's complaining about the "light" choices introduced intra-Asia, but ALL my recent J flights TPE-HKG-LAX rtn, TPE-NRT and KIX-TPE featuredhad badfood. The chicken with rice ex TPE was cold and had a foul smell to it, and ex KIX we were served a steak so tough and tasteless I wouldn't give it to my dogs (and they devour everything mind you). In fact, there were no new 'light choices' on either flight. Instead, the same old dishes I remember throughout the past 4 years, but done carelessly -- something I am not used to on CX. Since I am going to fly Japan-Taiwan very often in the foreseeable future I am thinking of giving JAL a try.

I've seen no change in food quality, but I have not flown J on CX for over a year. In fact I think the food is slightly better now (there is little room for improvement!). It is interesting to read this, combined with complaints about the J wine quality dropping. Frightening considering that F will be dropped from many routes within 6 months.

The food in J is the same as it was in the past, except for the main courses. Instead of the al-la-cart, which I truly prefered over anything, it is now food served in dishes (but unlike a J seat in AA, CX never runs out). I also noticed the bottle water getting cut to different companies. Evian turning into Crystal Guyser, etc...

Don't get me wrong, the food tastes great! But it's been some time since I've seen a cut, stirred fried beef with sauce and onions served with numerous other meals, spooned into my "bigger" plate, in which I could choose other dishes and taste them as well. Now it's chicken, with bone.

Miss that, very much!

I agree Mhtaipei... I have noticed that the quality of meals seem to suffer a bit since SARS but yet to recover. On YVR-HKG, lobster thermidor is quietly changed into seafood thermidor...

I think serving stir-fried chicken with black bean suace in first class is a bit cheap... won't you think that! Well as CX is making money now, I hope it can pay a bit attention to the meals -- a bit more variety does not hurt either.

I understand during SARS, things get a bit tough with CX, but I am sure things can go back to the previous level now.

I guess it is too early to make a conclusion but your letter will remind CX that folks notice changes.

About flying JAA, it is actually not too bad, and at least, they serve a full Japanese meal on the TPE-Japan flights except the shorter Okinawa flights.

But I get the impression that CX does not put much effort on the TPE-Japan routes... maybe it is a secondary route for CX.

Carfield

In F, the famous fresh noodles with chicken/wonton soup used to be 'catered' from a local restatuarant in Europe. Not any more.

F/As showed me the packets of Instant Noodles.

Oh dear...

But the caviar and Balik Salmon are still aplenty.

And still no pillows in every seat in coach! Aargh!

On the other hand, the HKG-NRT kaiseki meal in F (but not the reverse NRT-HKG, go figure), is the single best meal I've had in the sky ever.

Kaiseki HKG-NRT only must be cost control!

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

I am reviving this thread because food has indeed hit a new low again. On a day trip to HKG, food serviced in the Y cabin today was ham and cheese sandwich. A vile, artificial tasting bun with cheap ham and that chemical yellow stuff Americans like to call cheddar cheese. It smelled and tasted worse than the turkey and cheese I had on my last AA flight. CX food worse than AA must be a new low. :mad: :(

Just a note on catering, when the Pen pormotion finishes this month, what new items will be replacing this?

Also any news on upgrading the catering to Full plates in J Class?

... and that chemical yellow stuff Americans like to call cheddar cheese.

Hm... I do know that for many Hong Kong people (especially those who have not lived overseas), "cheese" = those highly processed Kraft square slices. They do not know about any other thing as being cheese. So, maybe CX's now catering to those passengers? :p

hahah, I remember that when I was a kid, I was FORCED to eat those hideous Kraft Cheese Slice! I thought ALL Cheese were like that before

A vile, artificial tasting bun with cheap ham and that chemical yellow stuff Americans like to call cheddar cheese. (

At least we brand it as American Cheese so you can avoid - it is almost that we are proud of having invented this thing!

One of my people recently shopped for me while I was returning from a trip and the cheese package said in small print, and i id you not, "genuine imitation cheesefood" with cheesefood as one word - most likely the lawyers told them they could NOT CALL IT CHEESE!

Anyway, there are some wonderful artesian cheese being produced in America so don't assume that the crap is the only home product.

in general. I've not ate a block of that brick as long as I can remember in the plane. Loved it while I was in NZ.
Airline cheese is cheese. It does't taste good, no smell and probably choke someone if not eaten properly! :P
By the sounds of food. Even KA give out better food then CX on short hauls.

You actually can get very good quality American cheese, at least in the NYC Metro area. Instead of buying the stuff that comes pre-sliced and wrapped in individual plastic sheets, order it at the deli counter. Land O'Lakes White American is my preferred brand, but Boar's Head is pretty good. This stuff tastes nothing like the pre-packaged cheese.

The nasty stuff is processed cheese - apparently made by treating the cheese with heat to kill off microorganisms which make and give the cheese its flavour in the first place. It's not unique to the U.S. Australia used to supply canned/tinned cheese as well as butter and butter (for those living in the outback or w/o refrigeration. Kraft, Anchor and Carnation were big suppliers in that part of the world.

Almost as vile as this stuff is the cheese made as a result of U.S. government's milk price support. That stuff is the vile salty and tasteless stuff that usually comes from Wisconsin which is very salty and tasteless. I think it's meant to feed those on welfare.

Out in my part of the world, I like the products coming out of Tillamook of Oregon.

For CX long-hual on every class I think the Cheapest choice is the Congee(no matter it is a chix/pork/scallop)they serve for the during Breakfast and Brunch, however it is the most popular choice specially for those Chinese origin pax from HKG/CHN/TWN, it always happen on the upper deck at least. after half of the cabin I can over heard the senior purser ask the junior crew to find more congee from other cabin.....

For the warm ham and cheese bun(or BBQ pork Bun) usually serve on the HKG/TPE, and HKG/MNL flights Y class, and I can recall on flight on KA 2 months ago they also serve the same thing even though they use different catering company and they also stop serving meal for flight up to 1 hr flying time. Anyway CX is serving a new snack bag for those rounte - on trail, don't know much about it, if anyone happen to hv a chance to try let us know!

At least we brand it as American Cheese so you can avoid - it is almost that we are proud of having invented this thing!

One of my people recently shopped for me while I was returning from a trip and the cheese package said in small print, and i id you not, "genuine imitation cheesefood" with cheesefood as one word - most likely the lawyers told them they could NOT CALL IT CHEESE!

Anyway, there are some wonderful artesian cheese being produced in America so don't assume that the crap is the only home product.

Totally OT, but this makes me think of most "locally" produced skimmed or partly-skimmed milk in Hong Kong. They are labelled as "milk drink". Only the tetra-pak imports from Australia, NZ and Netherlands are called "milk".

Totally OT, but this makes me think of most "locally" produced skimmed or partly-skimmed milk in Hong Kong. They are labelled as "milk drink". Only the tetra-pak imports from Australia, NZ and Netherlands are called "milk".That's simply not true (I've been to my fridge to check). If it's milk (i.e. no ingredients have been added to what comes out of the cow) then it's called milk, whether it's skimmed, homogenised, or whatever. And the milk I have in my fridge is called "Milk" and it comes (I believe) from HK - the brand is Kowloon Dairy.

Milk drinks exist in all countries - milk with added flavours, vitamins, minerals etc. it doesn't matter where it comes from. But "milk drinks" do seem to be relatively more popular in HK than in other places I have lived.

But "milk drinks" do seem to be relatively more popular in HK than in other places I have lived.

Thats because most of the people in HK who buy these milk drinks don't actually realize that it's not 100% "fresh milk" but a drink made mainly from water and some milk solids. I have some relatives who have been buying these low fat/hi-calcium/vitamin enhanced milk drinks for the past 10 years thinking they were drinking 100% pure milk.

I have identified the yellow cheese as Cheddar slices indeed. Anchor brand from lovely New Zealand, available all over Taiwan. Vile stuff indeed.

I am fully aware America produces some great cheeses. Had some eye-opening sampling on a recent Nappa tour. But as B Watson pointed out, there is cheese and there is cheesefood! (And then there is imitation cheese food) :D Dear oh dear, what will they think of next.

By the way, the elongated, soft bun of the sandwich was pizza-flavoured bread, and the ham (one slice) was also no Parma let me tell you.