oneworld82

Link to my previous trip reports:

Here's a link to my previous trip reports:

Australia and New Zealand - A 10-Day Adventure Down Under
Europe for Christmas And New Year's. A Taste of Germany, France, Italy, Monaco, Belgium, Luxembourg, and London
Kangaroos are so cute! Let's eat them! 12 days in Australia from Sydney to Cairns
A lion here, a rhino there... a safari in South Africa & Swaziland feat. AA J class
Hanami in Tokyo for the weekend: DFW-NRT (AA F) vs NRT-JFK-DFW (NH F Square, UA F)
A weekend in Santiago de Chile: DFW-SCL-DFW on AA Business Class (763ER)
A weekend in Dubai: DFW-LHR-DXB in 72 hrs. Lots of pics, feat. BA Club World
oneworld! Vietnam, Laos, Philippines, Australia trip reports + CX F/J, QF J and AA F
Cathay Pacific NYC - HKG - SIN in First/Business class: unforgettable!
MNL-SYD in Qantas business class + Qantas Club in MNL
Coming back from Down Under - Qantas A380 Biz Class CNS-MEL-LAX and AA F to SJC
Tales from Israel & the West Bank - IB/LY in Y


Ah, US Airways Dividend Miles. I have been accumulating them for 18 months now, and I stashed 380k without even realizing it. As you can imagine, it was high time I burned them – especially because I have a bad feeling about the program after is harmonized and enhanced to AA’s AAdvantage.

So, what did I do? I booked myself two trips.

A weekend trip to Taipei on Cathay Pacific First Class and JAL new First Class
A 9 day trip to Kenya for next February on BA First Class and Qatar Airways First Class… with no fuel surcharges!
After this, I still have in excess of 120k miles which I will use soon (somehow). But let’s go in order.

So, Taiwan. A country that has always fascinated me but somehow eluded me. Why Taiwan? Well, the food first and foremost. Taipei is famous for its night markets, its stinky tofu, and Din Tai Fung – one of the best places in the World for xiaolongbao – pork-filled, soupy dumplings.

Then, the culture. Taiwan is at once China and something completely different from it. Strong Japanese influence, Western-style democracy, but still China, or how Mainland could have been had the Kuomingtang not lost to Mao. I will have ~48 hours in Taipei, and I am determined to make the best out of it. Will see what I can do! J But just as important, I will get to fly Cathay Pacific First Class once again and I will get to try the new Wing lounge in Hong Kong; but it won’t stop there. On my way back, I will get to try JAL new First Class on a refurbished 773 – and the thought of having 11 hours of 2002 Salon Blanc des Blancs is, by itself, enough to make me happy (not counting what I expect to be an excellent meal on board and great service, of course).


Itinerary

The report will feature the following sections:

1. US Chairman Club in PHX

2. Cathay Pacific Lounge at SFO

3a. Cathay Pacific First Class SFO-HKG Part I

3b. Cathay Pacific First Class SFO-HKG Part II

4. The Wing Lounge @ HKG

5. Cathay Pacific First Class HKG-TPE

6. Taipei Day 1

7. Taipei Day 2

8. JAL Lounge at TPE

9. JAL Business Class TPE-NRT

10. JAL First Class Lounge at NRT

11. JAL First Class NRT-LAX

I hope you’ll enjoy!

oneworld82

Blog post here

After landing at Terminal 1 I walked about 5 minutes to reach the International terminal. Compared to many US airports, SFO is clean, modern, well laid-out. Terminal 2 is by far my favorite, but the international terminal isn’t bad either. After locating aisle 7 I proceeded to the Cathay Pacific check in desk, which features a dedicated lane for First Class customers.

After a quick wait an agent, Cecilia, promptly checked me in. She was all smiles and very attentive – exactly what I was expecting. She asked me whether I had ever used CX lounge at this airport, and after Iresponded negatively she proceeded to give me directions. Boarding passes for my two segments and two lounge invitations were issued. While the security line wasn’t long, my boarding pass was stamped as “priority”, which gives you access to a preferential lane.



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After quickly going through security I went up to the 4th floor, where the Cathay Pacific lounge is located. The entrance is just as sleek as the lounges in Hong Kong – white Carrara marble coupled with black Chinese granite for a sleek, luxurious feel.









After being promptly checked in by a nice lady, I took a look around. The lounge is rather big for an airport with only 2 daily flights to Hong Kong, although it did feel a bit crowded when I visited. The layout features a working area to the leftmost part of the lounge (from the entrance), a seating area right by the entrance desk, a dining area in the middle, another seating area after that, and finally restrooms and showers at the very end of the area.





After grabbing a table I then went to the noodle bar – one of the most prominent features of CX lounges – and ordered a cup of Dan Dan noodles – think thick noodles similar to udon in a peanut-based sauce. While they lacked some salty flavor, they were decent overall.















After washing the soup down with half a Tsingtao beer, I asked for a shower room to refresh myself before the long flight. The room was big and well appointed, with two towels and a mat provided (plus razor and comb). The shower was open and featured both rain and “traditional” faucets.






I love that Bally weekender bag



After showering I made my way back to the seating area and started blogging for about 15 minutes, before noticing that it was fifteen past midnight; as the flight was supposed to leave at 1am, I decided to leave the lounge and to make my way to gate A3 (only a short walk away), where people were already lining up to board the plane.

yerffej201

looking forward to the other segments!

exmike

Looking forward to the rest, as I'll be doing a similar trip. I'd argue that Taiwan is very different from China! Sure, there is some shared language and heritage, but its really a unique and vibrant culture of its own.

oneworld82

Taipei was interesting. It tries to be Tokyo but it's very much anchored to its Chinese heritage. The food was simply amazing. The people were friendly and the city/country is very easy to navigate. It shouldn't be long before the report is fully up - I am on my way back home now.

JAL First Class was great by the way. If it's not 5 stars, it's very close to. I got the best sleep in the sky so far.

txflyer77

I'm doing almost this exact same itinerary in reverse later this year! Very excited to see where this goes.

Digital01

Excellent start, look forward to the rest!

Thunderroad

Thanks for posting this. Looks like it will be a great TR. But please skip the CX segments as I've flown CX F a number of times.

Really looking forward to the JL lounge and both the J and F flight segments as my wife and I will likely be flying them next year.

And please rush out the Taipei segments since, as part of a larger trip, we are thinking of visiting friends there this September for a couple of days!

oneworld82

FULL TRIP REPORT HERE

May 1st, 2014
CX803, SFO-HKG (77W)
First Class, Seat 1K
01:20 – 06:30+1



Within 5-6 minutes I cleared the line in the business class/first class section and got onboard. All premium cabin passengers entered from the same door located at the very front of the plane, which meant that business class passengers had to go through the first class cabin. In any case, I was greeted by Paz – the main purser – who warmly welcomed me onboard before introducing me to Lina, one of the two incredibly-awesome flight attendants who took an amazing care of me during my flight. Lina escorted me to my seat (1K) and promptly asked me whether I’d like something to drink – to which I responded: “Krug, please”.















This was my first time flying the refurbished CX product, and I must say that the difference with the old one is minimal, although new upholstery meant a fresher look indeed. Reading lights on both side, a new control panel for seat and lighting, and BOSE headphones completed the picture. The main washroom on the plane was spacious and beautifully decorated, again with Aesop amenities (gotta love that Australian brand!).





















After settling down, Ling came back with my Krug and with an amuse bouche which she proceeded to place on the side table. She showed me the bottle before pouring, as it should be done. The champagne tasted, as expected, great, and the amuse bouche – a little cup of tomatoes and lobster, was very delicious and fresh.

After my second glass of Krug my other flight attendant, Wing, came by to introduce herself and to offer me a pajama, amenity kit, and menus. Wing would prove to be the most efficient of flight attendants – a real gem!

Cathay Pacific recently switched pajamas provider from Shanghai Tang to PYE, a designer that produces pjs using only organic cotton exclusively for CX. The quality was very good indeed, not only of the pajama but of the slippers and eye mask as well. Everything came into a cotton bag that looked very stylish and classy. The amenity kit was produced by Ermenegildo Zegna and featured Aesop products – which is my favorite skin care brand. If you have ever tried any Aesop product, you’ll probably know what I am talking about.



As someone on FlyerTalk had announced recently, the menu doesn’t feature balik salmon anymore. What a shame! The “enhanced” caviar service comes with a similar size (compared to before) of caviar, presented on the original tin box and accompanied by a mother-of-pearl spoon; blinies, eggs, and crčme freche finished the presentation. The caviar, to be fair, was excellent; it was produced my Calvisius, and Italian brand that farm sturgeons and that is, hence, sustainable. The whole thing was very good, but I did miss the excellent balik salmon to go with it…















Before getting the caviar, though, I had gotten another glass of Krug which was served with some cashew nuts.

The supper menu featured, as usual, both Western and Chinese offerings. The whole thing read as follows:



Amuse bouche

A little delight to start the flight


Supper

Caviar and Champagne

Caviar and Champagne, a perfect match

Served with traditional gasrnishes of blinis, chive crčme freche and chopped egg

International Favourites

Mushroom cream soup

Heart of romaine with grilled jumbo prawn

Caesar dressing

Grilled USDA prime beef tenderloin with red wine sauce and Bernaise sauce, parsley potatoes, asparagus and baby carrots

or

Artichoke and cheese cannelloni with tomato and cream sauce

Chinese Favourites

Double boiled ginseng with chicken soup

Cold plate – marinated seaweed with carrot and daikon radish

Cod with sweet wine sauce, served with steamed jasmine rice, baby pak choy and carrots

Cheese and Dessert

Cambozola, Yellow Cheddar, Munster, Herb Goat Cheese

Fresh seasonal berries with sweet rose water

Chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream with raspberry coulis

Red bean soup with lotus seeds (they actually loaded black sesame seeds soup)

Tea and coffee

Pralines


Snacks

Maryland crab cakes with tartar sauce

Roasted beef with sun-dried tomato horseradish mayonnaise on sour dough bread and mesclun salad

Shui gaw noodle soup

Hot pot rice with steamed chicken and black mushroom, served with chicken broth

Ice cream


Breakfast

Starters

Orange or apple juice

Strawberry smoothie

Fresh seasonal fruit

Natural or fruit yoghurt

Assorted cereals

Main courses

Free range eggs – freshly scrambled, fried or boiled served with grilled back bacon, pan-fried pork sausage, Lyonnaise potatoes, grilled tomato and sautéed mushrooms

Dim sum with chili sauce

Shrimp dumpling, siu mai, mini chicken glutinous rice wrapped with lotus leaf, chiu chow dumpling

Sliced beef congee, served with pan-fried pork bun

Bread basked

Assorted breakfast bread and fresh toast served with preserves, honey and butt

Tea and coffe


As you can see, the menu was pretty extensive (for such a late night departure) and varied.

After cleaning my beautifully-set dining table, Wing brought my ginseng and chicken soup. For those of you who don’t know, ginseng is a highly-sought after, expensive ingredient in Chinese cuisine that has many health benefits and that has a very pungent, distinguished taste to which most Westerners wouldn’t be used to at first. Having had ginseng soup for a long time, I came to fully appreciate this root and its properties. The soup – a clear broth – was very tasty, zesty; the chicken was perfectly tender. In a word: yum.







Then, the main dish was served – comprising three small plates with steamed rice, cod, and vegetables respectively. Let me tell you this: it was delicious. I am not sure how they did it, but the cod here onboard was less dry than the one I make at home…! The steamed vegetables had the right crispiness and consistency, and the chili sauce that came with the dish added the right flavor to the steamed rice. This dish totally made me happy and it was a reminder of how healthy and tasty real Chinese cuisine is!





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After finishing up my main I was rather full, but as many of you know I cannot pass on cheese, and so I ordered some Cambozola and goat cheese; these were delivered by Lina in a beautifully-presented plate, together with assorted crackers and grapes. I declined dessert, but I was offered pralines which I gladly took.

Centurion

Great pics! How did you end up in PHX?
<<The report will feature the following sections:1. US Chairman Club in PHX>>

daniellam

It's such a disappointment that CX has chosen not to offer a proper appetizer in addition to the caviar for their supper service.

I like those additional appetizer options that LH offers in addition to caviar (you can even have caviar plus 3 appetizers) before going to the soup and salad.

oneworld82

After finishing to watch my Dickens’ movie (sad and a little boring, to be honest), I went to the lavatory to brush my teeth and get ready to bed. When I came back, Wing was finishing up my bed, which was beautifully made. Anticipating customers’ needs – that’s what really makes a hotel and an airline great!









The bed was very comfortable (I liked the pad), and the cabin didn’t feel too warm at all. The pajamas were of a very nice quality, and didn’t keep me warm either. Within minutes, I fell asleep and rested for a few hours.

After waking up, I checked the map and I saw we still had a good 7 hours to go before getting to Hong Kong. I then called Lina, and I asked her for some desserts – specifically the red beans soup. After a couple of minutes she came back apologizing and informing me that a black sesame seeds soup had been loaded instead of the red beans one. I said it was fine, and she proceeded to prepare it for me – cold as requested. The soup was well prepared and tasty – if you have never tried it before, you should.





I had it with some jasmine tea (delicious) and another glass of Krug. After blogging a while longer, I started – incredibly – to get hungry again and so I ordered the roast beef sandwich with mesclun salad. Lina prepared it for me literally in minutes, and the presentation looked great. Unfortunately, the bread was room temperature and the roast beef a bit too chill (the steak sandwich aboard Etihad Airways was much better), but overall it was a decent snack. Another glass of Krug ensued.





After this snack I dozed off a little longer… 14 hours are a long time on a plane I am starting to realize, but being in First Class, well, I cannot complain. I started watching a Bollywood movie, “Gori Tere Pyaar Mein” featuring Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor; it was quite entertaining, as expected. About three hours before landing, Lina came by asking me whether I wanted breakfast or whether I wanted to wait longer. I said: “sure”, and I asked her for some fruit, a cup of coffee, orange juice, and dim sum. Minutes later Paz came by preparing the table and serving me the fruit platter. We chit chatted a bit and I discovered that this crew is based in SFO and flies only this route; they get two nights in Hong Kong to rest, before flying back. Then, the dim sum ensued. They were very good, just as I remembered from 2 years aback. I poured the remaining Krug into my orange juice and I made myself a nice mimosa for a 3am HKG time breakfast (~lunch time in Dallas, TX). After brekkie I fell asleep for a good hour, before waking up and heading to the restroom to change back into my clothes. I ordered a final cappuccino to wake up, and blogged while watching Nebraska. CX Studio, I must say, impresses me with its choice of programs and movies! There is something for everyone, and the selection is very updated. Top notch.











About 40 minutes before landing the captain took the airwaves up and informed us of an early landing (about 10 minutes). The cabin crew started collecting trash and tiding everything up, and in no time we landed at HKG airport on a cloudy morning. I must also mention that Lina handed me over a survey that I thoroughly filled asking me lots of questions about my overall CX experience, from check-in till landing. I must say: it wasn’t too hard to be generous with this excellent airline.





After landing at break of dawn, we arrived at our gate 10 minutes ahead of schedule. It was a memorable CX flight. The hard product, the crew, the food, the beverages were all top notch. Flying Cathay Pacific is such an amazing guarantee of high, consistent quality that I already look forward to my LAX-HKG-KUL flight over Thanksgiving. Thanks CX for another great experience!

themapelligroup

Here's another oneworld82's trip report. Well detailed with complete descriptions as always. I'm looking forward to reading of Taipei.

Flyingfox

Nice report and pics.

CX's F meals seem to be sliding.

Only offering caviar as a lone starter in F is not acceptible. They need at least one other offering. This isn't the standard for international F class.

For the soup - how about something other than mushroom or lobster for a change?

They need to improve their choice of western mains. Always a steak and a (very bland) pasta. The 2 pasta dishes I had in January just were not good. They had no taste.

And the puddings? Best on intra-asia F flights. On ex-EU and US flights they serve a cake-like thing that looks like it's been baked in a fairy-cake (cupcake) pan, then they drizzle some chocolate syrup or fruit liquid over it and serve it with ice-cream. Can they hire a decent pastry chef or at least CHANGE the offering to something different each month? It's always the same thing. Or red bean soup if you fancy that - but they don't add the sweet rice dumplings to it?

As a side note, they apparently don't serve the cappucino in the fanciful cup anymore - noticed this a while back. But they still do the espressos in the same cups.

Snacks are crabcakes and the same noodle soups. For years!

I realise these things may seem trivial but if you fly with them often it becomes quite an issue.

oneworld82

Flyingfox,
I tend to agree with you. If you fly a product a lot, though, you would probably encoutner the same issue anyways with most carriers. The only two F products with a real, true a la carte experience have been ANA and Etihad so far. Great choice and quality. That being said, while CX options might be not the most varied, the quality was excellent. With them, I thin kthe secret is to stick with the Chinese option - always a guarantee of great quality. On the up-to-come HKG-TPE segment I did try the Western breakfast. To be fair, I was impressed by the quality of the omelette.