Flight 2 - CX 542

Hong Kong - Tokyo Haneda (HKG-HND)
Operating Aircraft : B-HKT
Aircraft Type : Boeing 747-400
Miles : 1,803
Seat : 2A

How about a quiz before we begin this segment ?

On Cathay Pacific flights to Japan, in-flight announcements are made in all of English, Cantonese and Japanese. However, one short announcement is made in Japanese only. Do you know what announcement that is ? The answer is at the end.




Typhoon Usagi, the name from the Japanese word meaning rabbit, was on its way to Hong Kong and scheduled to hit the day after my flight (i.e. while I am writing this trip report).





The Champagne Bar at the entrance of the FCL section of the Wing - stocked today with Moet, Veuve Cliquot and a Peninsula-branded bottle.





The main seating area of the FCL section of Wing.





The Haven Bar just outside the Haven restaurant in the FCL section of the Wing.





The Haven Restaraunt in the FCL section of Wing.





The Atrium in the JCL section of Wing. Prior to the re-opening of the FCL lounge in February this year, this section was reserved for FCL passengers and offered a continental breakfast spread along the long bar until 11 am, which was replaced by a selection of hot food afterwards.





The reception in the JCL section of Wing. (The FCL reception is just before the Champagne Bar.)





The main seating area in the JCL section of Wing.





Cathay Pacific's famed frequent flyer refectory - the Noodle Bar in the JCL section of Wing.





The Coffee Loft in the JCL section of Wing.





While I was deciding what to eat, I remembered someone suggesting that I instead visit the older G16 lounge which receives almost no love from passengers - he said it would be much less crowded and that it also served some very nice breakfast including a much more authentically Hong Kong style of noodles. And he was completely right.

Efficiently - and very Japanese-like, at G16, you hand in a form where you mark the toppings you desire (fish balls, squid balls, wonton dumplings, shui gaw dumplings, mushrooms and vegetables) and your choice of noodles (white flat noodles, or egg noodles) and the noodles are made in front of you. The above is bowl one of two that I had - really very yummy; I definitely prefer the noodles here to those in the more well-known Noodle Bar.

G16 is a Cathay Pacific JCL lounge, so if you will be departing from HKG and have the access rights, I'd strongly suggest a visit to its noodle kitchen. And soon. G16 will be closing down to make way for an expansion of the Qantas lounge here that is scheduled to open early 2014, in the style of their recent and very successful remodeling in Singapore.





After the meal, it was time for some quiet time at a Cabana back at the Wing. Knowing these were popular, when I got there at 12:30 pm, I was prepared to have to wait but one was available right away. It's not difficult to see their immense popularity - my phone and camera recharged (the staff has socket adapters) at the desk while I did the same in the bathtub.

And what a generously-sized bathtub this was. At six feet tall, I had never "lied flat" in a bathtub until now. Perhaps not a savory analogy but it was as long as a coffin, and wider and deeper than one. Not sure what more of a bath tub one could ask !! It did take about fifteen minutes to fill up but the water was hot enough for a very relaxing soak.

Napped for an unexpected lenghty forty minutes on the sofa after the bath - it would have been great if a blanket was provided as the air flow is quite strong (presumably to keep the place dry), but I made do wearing the bathrobe and covering myself with the second of two large towels.

There is a sign in the Cabana requesting the stay be limited to 1.5 hours. I went over that slightly but no one came to knock on the door. During my stay, the staff was also happy to fetch me a bottle of water, though I did not ask if food / other drinks were allowed in the Cabanas. I think they are but you just need to get them yourselves. Overall, I had such a great and relaxing time in the Cabana, I left a tip.





There is also a free ironing service which I didn't use on this short flight to Tokyo, but did on my late night CX 888 flight earlier to Vancouver to get my clothes pressed and folded while I changed into my own pjyamas. You leave the clothes in a closet by the door that is accessible from both inside and out of the Cabana, and press a button. If I remember correctly, it took around ten minutes for the clothes to be returned.

(You can also "plainly" see which side of the should-people-dress-up-for-an-FCL-flight discussion I stand on.)







Refreshed from my bath (oh, bathsalts would have been nice !! I must remember for my next trip) and nap, I grabbed a plate to eat from the Haven Restaurant and sat down at the bar. A set with napkin and utensils is provided at the entrance of the Haven Restaurant for those like me who prefer "take-out".

I do indeed prefer sitting here than inside the Haven Restaurant - you can do much more people watching / meeting on a bar stool, and it was fascinating watching the bartenders work as well. In the photo above you can see my bartender Cag, which was very friendly and juggled the various drinks order with aplomb. He even suggested drinks for me that matched the kids' colors.

The green drink on the left was particularly delicious, it's the M3 Margarita with honeydew melon.