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Peninsula HKG lounge catering contract not renewed, Plaza Premium replacement

Peninsula HKG lounge catering contract not renewed, Plaza Premium replacement

Old Jul 6, 2016, 6:50 am
  #331  
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Originally Posted by LchChester
Except for the sushi, no reason to go to the Wing over the Pier.
The view.


Originally Posted by estnet
.. the train apparently doesn't run in the reverse direction ....
I'm fairly certain that the train runs in both directions; however, it's possible that you may have to be an arriving pax to travel towards the main part of the terminal, i.e., before Immigration or Transfer Security screening.
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Old Jul 6, 2016, 7:10 pm
  #332  
 
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Originally Posted by Dr. HFH
I'm fairly certain that the train runs in both directions; however, it's possible that you may have to be an arriving pax to travel towards the main part of the terminal, i.e., before Immigration or Transfer Security screening.
that is correct...arriving passengers can only take the train towards immigration and departing passengers take it to gate 40-71

Last edited by FlyPointyEnd; Jul 6, 2016 at 7:16 pm
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Old Jul 23, 2016, 2:19 am
  #333  
 
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another bad experience

Unfortunately, today I had another crap experience in the lounge.

Downsides
*Forgot my drink
*Forgot my companion's main course; after many nervous glances by us, the manager did check on us (kudos to him), but then disappeared for another 15 minutes without any follow-up. We left at the 25 minute mark when the dish was coming out.
*Tuna salad looked "like something we'd get on the plane in business class", direct quote from my traveling companion. Not a compliment.
*Zillions of staff milling around as seems to be par for Plaza Premium staff in this lounge. They are lovely, but absolutely clueless and they're just standing around the kitchen door like chickens with their heads cutoff.
*My drink still came out incorrectly even after I had to follow-up. I gave up.
*I wasn't the only one having problems; a table behind me got both their starter and drink screwed up too.

*There is a new menu....very disappointing. I await others to revert with a similar vibe. Major downgrade IMO.
*Staff used the "new menu" excuse as for why the food was delayed. I got a laugh out of this, because of course Plaza Premium used "we didn't create the menu" excuse during their earlier mishaps when it was the Peninsula-designed menu. And the fact they were making excuses just speaks to a lack of professionalism. They were also making excuses to the table behind me when the drink was screwed up.

Upside(?)
*Empty, as usual. Perhaps 6-8 table tops of diners max.

My traveling companion asked repeatedly "what's the problem with the First Class lounge?"

Anyway, I was a big proponent of the idea "changing to Plaza Premium won't matter". And of course we don't know the big variable, which is $$ paid per person and the terms. But I have to say I'm eating crow. I've visited enough after the handover to say unequivocally that standards are simply lower under Plaza Premium than they were under Peninsula. Sometimes the place is fine, but in ~50% of my visits something goes wrong or is disappointing.

What did we do to rectify the situation? Went to the Pier J! Where my companion is far happier. I guess Plaza Premium doesn't care too much because presumably they're getting paid here too. But it's really a poor reflection on both CX and PP that the F dining room still isn't sorted out.
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Old Jul 23, 2016, 2:54 am
  #334  
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@QRC3288

Wow. Disappointing might be an understatement.

Since I fly CX J, I won't be able to offer opinions on the CX F lounges.
Thankfully, as per my posts on this forum, I had 2 recent visits to the new Pier J and they were both great experiences.

I was going to ask the question, do airlines think FFs and especially high-value extreme FFs won't notice reductions in quality and service?

Then I stopped myself and remembered, they don't really care....much.
It seems the execs and the shareholders matter more than the paying pax, for now.
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Old Jul 23, 2016, 2:54 am
  #335  
 
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That's sad,as you know I have strongly believed that
Originally Posted by QRC3288
...changing to Plaza Premium won't matter".


*There is a new menu....very disappointing. I await others to revert with a similar vibe. Major downgrade IMO.
Do you happen to have any pics of the new menu by chance?
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Old Jul 23, 2016, 3:07 am
  #336  
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Originally Posted by 24left
Since I fly CX J, I won't be able to offer opinions on the CX F lounges.
I'm struggling to reconcile that with your avowed status of AAEXP. AAEXP can access the F lounge when flying any class on CX.
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Old Jul 23, 2016, 3:17 am
  #337  
 
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Originally Posted by 24left
@QRC3288
Wow. Disappointing might be an understatement.
It really was. I love Pier F too! But the PP swap (and enough experiences that I think I get the general idea of the pros/cons to the swap from Peninsula), combined with the stunning Pier J mean I think I'll end up in the latter quite a bit. I wonder if CX even cares....they might not mind this dynamic, pax like me willing to go to the J lounge instead because we prefer it to the F lounge.

In theory the F lounge is better, especially since it has a restaurant. But this trip, as well as a few recent ones where small service errors keep occurring, plus this menu change, and the fact it's clear to me now PP serving a restaurant is not their forte, and I think I genuinely prefer Pier J. Love the vibe there.

Originally Posted by Rami Tamimi
DO you happen to have any pics of the new menu by chance?
Stupid me. I should've taken a picture. I'm sorry I didn't. Hopefully someone who reads this will remember to in the next few days.

I asked the waitress if there was a different menu upon entering (it looked different from my memory). She didn't say anything about a new menu, just "this is our all day menu, dinner too".

Only when I told them I thought the service was a huge disappointment did they bother saying it was a new menu, as an excuse for why service kept screwing up. Just poor form. But it did indeed click then why I was initially unfamiliar with the menu.
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Old Jul 23, 2016, 3:19 am
  #338  
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Originally Posted by christep
I'm struggling to reconcile that with your avowed status of AAEXP. AAEXP can access the F lounge when flying any class on CX.
Un-struggle yourself.

I entered the grand class of AA EXP just a few days ago, while in HKG, at 4:30am (I was actually awake when the email arrived from AA....and now it's 5:20 am in YYZ and I'm still awake....)

So........since I was still Platinum when I flew CX 2 weeks ago, I got to enjoy The Pier.

This week's trip (yes, back-to-back TPACs), I was on AC, thus slumming it in the various *A lounges at HKG.

Will report back after next AA or CX adventure.

P.S. PM me and I'll send over the AA doc, you know, to help you reconcile.
.

Last edited by 24left; Jul 23, 2016 at 3:26 am Reason: spelling
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Old Jul 23, 2016, 3:25 am
  #339  
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Originally Posted by QRC3288
..... the stunning Pier J .....

.......I think I genuinely prefer Pier J. Love the vibe there.

......

Absolutely agree. It's also why I took time and a lot pf photos, as I'm sure you saw from my posts in the other thread.

While my experiences of the lounge were great, I think I really lucked out with great window seats and the direct line of site to a runway and wheels down.
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Old Jul 24, 2016, 7:14 am
  #340  
 
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I think this might be a new breakfast menu...I didn't notice Steak & Eggs on the previous menu before.
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Old Jul 24, 2016, 7:51 am
  #341  
 
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Originally Posted by Fly Me To The Moon
I think this might be a new breakfast menu...I didn't notice Steak & Eggs on the previous menu before.
Thanks a lot for the menu shot.

I see that the salmon salad (which was great,but would not fill you up) has been replaced with that Steak & Eggs item.

Also I don't recall seeing the Eggs Benedict before,though I might be wrong.'

I still have this issue though:

Originally Posted by Rami Tamimi
Slightly OT,because it's probably not a concern to the majority of pax,but since I don't eat pork I find the breakfast selection in The Wing much better for me than the one at The Pier. In the The Pier there is not much apart from the omelette and salmon salad for me.So while I understand that most travelers are not affected by this,but I would think there are plenty of vegetarians who would probably be upset by lack of choice.
I mean it's not that hard/expensive to substitute (on request only ofcourse) pork with some other meats (chicken sausage).
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Old Jul 24, 2016, 8:18 am
  #342  
 
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Originally Posted by Fly Me To The Moon
I think this might be a new breakfast menu...I didn't notice Steak & Eggs on the previous menu before.
Very disappointing.

My two favorite items have been dropped the baked egg/chorizo bowl and the salmon salad.
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Old Jul 24, 2016, 1:00 pm
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Originally Posted by Fly Me To The Moon
I think this might be a new breakfast menu...I didn't notice Steak & Eggs on the previous menu before.
Yes that menu is different from the one I had on 01st July
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Old Jul 24, 2016, 1:06 pm
  #344  
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Originally Posted by Rami Tamimi
Thanks a lot for the menu shot.....
+1


Originally Posted by Rami Tamimi
...I mean it's not that hard/expensive to substitute (on request only ofcourse) pork with some other meats (chicken sausage).

I don't eat any of those meats - especially the cured breakfast-type and I've always asked for no meat on Eggs Benedict anywhere I've been. Occasionally, a good restaurant/hotel/lounge staff person will ask if I'd like to substitute something else and if there is an option I like, I will (eg. Fairmont SIN chef was great at this)

Onboard one of my recent CX flights, I asked the crew to remove the sausages from the serving dish (which is why they are missing from the meal photos I posted).

Those are easy solutions for dishes that have individual ingredients that can be avoided prior to prep.
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Old Jul 24, 2016, 8:01 pm
  #345  
 
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Anyone snap a pic of the new "all day dining" menu (aka, not breakfast) yet? Apologies for not getting it the other day. I'm really keen to see if others are as disappointed as I am.
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