I was warmly welcomed into the same cabin that I stepped off around 2 hours ago, but this time I was seated in 2K instead of 1K. A more extensive choice of pre-departure drink than the Hong Kong flight was offered, which consisted of champagne, water, orange juice and apple juice. Also, unlike the previous flight, slippers were offered as well.
I pulled out all my flight gears from my carryon, including my comfortable Qatar pajamas, and quickly changed into them in the rather large bathroom. On this long haul flight, Harnn products were used, whereas on the short flight to Taipei, it was a no name Chinese brand, I don’t really know why.
After settling myself back in my comfortable seat, hot towels were offered along with the meal and beverage menu. The flight purser came around and confirmed that my prime rib steak and noodle soup was loaded onboard. “Mr. Tang, would you like to start the meal off with perhaps a glass of Dom Perignon?” Yes please. You can just hand me the entire bottle and I would finish it off before meal ends, I thought to myself, but that would be a little too greedy.
Because of the delay, the crew closed the doors as soon as all passengers were accounted for, and thankfully the captain came over the PA and announced that although there was a 30-minute delay, we would be able to arrive Toronto more or less on time.
The Rimowa kit was distributed as soon as our plane leveled off at 34,000 feet. I have one already so I’m probably going to give this to one of my family members. My table was dressed in anticipation of the meal, and I chose to watch Oprah’s The Butler on the entertainment screen to accompany my dinner.
First, a bowl of assorted nuts was offered along with my glass of Dom. It tasted so good that one of the flight attendants read my mind. She walked by and offered me another bowl of the good stuff.
Then, the appetizer dish was presented which consisted of a duck terrine with raspberry jello, which was quite delicious. I chose to have a glass of the French red wine to go with this.
Bread was also offered, to which I chose my favorite garlic bread.
The soup for tonight was a creamy mushroom soup that was piping hot and delicious as well.
Up next, I was expecting the main course, but oh no, there was another course which was the salad. Seriously, I was not expecting a five-course meal flying business class. This was a little too much, and what a difference compared to the dinner I had on the midnight flight out of Toronto.
The main course was the beef and I prayed to God that it was not completely well done. My prayers were answered and it came out to be medium rare, just how I like it.
Also on this flight was a proper cheese platter served with fruits and crackers, which was much appreciated.
After dinner, I was feeling rather tired after the three glasses of Dom and a glass of red wine. I think I fell asleep somewhere around when Cecil Gaines was serving his fifth or was it sixth president? I don’t really know.
The bed was comfortable and the duvet as well that I managed to be unconscious for the better half of the flight, occasionally waking up to drink my bottle of water.
When I was gently awaken by one of the FA’s, BR 36 was around 2:10 hours out of Toronto. I was slightly conflicted, on the one hand, it was good that I got a good night’s sleep, but on the other hand, I knew this was going to be one long night and certainly not very helpful to combat my jet lag.
I start off “breakfast” with a glass of apple juice, followed by a cup of Ti Guan Yin.
The noodle soup was presented afterwards. I took a few slurps and found it to be utterly inedible. It was seriously one of the worst dishes I’ve had on a plane.
Seeing as I barely touched the bowl of noodles, one of the FA’s came by and asked what’s wrong. I told her the noodles were really not that great and she apologized. She also offered to get me something else but I declined, because I wasn’t feeling that hungry anyways.
So, I finished breakfast off with a plate of fruits. You can’t go wrong with fruits.
By the time my table was cleared, we were around an hour away from landing. I decided this was a good time to change out of my pajamas and back to my street clothes. I returned to my seat and a flight attendant came by to offer me a choice of candies as well as a last round of hot towels.
BR 36 landed at Toronto Airport at 8:45 p.m. more or less on time, a short taxi led us to the gates at the international wing of Terminal 1. This concludes my trip report, thanks all for reading!