A dedicated jetway was available for premium class clientele, so I turned left there and proceeded down it towards the aircraft door. This is always an exciting time for me. After all the anticipation that comes with having booked passage aboard one of the most luxurious and highly regarded services aloft, here I am now at the threshold of that most rarified of realms known as the First Class cabin of a Cathay Pacific 747. It’s one that comparatively few people ever get to experience, but for those that do it’s an experience that will never be forgotten.

Two flight attendants were stationed at the door to greet passengers. Those traveling in Business Class were welcomed warmly and given directions toward their assigned seats. As a First Class passenger, I was greeted by name and escorted directly to my suite. There I was assisted with my carry-on luggage and offered a welcome aboard drink. Might I care for some Champagne, perhaps? Would I ever!! (Yes, please.) Moments later another flight attendant appeared, introduced herself as Jackie, and presented me with a set of pajamas and an amenity kit.



Cathay’s First Class Suite



The First Class seat



There’s plenty of room to stretch out



The amenity kit

As I was settling in to my home for the next fourteen hours, the Champagne arrived with a flourish. Whereas some airlines will simply bring you a glass of Champagne, the ladies of Cathay Pacific offer a proper presentation. After all, we’re talking about Krug Grande Cuvee here, one of the world’s premier quaffs. Both the Champagne and the moment are deserving of the ceremony. It starts with the bottle of Champagne and a fluted glass, both of which are presented on a lacquered tray. The glass is set down and the bottle presented with the label facing me. Once I’d nodded my approval, the Champagne was carefully poured and the welcome aboard was official.

Ahh… It’s good to be back in Cathay Pacific’s First Class.



Krug Champagne ~ Welcome Aboard!

The aircraft operating this afternoon’s 6,870 mile flight along the Pacific Rim to Hong Kong has had quite an interesting history. It was delivered fresh from the factory to Singapore Airlines back in 1993. Following eight years of faithful service it was sold to El Al for whom it toiled until September of 2005 when it was parked for the winter in the Sonoran Desert at Marana, Arizona. In March of 2006, Cathay Pacific showed up, kicked the tires and decided to buy it third hand. Today this nineteen year old airplane looks a bit worn on the outside, but inside she looks as fresh and vibrant as the day she was delivered to Singapore. I am happy to be logging my second flight aboard her, the first having come two years ago between Johannesburg and Hong Kong.

As I savored the crisp effervescence of the Krug, the lead flight attendant stopped by to introduce herself as Nancy along with Jackie and Patsy who would be working with her in the forward cabin this afternoon. She then inquired as to my plans and/or needs once we arrived in Hong Kong. “I’m transiting.” I replied. “I’ll be connecting to the 11:45pm to Johannesburg.” She looked a bit surprised at this and for good reason I’m sure as very few people (other than the odd FlyerTalker or two) would ever choose to travel between North America and South Africa via Hong Kong. I explained that very few people traveling to Africa by whatever route would have the good fortune to be ensconced in Cathay Pacific’s First Class suite while being wined and dined like plutocrats. I then expressed my fervent desire that we might encounter strong headwinds to further extend the experience. She had a good laugh at this and then went back to the galley to inform the crew that I was to be cut off from any further alcohol. Truth be known, my glass was soon refilled and shortly thereafter we began our pushback from the gate.

It was a beautiful day for flying with nary a cloud in the sky. We took quite a long and stately taxi out to the south end of the runway before commencing a 43 second take off roll. One thing I really miss on the 747s is the camera mounted on the bottom of the fuselage just back from the nose wheel. This is standard equipment on the triple sevens and watching the takeoff from that vantage point is quite exciting.

We were still climbing when Patsy stopped by to inquire as to my drink selection. It was only a little after noon and, with fourteen hours of sheer bliss ahead of me, I decided to go easy and start with an Oriental Breeze, one of Cathay’s non-alcoholic Signature Drinks. After all, there’d be plenty of time to check out the various whiskeys and wines available, including the MaCallan 17, a new addition to the list since my last flights with Cathay. Let’s have a look at the wine list for today’s flight:

WINE LIST

Champagne
Krug Grande Cuvee Champagne

White Wines
Estancia Reserve Monterey Chardonnay 2007
Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes 2008

Red Wines
Sauvion Dilection Chinon 2010
Finca El Origen Gran Reserva Malbec 2009
Chateau Lynch Bages 2004, Grand Cru Classe Pauillac 5th Growth

Port
Ramos Pinto Quinta da Ervamoira 10 Year Old Tawny Port

Aperitifs and Cocktails
Campari, Martini Rosso, Martini Extra Dry, Tio Pepe Sherry,
Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sweet Sherry, Tanqueray Ten Gin, Bacardi Rum,
Belvedere Vodka, Bloody Mary, Screw Driver

Whiskies
Chivas Regal 12 Years Old, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Canadian Club,
Gentleman Jack Bourbon, MaCallan 17 Fine Oak Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Cognac
Tesseron Lot 76 XO Tradition

Liqueurs
Cointreau, Drambuie, Kahlua, Bailey’s Irish Cream

Beer
International Selection



Oriental Breeze
A sour-plum tea and cranberry juice based non-alcoholic drink
with honey and fresh lemon juice and a hint of rose water


The luncheon service began soon after we’d leveled off. That is to say it began for all of the passengers except for me. Having just eaten breakfast only three hours before, I elected to hold off until 1:30 before commencing with the culinary festivities that make up the main meal service aboard Cathay Pacific’s First Class. There’s a lot of food involved and I was in no particular hurry to get started. Of course this was not a problem since on Cathay the First Class meal service is tailored to the passenger’s wishes. The crew will happily serve you luncheon at 1:00am if you so desire.

However, since we were on the subject of luncheon, I decided to peruse the menu selections and at least place my order now. Here’s the menu. What would you order?


LUNCHEON
San Francisco to Hong Kong

Caviar and Balik Salmon Delight
Oscietra Caviar and Balik Salmon “Tsar Nicolaj”
Served with Warm New Potatoes and Crème Fraiche

Soup
Fennel and apple soup with caramelized fennel and dill

Salad
Mesclun salad with king crab, tear drop tomatoes and cranberries
Served with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Bread Basket
Assorted Bread and Rolls

** ***** **

INTERNATIONAL FAVOURITES

Grilled U.S. Wagyu Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce
With parsley potatoes, asparagus and baby carrots

Lobster and Crab Ravioli
With roasted red pepper coulis and grilled baby zucchini

CHINESE FAVORITES

Starters
Double boiled conch and mushroom soup
Cold Plate ~ Marinated gluten with cucumber

Kung Po Chicken
or
Stir-fried Sea Bass with Sweet Wine Sauce

Served with steamed rice and stir-fried mixed vegetables

** ***** **

CHEESE AND DESSERT

Camembert, Yellow Cheddar, Danish Blue and Herb Goat Cheese

Fresh seasonal berries with cream

Bread and butter pudding with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce

Black sesame sweet soup

TEA and COFFEE

Pralines


Well now, it all looks so good! Only on Cathay Pacific have I ever started a meal with caviar and salmon. It’s a tradition I’m only too happy to continue, so we’ll start with that please, followed by a salad. For the main course I’ll have the beef tenderloin, cooked medium rare please. As for cheese and dessert, let’s address those after the meal.

My selections were dutifully noted, after which more ice was delivered for my drink. I then spent the next hour or so comfortably reclined while catching up on the latest news in the San Francisco Chronicle and the International Herald Tribune. Occasional glances out my window provided pretty views of the northern California coastline until cloud cover took over around central Oregon.

We were just off the Washington’s Olympic Peninsula when Patsy arrived with my table settings. I watched as she lay crisp white linen followed by silverware, a bread plate, a butter dish, Cathay’s unique egg shaped salt and pepper shaker, two glasses for water and wine and finally a breadbasket fully stocked with three different types of rolls and a piece of garlic bread – my favorite!

One of the highlights of any long flight aboard Cathay Pacific is their caviar and salmon presentation. Very few airlines still serve caviar these days, either due to economics or the drastically reduced availability of good caviar due to environmental contamination and over harvesting of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea and other regional fishing holes. To be sure, Cathay serves a smaller portion than it used to six or seven years ago. Still, given the overall size of the meal to be served, I don’t really mind a smaller portion. Besides, I suspect that if I wanted more, all I’d need to do is ask.



A fine start to any meal

The salad looked every bit as delicious as it ultimately tasted with the green and purple mesclun leaves accented nicely by the colorful red and yellow tomatoes. Generous portions of king crab and a zesty balsamic vinaigrette combined to make this one of the better salads I’ve ever been served aloft.



Mesclun salad with king crab, tear drop tomatoes and cranberries

When placing my order for lunch, I’d been asked how I’d like my steak prepared. That’s not a question I expect to be asked aboard most airlines – even in First Class – and based upon past experiences, it often seems a moot point anyhow. Regardless of whatever you may have requested, you’ll get your meat however it comes out. Be it the oven, the skill of the crew or the quality of the cut, meat can often be quite a challenge to serve in any condition less than well done.

Feeling a bit like Charlie Brown agreeing to once again play kick the football with Lucy Van Pelt, I ever so hopefully requested that my meat be cooked medium rare. Well, I am very pleased to inform all of you that the beef I was presented was a text book perfect example of medium rare meat.


Grilled U.S. Wagyu Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce



Medium Rare

As nicely prepared as the meat was, the potatoes were rock hard. It really was quite an effort to saw through them, much less gnaw on them afterwards. In general though, this was a typically delightful dining experience with Cathay. Now, it was time to consider the cheese and dessert options.

There were four different types of cheeses available and true to a proper presentation, Patsy took the time to bring them out on a small serving tray for my inspection. They all looked good – even the goat cheese which I don’t care for – but ultimately I went with a serving of Danish Blue and Camembert. This was brought to me nicely plated with all the usual accoutrements of a proper cheese service. Of course, I had to accompany it all with a glass of Cathay’s port, the Ramos Pinto Quinta de Ervamoira 10 Year Old Tawny. Mmmm! Delicious!


Cheese Service

By this time I was pretty full and so decided to take a couple of post-luncheon laps around the aircraft. The cabin of a 747 measures out at 185 feet long, so to make two circuits of it is a fair bit of walking. At least – it sure seems like it in a fully loaded 747. And of course, there are numerous obstacles to contend with. No less than four curtains must be breached during the journey from First Class back to the last row of Economy Class. Then there are all the various human appendages to contend with. After a while on a fourteen hour flight, people tend to really spread out and so I found myself constantly trying to avoid or at least minimize contact with all manner of feet, elbows and shoulders that had made their way into the aisles. There were also quizzical looks from the crew at each galley as I made my way back and forth toward the rear or front of the aircraft. Amazingly, I was never challenged as to the legitimacy of my presence in any cabin. This was surprising only in that the crew working the Business and Economy Class cabins hadn’t seen me before and had no way of knowing what cabin I’d been assigned. I’d like to think I just had a First Class bearing about me. After all, this is my twentieth flight aboard Cathay Pacific and none of those flights have been in anything but First Class. The only way to fly…

On the way back to my suite, I stopped in the galley and chatted with Patty and Nancy for a bit. Early on in the flight I’d explained that I was taking pictures of the food and aircraft interior for the benefit of a friend of mine who is a flight attendant for a U.S. airline that didn’t offer First Class service. I’d mentioned that even the US airlines that did offer First Class had no point of reference with which to compare their service with Cathay Pacific’s First Class and so this would be a good opportunity to show my friend what a proper First Class service was like. Well, the girls were curious about what U.S. airline service was actually like and I must say I felt a bit like a camp counselor regaling the kids around the camp fire with yet another scary story as I recounted some of the differences in service products and standards.

Returning to my seat, I decided to check out some of the entertainment offerings. At this point we were about four hours into the flight, passing just south of Eagle River, Alaska. It was sunny and clear out my window so I took a quick photo that I could send to a friend of mine who lives in Wasilla, just up the highway a few miles from Eagle River and also visible from my window. And no, to all you fans of our ex-governor Sarah Palin, it was not yet possible to see Russia – even from 38000 feet.

I was surprised to see that all thirteen episodes from the fourth season of the television show “Breaking Bad” were available on Studio CX, Cathay’s excellent inflight entertainment system. My neighbor, an inveterate watcher of television and movies, introduced me to “Breaking Bad” this winter. Believe me, based upon the premise of the program it’s very unlikely I would ever have watched this show if I hadn’t been introduced to it. For those of you not familiar with the premise, it revolves around a high school chemistry teacher who’s been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Looking to provide for his family after he’s gone, he hooks up with an old student of his (and not one of his better students, either) who happens to make and sell methamphetamine. Combining their individual talents, these unlikely partners go into business making the best damned meth Albuquerque’s ever seen. There’s a lot more to the show than just that, like the fact that his family doesn’t know he’s doing this and his brother in law just happens to be the top DEA agent in Albuquerque. Anyway, the show has won oodles of awards for everything from acting to screen writing to direction and deservedly so. It’s a great show and I’d only seen the first three seasons. Now, with almost ten hours left in the flight, it seemed like a good time to get caught up with season four. Or at least started. And while we’re at it, let’s have some dessert!



Bread and butter pudding with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce



Breaking Bad

With a big comfy seat, excellent entertainment and free food and booze, well, believe me, time just flies by. One episode, two episodes, a glass of MaCallan’s please, three episodes, four episodes and it’s time to check out the snack menu:

SNACKS

Grilled Saffron Marinated Prawns Skewer
With cucumber raita

Grilled Chicken Breast with Brie, Chipotle Mayonnaise and Pesto
Served on sourdough bread with mesclun salad

Hot Pot Rice with Minced Pork Patty, Water Chestnut and Mushroom
Served with chicken broth

Wontons in Noodle Soup

Ice Cream



I’ll have the wontons in noodle soup, please. Cathay presents its soups with a small plate of hot paste that is one of my favorite additives. I believe my fellow esteemed trip reporter Moomba referred to this paste as Lee Kum Kee sauce. I once had a memorable experience with this stuff when I failed to exercise proper restraint and blithely scraped the entire portion into my soup.

Mmmm… ___ !! ___!!! Ay, Carramba!

I was looking forward to a little more of that heat this afternoon but sadly, Cathay appears to have replaced this sauce with something far less fiery. The stuff I was served looked more like chilli sauce than the dark, viscous paste of my nightmares, so it could be that Cathay has chosen to go with something a bit tamer for its patrons because I ended up scraping the entire portion of today’s sauce into my soup and could have easily handled another serving or two worth. That said, I’ve hardly provided empirical evidence that this sauce has been removed from service on Cathay, so I reckon I’m just going to have to order some more soup on my return from South Africa and ask for the paste.



Wonton in Noodle Soup

I’m gonna be busy when I get to South Africa, so I figured I’d better put in some time on this report now while I’ve got the time. Besides, I’ve still got three more flights after this one to work my way through season four of “Breaking Bad”. As such I requested a glass of Johnny Walker Blue Label and set to work.



My favorite office in the air

You know, it takes time to write these reports. I wish I could say the words just flow whenever I decide to write, but sometimes they don’t. That doesn’t mean I’m incapable at that point of writing something halfway cohesive. It’s just more difficult to do so. Some of the best stuff I’ve written – it’s like walking through deep mud to get it written the way I want it. Today was like that. Hey Jackie! Could you fetch me another bottle of Blue Label, please? Tried and true remedy, I’m tellin’ ya…

Suddenly we’re just two hours out of Hong Kong. I’m still in shock at how quickly the past twelve hours have flown by. I’m probably the only one however. Everyone else on this flight – at least the ones in First Class – have been asleep most of the afternoon. I don’t know how they do it. Or why! I mean, here they are sat in one of the finest environments mankind has ever developed for air travel and they’re sleeping through it all in the middle of the afternoon and early evening no less. International First Class, at least that of a standard practiced by Cathay Pacific and a very select few other airlines, is for me at least something to be cherished, relished, celebrated and thoroughly enjoyed while trying to remain conscious as long as possible. Okay, okay, so these JWBs aren’t making it any easier but still, this is not your everyday human experience. It’s truly special to be so comfortably ensconced and nicely looked after whilst speeding across the planet at speeds approaching 600 mph. Sleep? There’ll be plenty of time to sleep later! When enjoying service and comfort this nice, I want to be awake for as much of it as possible. The excitement and anticipation of service this nice is like a drug. God forbid that I should ever become so inured to it all that I just casually dismiss it all by sleeping through most of the flight.

We were an hour and a half out of Hong Kong when Patsy arrived with the table settings for the dinner service. Oddly enough, I hadn’t gotten around to actually placing my order yet, and the crew hadn’t gotten around to asking me. Perhaps I’d been so intent in my writing that they didn’t want to bother me. Except with refills of the JWB, that is. In any event, I had to rummage around a bit to locate the menu. Hmm… let’s see what’s on for tonight…


DINNER

Starter
Fresh seasonal fruit

MAIN COURSES

Pan-Fried Kurubuta Pork Chop with Porcini Mushroom Sauce
Served with mashed potatoes, roasted heirloom carrots, baby zucchini
and caramelized honey shallots

Stir-Fried Beef with Mixed Peppers
Accompanied by steamed jasmine rice, pak choy, mushrooms and carrots

Dungeness Crab Cannelloni with White Cream Sauce
Presented with sautéed Swiss chard

DESSERT

Raspberry Mousse Cake
with chocolate whipped cream

Tea and Coffee

Pralines


I’ve had that Stir-fried beef with mixed peppers before. Given the colorful assortment of peppers involved in its preparation, it’s also been called Rainbow Beef on some of Cathay’s menus. It’s a nice dish but not quite as flavorful as I would like, especially since I really prefer those dishes where the spiciness has been cooked into the food rather than added later, as with a hot sauce. I’ve also seen that Kurubuta Pork Chop making the rounds, both on flights that I’ve been on as well as transcribed menus in trip reports. It’s always sounded good, so that’s what I ordered for dinner tonight. Additionally, I traded out the fruit starter for a skewer of Grilled Saffron Marinated Prawns from the Snacks portion of the menu. The Raspberry Mousse Cake sounded just fine for dessert.

The prawns arrived first, four of them artfully skewed in pairs between red and green peppers. They were delicious and much more satisfying at this time of day than a fruit plate which would have been better suited to breakfast or for health nuts.



Grilled Saffron Marinated Prawns Skewer

Awright then, on to the next course ~ Ah, the pork chop. Very nice indeed – not quite pink in the middle but nicely cooked nonetheless and very nicely flavored via the Porcini Mushroom Sauce. The mashed potatoes were also reeeallly good. I mean like they had both texture and flavor to them. They weren’t just a mass of undefinable protoplasm like some mashed potatoes I’ve been served aloft or eaten on camping trips. By the way, I accompanied the pork chop with a glass of Sauvion Dilection Chinon 2010, a wine that warranted a special insert in the wine list to better extol its virtues. Well I don’t profess to be overly knowledgeable about wines, but I can tell you I much prefer the earthiness of a Cab or the spiciness of a Zin. This stuff though… well let’s just say that one glass was enough. In fact it was too much. I couldn’t even finish it.



Pan-Fried Kurubuta Pork Chop with Porcini Mushroom Sauce

The dessert was excellent except that the chocolate whipped cream was hardly whipped. Or perhaps it had been overly whipped. Either way, it lay in a viscous puddle to the side of the delicious mousse, much like a whipped cream coulis. Thank goodness Gordon Ramsey wasn’t sitting nearby…



Raspberry Mousse Cake

Dishes were cleared, a bottle of water and a glass of ice were delivered and another episode of Breaking Bad followed before we commenced our descent into Hong Kong. As ever, conditions were cloudy with a light rain, temperature of 61°F. If I ever want to enjoy a clear day or night in Hong Kong, I guess I’m just gonna have to move there.

It was 6:17pm locally when our wheels kissed the runway at Hong Kong’s International Airport at Chek Lap Kok. A quick look at my stopwatch indicated we’d completed this 6,870 mile journey from San Francisco in thirteen hours and fifty-eight minutes. A little faster than I would have liked but overall, not bad, not bad…

We parked down at gate 64, right next to a beautiful Emirates A380. This was the first time I had ever even seen one of Emirates’ super jumbos and I must say it wears the Emirates livery well. By the time the jetway was attached to our aircraft it was 6:35 on the dot. While the statisticians will note this as yet another on time arrival for Cathay Pacific, we passengers, especially those of us sat up in First Class, will remember it as yet another shining example of why Cathay Pacific is consistently ranked amongst the world’s finest airlines. Thank you, Cathay Pacific. Well done!

Now let’s go get some sleep in The Pier and do this all over again at in five hours!