macabus

I had one A+ meal on NH F in 2008, and it was never repeated again.

JL proved to be excellent time and again.

SFO777

Flight was pleasant enough and service/catering excellent but the experience just wasn't a wow like most CX flights and my NH JFK-NRT flight. Light snack options were of limited interest. IFE was disappointing compared to Studio CX. I love the privacy of CX's 1-1-1 cabin so most non closed suite cabins pale in comparison. The NRT FCL was a meh, more like an Admirals Club and boarding was pretty disorganized. I guess we're talking First World problems here.

macabus

Got it.

Thanks for the feedback!

M.

goingbananas

I like my champagne as well and I like Salon that JL serves. As far as Dom vs Krug, for me, it depends on the day as I realized flying SQ when it came to that dilemma.

Personally, as a flyer to BKK frequently, I prefer the CX route because:

1) longer time in the F seat via HKG vs NRT to BKK.
2) I like CX and JL catering so this is a wash for me, except the USDA beef on CX is quite large and I like my beef!
3) The lounges in HKG on CX I feel are better than NRT with JL. The Wing with the champagne bar and the Peninsula menu I find to be better.

YMMV...good luck!

macabus

Spot on! Thanks.

tng11

In terms of food - JL has CX beat by a mile. JL F ex-NRT had one of the best meals I've ever eaten on a plane (a very close second to NH) IMO JL has the better western menu with Japanese flair and NH has the better kaiseki. The Salon is also very nice. CX F was really disappointing and almost awful - the Chinese course was more like fast food quality, and they could do better having seen what SQ does for their Chinese menu.

That said I'd still do CX F ex-HKG to save another connection. The hard product is still one of the best and the IFE also great. JL's hard product is good but not as good as CX and the IFE is an abomination.

brunos

Just returning from Paris in F.
Of course, they have their new caviar. It is the metallic box of 20gr of the best Italian farmed caviar. Better than the ones they used with Ballik. As usual, I ordered caviar with my breakfast scrambled eggs and that went very well with some Krug bubbles.

The new thing is that they had an additional menu besides the usual western/chinese menu.
"Inspired Dining by Mandarin Oriental" by Chef Thierry Marx. Starter (Pressed chicken, foie gras, truffle coulis), Soup (Cream of Jerusalem artichoke, crispy quail egg), Main (Braised beef chuck), dessert (Gingerbread pressed, macarpone cream). The starter was very original, although served too cold and so was the dessert (I took the western salad and the Chinese main). A great option.
Frankly, it is amazing that they can offer so many different dishes for just 6 F pax. Bravo CX.
Unfortunately white burgundy was on the cheap side

HKGglobaltrotter

I have been told by my ISM friend that from Feb onwards on NA routes the claypot rice will be removed from the F menu. Sad as that is my favourite and always the highlight of my LAX/SFO flights...

cxfan1960

That's what I had last month. Yes, I liked it.

The claypot rice is quite plain, but I like it. I hope CX is replacing it with something just as good or better...

zznoname

Here's a few really bad photos, of CX F Food, taken December 2014.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/travel...7650027656490/

Interesting how the Caviar looks with/without the flash.

QRC3288

To clarify, CX has most certainly UPGRADED the caviar when the balik was dropped. Not downgraded. I suspect some of the folks who said otherwise dont fly a whole lot on CX or CX F. I am no fanboy of CX lately with the potential MPC changes, but they still deserve credit for this. The caviar they're serving today is far better than before, and now even has that fancy dish and mother of pearl spoon thing that they skipped before. And not surprisingly, theyre stingier with the caviar these days.

As for Dom or Krug, they're owned by the same company and is a personal thing...count me in the Krug crew (although id take Salon any day. Esp since most Dom in F these days is 2004, aka the most recent mass Dom release and nothing id write home about in terms of finer champagnes.

percysmith

On my last pair of F flights I confirmed my allergy to Krug and actually asked for the Billecart Salmon on the return F.

kaka

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Jl is better. Only thing is longer regioJ

ermen

do cx serve krug on the shorter regional F routes to japan? i thought krug was only normally reserved for longer haul flights?

i would fly cx for the kaiseki. too bad the 747 seldom flies to japan now, or else that would be even better for privacy.

Psychiatrist

Flew F HND HKG on a 747-400 earlier this month.

No Krug. The champagne served was Amour de Deutz Blanc de Blancs 2005.

Food selection was pitiful. The grilled wagyu beef was dry and uninspired. I don't eat seafood and so the kaiseki is never an option for me. Dessert was two scoops of green tea ice cream. Blah.

I actually joked with the SP that I'd prefer a baked pork chop with rice from Cafe de Coral or Tsui Wah.

But I'm known for bashing CX's catering in F and J. So take my views with a (big) pinch of salt. I really like QR (quality and presentation) and BA (their breakfast smoothies, curries and desserts).

I have a friend who posts NH shorthaul pics on his Facebook all the time - the meals look so much better than CX. Too bad I look at prices and ex-TPE to HND on CX is a mere fraction of ex-HKG to HND on NH...