iceman77_7

CX 872 HKG-SFO
November 19, 2012
1:00 AM-8:55 PM (-1)
Seat 2K/1K
Load: 4/6 (6/6 in flight)

In the days leading up to this flight (after switching from J to F as documented in an earlier section), I kept a close eye on the seating chart. Only 3 seats were occupied, with the two "A" seats and then mine in 2K. As departure time approached, 1A opened up, but I was the only one on the right aisle. I took a gamble in hopes of getting a separate bed and seat across the aisle.

Right before the boarding door closed, there was only 4/6 seats occupied, 1A, 2A, 2D, 2K. 2A and 2D were traveling together, but with the way the seats are arranged, those are two of the worst seats to pick when traveling together because the seat openings are in opposite directions. Instead of moving both of them to 1D/1K, the purser asked if I would be willing to move to 1K. Seeing how 1D was also open, I eagerly accepted and asked if 1D could be made my bed as well. Purser said this would not be a problem.

Looking tantalizingly at my potential bed in 1D


As with all my flights in CX F, this one began with a glass of Krug. I was more of a mimosa fan than a pure champagne fan prior to this trip, but I figured I would get flogged if I asked for a mimosa made of Krug and then posted about it on this forum. :-D



Soon after take off, I noticed two people moving up from business to the two empty first class seats. Total first world problem here, but if I had known that the seats were going to be taken, I would have opted for 2A instead of 1K. The purser apologized that 1D was going to be occupied, saying that they received a communication from the ground that these two people needed to be upgraded. I would have to "rough" it with just one first class seat. (I hope everyone realizes I'm being quite tongue in cheek here)

Menus were soon distributed for our flight.

Service began with warm nuts and I opted for a rum and diet coke accompaniment.


That was soon followed by the smoked salmon and caviar.


I don't know if it was the difference in catering or the fact that I had stuffed myself silly for 8 straight days, but the salmon and caviar didn't taste quite as good as it did on the outbound. Didn't have the same freshness as my SFO-HKG flight.

Having had the Chinese soup on the outbound and also being a huge fan of lobster, I opted for the lobster bisque as my soup option


Not bad, but not enough of a lobster flavor for my taste.

I opted for the steak as my main. I was quite surprised to be asked if I wanted my steak at 38K feet cooked medium rare or medium. I opted for medium rare.


Now I've had a lot of steaks in my lifetime being a huge fan of filet and prime rib. That said, this has to be one of the best and biggest steaks I've ever had in my life. Period. Easily beats the pants off of the filet that United serves both in quality and size. This thing was MASSIVE. Not only that, it was cooked perfectly, which most steakhouses on the ground have trouble doing.

Here's what medium rare looked like.


For dessert I had the berries and cream. Looking back at the menu three weeks later, I'm astonished that I didn't have the warm hazelnut cake with chocolate ice cream also. I must have been so stuffed that I did not opt for all the desserts that I would have wanted. That means I must have been really full.



After supper service was complete, the FAs distributed bottles of water to everyone as well as pralines. I asked to have my bed made and changed into my pajamas. After watching Catch Me If You Can and some other movie I can't remember, I decided to get some sleep.

A few hours later, I woke up and was disappointed to see that the FAs had cleared my pralines! I did not like any of the mid-flight snack options either so I was particularly bummed. I guess I could have asked to see if they had any left, but didn't think it was worth the hassle.

Breakfast service began, and I started with the fresh seasonal fruit, smoothie, and yoghurt.






Sorry for the blurriness, light chop at the time.

I was having a lot of trouble deciding between the Asian and western options for breakfast. I asked the FA which was better, and she told me that the Asian option was a smaller course, but she would be happy to make my eggs to order (I was particularly impressed by that last part). Feeling my protruding stomach, I opted for the Asian option. I deeply regret it.



I ended up eating just a couple pieces of the dim sum. The other pieces just didn't look very appealing. If given the option in the future on CX, I'm opting for the western option.

After a nice smooth landing and while taxing to the gate, I noticed an outside camera option on the IFE. I hadn't noticed it until the flight was almost over! Wish I had found it sooner.

Outside camera


I was one of the first ones off the plane and as I was walking down the jetway, I heard someone yell, "Mr. iceman77_7!" I turned around and saw the flight attendant running towards me with my camera in hand. This trip report would not have been possible without her. I'd like to think that this would happen even if I was sitting in J, Y or on United, but this made me feel really good about CX F. I wish I could remember her name, but I can't find the personalized meal card to look it up.

I did my usual speed walk towards immigration and was happy to see that there was no travelers at any of the stations. I made it from gate through immigration to curb in six minutes! Gotta be a new record.

ORDnHKG

I am surprised you are being Taiwanese and don't know about Dragon fruit, it is all over southern china and southeast asia. They also have them selling in chinese and vietnamese supermarket in the US. Though I had never seen the red ones though, always the white ones.

PS. Dragon fruit is the fruit of Cactus.

Thunderroad

Wonderful trip report! Thanks for posting it.

Nice also to read about the nice steak you had, as the food is the only aspect of the fantastic CX F experience that hasn't wowed me so far.

iceman77_7

I wish I had discovered it sooner! Not sure how being Taiwanese would mean I would know about it if it's all over southern China and SE Asia though.

Thanks for reading! The food as a whole is loads better than my previous experiences in UA C. However, the dishes that really stood out were the lobster and steak. Everything else was only excellent, aside from that weird duck liver appetizer.

iceman77_7

First off, thanks for reading this far. It was fun to write this trip report as it allowed me to relive my vacation all over again. Now if only I could relive it in real life...

Couple of thoughts. If I manage to reaccumulate enough AA miles to do another trip on CX, I think I'm going to give J a try. With the new CX J seat, there isn't much of a difference between J and F aside from the pajamas and some food options. However, I really do want to try out the dining ottoman so if I'm traveling with someone, I'm going to spring for F.

The service was quite good, though my SFO-HKG crew simply could not be beat. They set a tough standard that no one else could match.

And thanks to the FT community for giving me the resources to fund this trip through CCs and mileage bonuses. This truly was a trip of a lifetime, at least until my trip in May in SQ A380 J, TG 77W F and SQ 77W F. :-D

lavag

Very well done. Have to agree about CX F food being hit or miss. I thought the wine selection and desserts were excellent, but I've also had a truly repellent soup and some very mediocre mains.

iceman77_7

i would agree. The appetizer soup/salad were consistently my least favorite part of the meal and the mains were definitely hit or miss.

kwl747

Great trip report!

This is one of the government's E-4B Airborne Command Posts. The preferred transport for the Secretary of Defense.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_E-4