Take off was pretty quick and we were off above the clouds! The cloudy day in Chicago meant that there wasn't much views to be had on take-off. Immediately after the seat belt sign was turned off, the senior purser came over to close all the windows, and the wonderful Ms. Bang came over to provide the menu and explain that first class passengers can order the meal at anytime and i went ahead for the meal to be prepared in half an hours time. I chose to mix and match the order taking the Korean course with an additional cheese cake dessert. Whilst waiting for the meal, i played around the seats and the senior purser spoke with pride of the new plane.
First Class Menus
Front Middle Seats
I also explored the first class lavatory a bit before meal service started. It was small like any other lavatory, and a far cry from the one in the 747 of Cathay's First Class. There was ample amenities stocked inside including toiletries from L'Occitane and their Green Tea fragrance. It was an ample space to freshen up I guess, though they only had one lavatory for the whole cabin of 8 in First, with a separate lavatory for crew only.
First Class Lavatory
Lavatory Amenities
Seat in Full Recline Bed Mode
One of the things I enjoy most flying is being able to watch movies while having the meal. And in Asiana Suites, this is done in full HD with their 32-inch screen. Thus I started watching The Bourne Legacy with the commencement of meal service.
HD Movie with Fine Dining on a Jet
Started the meal service with dates and pine nuts, and I had more ginseng tea with honey! Perfect combination ever! Next came the caviar service, and the generous portions with a mother of pearl spoon surpassed Cathay's caviar offerings. I ordered champagne with the caviar and Ms. Bang actually proactively offered both the Taittinger and Pol Rogers, with my taste buds preferring the latter. After the amazing caviar, the prawn appetizer with pine nuts was somewhat disappointing!
Starter of Dried Date, Ginseng and Pine Nut
Caviar service will all the Sides
Shrimp Appetizer with Pine Nut Dressing
However the next Korean starter of Pumpkin porridge is actually more like pumpkin bisque and it was delicious and served to warm the taste buds. This was a good soup to follow on to the next course of Bibimbap with Bulgogi short ribs, which was a very filling main course. The bibimbap is very tasty though the short ribs was somewhat tough and taste a bit like jerky. I've definitely had better short ribs in Vancouver!
Korean Pumpkin Porridge "Hobakjuk"
First Class Dining of Korean Bibimbap
Korean Galbi BBQ Short Ribs
The side dishes of kimchi, egg rolls, seaweed and sweet anchovies was a nice accompaniment as well. I even asked for more seaweed to snack on. I had both the Korean and western desserts and it comprised of three plates, namely fresh fruits, Korean traditional sweets and the cheesecake! Paired with the icewine, it was just heavenly!
Korean Side Dishes
Pouring Pol Roger Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill 1999 Champagne with the meal
Fruit Platter
Korean Traditional Sweets
Cheesecake with Blueberries
Jackson-Triggs Vidal VQA Icewine 2008 to end the meal
Finally, Ms. Kim came over with truffles and offered me their whole selection of teas! That is what I call great service, though being the only passenger with 2 attendants definitely helped. The whole experience till this point was flawless, and definitely better than my Cathay Pacific First experience.
Tray of Tea Selection
Pralines at the end