Capricorn70

Just inside the entrance to the Red Room is a nice display case of JL memorabilia:





A little further in is a sitting area, with a nice wall display of more stuff:






The opposite side of the room is where it's at:

Stemware display, fridge/cooler, and the central island of bubbly joy...


Someone is happy!

At this point I was ready to eat too, but first I dropped off my boots to be serviced by the lady-attendant, who gave me a little card with a time on it for pick-up. A pair of white (!) slippers was provided, so off I went to forage:





Everyone's happy:


Next: A few more shots of this and that, tho not everything was perfect...

Moomba

Nice to see you and Malhoumbeau out and about again. Food on sticks; we must be in Japan.

Looking forward to your CX flight to HGK.

Capricorn70

Thanks Moomba It was a nice flight I can tell you - no complaints from Malhoumbeau on that front either!

Capricorn70

A cute foosball table tucked away in the Red Room... I wonder how much of a racket this would make in this enclave of calm:


Between the Red Room and the buffet/kitchen area is this lovely sculpture:




Notice the background - the characters are actually hanging from the ceiling to create a 3-D effect:




A close up of the bar offering:


What I was really looking forward to was Yamakazi and Hibiki whiskeys, which were available when Jermyn was there. No such luck for me:


The coffee machine was serviceable - nothing to write home about. The very utilitarian juice dispenser also served its purpose well. Keep this in mind when later I'll contrast this with CX's offering in their new J lounge, my next stop:


But first my massage appointment was nigh, which I made soon after I'd arrived at the lounge. Here's the entrance to the massage area, just next to the sculpture:


Just as Jermyn enjoyed the boot service, I too appreciated that perk. Happiness is (on top of everything else) admiring a shiny pair of boots while waiting for a massage:


Next up: last bite on the ground in one lounge, surprise tipple in another...

Capricorn70

Having learned from Jermyn's experience with the massage, I knew not to take off my shirt , although I wasn't used to being worked on through two layers of fabric: shirt and towel. Still it was a nice perk, and 30 minutes just slipped by.

By now it was almost mid-morning, and two hours since breakfast, so a little bit of sweets was in order:


A lovely view from the sitting area to the left of the entrance. I was mindful of lunch on board, so abstemiousness ruled the day:


Not a bad layering for a self-served kir royale, tho Malhoumbeau didn't really care about that

With about 45 minutes to scheduled boarding time, I made my way to CX's new J lounge. Being on the top floor, the location offers a brighter and more open feel than JL's F lounge:


The contrast with the darker wood interior vs. JL's marbled and light colour scheme also helps emphasise the light and the amount of glass that wraps around the space. This is a slight right-ward view at the entrance:


And to the left is the signature noodle bar. I thought the gloss of the dark tiles works well to reflect the light from the open glass wall:


Some buffet items:




And offerings from the noodle bar:

Since I had previously sampled the noodle items at the Wing at HKG, I did not order any this time around. The Japanese breakfast items looked interesting too, but I was saving myself for what I knew to be a big lunch coming in a couple of hours.

At the other end of the lounge is a spacious sitting area with very comfy leather armchairs:


Part of the drinks offering:

Note that the juices are in jars. Even though I did not taste the orange juice, I did look closely, and it looked to have some pulpy bits - i.e. nicer than the MinuteMaid from a dispenser at JL's F lounge. It is a small point, but I think a notable one when you're talking about this level of perks between competitors.

Next: next point of comparison in tipple...

Capricorn70

Two shots from the bar end of the lounge that show the light-flooded openness of the place:



Floor-to-ceiling glass does that.

Back at the bar area:


The mirror adds to the overall effect nicely:


Do you spy what I spied?


Score 1:


Score 2:

Neither of these had the vintage on the label, unlike what Jermyn showed previously available at JL's F lounge (Hibiki 17 and Yamakazi 12 I think) as self-serve items. Here the bartender serves you.

I was so chuffed I had to sit down to taste and compare them:

Malhoumbeau didn't see what all the fuss was about, but I deffo prefer the mellowness of Hibiki over the much more assertive edge of Yamakazi (which I was later told was more a whiskey drinker's thing, or what I call "more than a soupçon of turpentine" - sacrilege I know ) [I have no idea what's going on with the size of my pics - this just showed up ginormous]

I think CX's J lounge compares very favourably with JL's F - I could see myself being very comfortable in there. The food items may be more elaborate and varied in JL F, but not having sampled any at this CX J lounge I think that verdict is still out. I was so focused on the whiskeys I completely neglected to find out about the champagne tho, which was a shame. I think the bottom line is this: if a J lounge is a toss up against an F one, then the J is doing something right for sure.

The entrance to the lounge as I made my way to the gate about 5 min to boarding:


Her RR-powered majesty:

In a few minutes I'd be looking out from the other side of those 3 windows at the very front.

Next up: prelude to the main event

Capricorn70

Had seen enough TRs and pix about CX F on the 747 to know what to expect, but it's still a bit of a 'wow' to see just how spacious the seat is:


Between a throne that can accommodate 6 of you, and a nice glass of Deutz, the choice is clear:


Across the aisle was an unoccupied 1K today:


Similarly spacious and exclusive bathroom, comparable to BA's, and the Aesop products are a nice touch:


Two full windows!


There was ample legroom (for further admiration of newly-serviced boots!)


Eventually there'd be 5 pax in all. The one behind me went straight to sleep, coughing and snoring in turn. Notice the one in 2K and his mask...


There IS something to be said about having 3 windows on a 747 - not the same on any other model:


The orchid at my seat had most definitely seen much better days!


In this day and age, no pic and it didn't happen, right? Behold Mt. Fuji (from 1K):


Next: slowly getting there... kaiseki in the sky

Capricorn70

After take off, more bubbly, with snacks, so that one can read the menu carefully:


This came with a bamboo folder, but I decided to take it out for easy snapping:


Preamble:


Western lunch items:


The real deal:

Notice the mention of sake at the bottom.

I skipped the hot drinks page here.

Regular wine list - bubbly and whites:


Reds and port:


I skipped the spirits and cocktail page here.

Wine promotion:


The Lafitte was not loaded today:


Reds:


There was a nice couple of pages on the regions of the promotion too, but I skipped those.

Next: Mahlzeit!

Capricorn70

Clean and floral sake, with a chilled, frosted glass, in anticipation of the first course:


Sushi, and CX's little welcome card:

Perhaps it wasn't fair to compare sushi in the air - even if it's in F - with some of the better fare on the ground? How the pieces looked and tasted would be on par with some better fast-food type places in North America, but not with any respectable restaurant in this instance. Or - some of the department store sushi I'd had in Tokyo were a good deal better. A miss. Perhaps sushi doesn't stand up well to the blast-chill and thaw cycle during preparation? What is sushi like in F on JL or NH ex-Japan?

The flight attendants who took turn serving drinks and food were personable, and thus matched the sentiment on the hand-written note. I could see how any mismatch between the two could have a glaring effect tho:


Appetizer - the description was quite elaborate, but the taste and texture of the various elements weren't distinctive enough to make an impression to match the initial one from reading the menu. Also a miss. The apple liqueur in a different frosted glass was the stand out tho:


The Bouscaut 2012 for a change of pace:

Not being very knowledgeable about wine, I could only go by how I liked it, and it was a nice match with the rest of the meal items.

The braised course - vegetarian; clear soup:

Visually much more appealing than the previous courses, and the flavours of the various elements were much more distinctive yet harmonized. The clean and subtle flavours of the fish and vegetables in the soup were also nicely blended. A hit for both.

A feast for the eyes that was the main course spread:


Side dish:


The noodles were under the bean curd pieces - the broth for them is in a jar on the tray:


Assorted pickles:


To be continued...

Capricorn70

The hot dish - fish and beef:

I get the intention of providing contrast in flavour and texture, but unfortunately these weren't the best examples of good fish or beef in F - I've had better of both in J - in texture, flavour and presentation. A miss.

A nice palate cleanser, which could hardly be messed up:


Setting up for proper dessert:


From the western menu - apricot cheese cake and the fixings:

This hit the spot really nicely.

After all the anticipation, I have to say the kaiseki meal was on balance underwhelming in and of itself, despite individual hits of some elements. The hard product and service were all on par with expectations. Perhaps NH or JL would do better, especially if it's proper long-haul. One day I hope to find out!

Arrival at HKG was no fuss, and not 20 min after disembarking Malhoumbeau was in his element once more:

Although only one type of bubbly was on hand, versus 2 the last time a few years back.

I never get tired of this view from the Wing:


Despite the pacing of the pix, 3 hours had elapsed since lunch, and it was around tea time in HKG, so this spread was not unwelcome:


The pear tart would turn out to be fab:




Lucky for me a cabana was available (which I had secured before venturing out for nibbles) - note the modest amount of food, since my other quest apart from the kaiseki on this whole trip was yet to come:


Next up: new Pier F lounge

Capricorn70

Tummy filled once more, for now, and it was time to make my way all the way down the terminal to the Pier, where the new F lounge was the other main part of the whole set up of this trip. Here's the entrance down one level from the concourse:

Nice spot-lighing on the logo.

Inside the entrance, a view to my right:

This leads to the showers and day rooms

Looking straight ahead:


This leads to a sitting area...

A similar style table to the one in the entrance hall area

And it opens up nicely:


Trolley of port and nibbles:


Back into the entrance hall, looking into the pantry:


Inside the entrance, to your left, the bar area, where you can mix your own signature cocktail:


The spread of food in the middle:


The other side of the room, more drinks on offer:


Next up: the tour continues

mkjr

Wow. What a marginal booze selection in ANA’s F lounge. Is that all they had? That is weak. Perhaps it was never as good as JL's F lounge at its peak....It is nice that CX appears to have at least bucked up a little for a few local selections but the Harmony and the Distiller’s reserve leads me to the conclusion that their stocks of the old stuff are gone and even they can not source at a reasonable price. It is every surprising that ANA does not even get these pretty reasonably priced selections. Neither is more than say 4500Y....

Hope you at least managed to pick up some of the Hibiki when it came into the LCBO going 6 months ago now.

Capricorn70

That was JL's F lounge at HND, not NH's - sorry if I was unclear. But yes I wasn't too impressed by their booze selection on the day, in contrast to Jermyn's previous visit and TR.

I did manage to get a bottle of Hibiki 17 in Hong Kong later on the trip, and am enjoying that lots. Haven't seen any at LCBOs (a provincially owned liquor store in Ontario, Canada) yet, but I know friends have gotten some Harmony from them.

arlflyer

The first time I visited the JL F lounge at NRT, they had the Hibiki 21. It was real good, and I'm betting that it went real fast, because I never saw it again there or anywhere for that matter.

Capricorn70

Yeah I want to try some too, but what I really wanted when I was in Tokyo was the new release cherry cask... of course there was none to be had anywhere! Before I got the 17 I'd tried some Harmony a few months back, and I remember the difference even with that time lapse. LOVING the smoothness of the 17 at the moment - or as i call it 'lack of turpentine'