Thanks to all the help from flytalk (in earning miles/planning advice & booking tips), I booked a relatively tough to find OW business award for my parents.
DEL->HKG (CX)
HKG->HND (JL)
HND->SFO (JL)
SFO->HKG (CX)
HGK->DEL (CX)

all for a petty sum of 130k AA miles each @:-).
The DEL to SFO is in mid of April and seemed impossible to find (unless I waited for another 3-4 weeks).

Any advice for seats on these flights, food choices (my mom is vegetarian) and lounges?

Learning all the rules and options at FT made this process easier/fun/rewarding.