First Class, BA286, SFO-LHR, May

Duck Spring Rolls Amuse Bouche

I would have never ordered these since I don’t like duck, but, I do like a good spring roll. They seemed as fresh as any I’ve had at Asian restaurants, which was a bit surprising, as they clearly had to have been prepared in advance. The rice paper wasn’t dried out or gummy, the shredded carrot and cucumber inside were crisp. The duck shreds tasted like … duck, so I didn’t like that part. The hoisen sauce however was so delicious, and the other components so fresh tasting, that I just picked out the duck and gladly ate the veggie spring roll.

I liked this, but obviously wish it didn’t have the duck, and was shocked by the quality of this amuse bouche. It made me really look forward to the rest of my meal! My only complaint? Not enough hoisin sauce, as I really wanted to smother my roll in it.


Soon after the amuse arrived, a server came by with a bread basket. The basket contained white, wheat, or cranberry rolls. I’m not much of a bread person, and I already had plenty of food coming, but, I couldn’t resist trying the cranberry roll.

Of course, had I known it was sourdough, I certainly would not have done so. The rolls were served warm, but it was a bit gummy, and stale tasting. And, sourdough, which I hate. But even if it wasn’t sourdough, it was not good. I’d skip the bread in the future.


Starter: Salmon Trio

Finally, time for my starter, the salmon trio: “hot-smoked salmon on fingerling potato salad, salmon rillette and Balik-style salmon”

I was very impressed when this arrived. No skimpy portions here, each dish in the trio was a sizable portion. At this point I was glad I hadn’t decide to order that ravioli starter in addition, between the amuse bouche and this portion size, I was certainly going to have plenty of food. Plus, you know me, I was eyeing the dessert menu!

The three preparations of salmon were accompanied by a lemon wedge, and a caper berry, both very much appreciated, and a slice of garlic bread.

I started with the salmon rillette, inside the little bowl. It seemed to be a mix of different levels of cooked/cured-ness, half seemed raw, the other half seemed more cooked. It was good, but the flavor wasn’t that strong, and I found it a bit one dimensional. I desperately wanted a creamy component to go with it. I think I was supposed to spread it on the provided slice of garlic bread. The bread had a generous amount of butter and garlic inside, which was super flavorful, but the bread itself was spongy and not warm. I did end up scraping all the garlic out, it was quite tasty. Garlic and salmon seemed like a strange pairing though.

Next, I moved on to what I decided must be the potato salad, as nothing on the plate jumped out at me as "potato salad". It seemed to be the same salmon as the rillette, but layered on top of thinly sliced potatoes, with a cream (crème fraîche perhaps?), garnished with dill. The potatoes were perfectly cooked, still a bit al dente. I love classic potato salad, and the cook on the potatoes is a crucial part for me, and so many places fail to get this right. I don’t want them mushy, but I don’t want them undercooked and hard either. I like just a bit of bite. And these were perfect. The cream was also fantastic, exactly what was missing from the rillete preparation, and it also complimented the potato perfectly. The dill added a burst of flavor, and I really appreciated the detail of having a tiny little garnish like this.

Finally, the Balik-style salmon. It was also good, nice firm, fresh fish, but it didn’t have a whole lot of flavor on its own, and again, I wanted something to go with it. Of course, I also can’t help but compare it to the last salmon I had on a plane, the downright incredible salmon with caviar on Cathay Pacific, which I still think is the best smoked salmon I’ve ever had in my life, not just including on a plane.

Overall, this was a very impressive dish, particularly the quantities, and I loved that they composed it as a trio, fine dining style. The potato salad was hands down my favorite, and I’d gladly order it again. The Batik-style was my second favorite, followed by the rillette, as it was just a bit too plain for me.


Main Dish: Chanterelle Mushroom Cannellini.

Soon after came my main dish, the one I picked from the bistro selection rather than the main menu, described as “chanterelle mushroom cannellini with blistered tomato, caramelised chanterelle mushroom and smoked aubergine cream”. Served on the side was a little dish of parmesan cheese that I could sprinkle on as I desired.

I was momentarily surprised when the dish arrived, and realized that I’d mistakenly read “cannellini” as “cannelloni”, and I was expecting long filled tubes of pasta, not ravioli shaped.

I’m not entirely sure what was inside the ravioli, I think there was mushroom and standard ricotta, but I really did not care for the filling. It was mushy, and just tasted weird. The ravioli themselves were cooked ok, and I liked the bit of al dente bite to the edges.

On top was a very thick sauce, “smoked aubergine cream”. It wasn’t really what I’d call a “cream”, but it had a fantastic smokey flavor, and I really liked it. It made me wish I wanted bread, so I’d have something to use it on. Instead, I resorted to using the edges of the ravioli. The aubergine cream could have stood alone as a soup too, and would have been good that way.

Also included were a bunch of mushrooms on top, not caramelized as advertised, but a bit meaty, decently cooked, and very flavorful. They went well with the aubergine cream. There was also a single blistered tomato, which made me laugh a bit. It was also nicely cooked. I somehow expected the sauce to actually have the tomato incorporated into it, but that was just me making the assumption that pasta dishes should always have a marinara sauce. Or at least that there would be more than one tomato. But, when I re-read the description, I saw that this was exactly as advertised, "with blistered tomato", singular.

Overall, this dish reminded me of the ravioli I had on Virgin America, where I liked the edges, and not the filling. It also just didn’t seem first class quality, which, somewhat makes sense, as it came from the bistro menu, not the full dinner menu. The gnocchi from American Airlines still remains the best pasta I’ve had on a plane.


Club World Dessert: Mousse.

The mousse was a layered creation.

The bottom was a thin plain cake, a bit dry, very boring. I didn’t like this component, and only tried a few bites of it. Atop that was a very light and fluffy passionfruit mousse. I appreciated the consistency and lightness of it, but I didn’t love the flavor. As I said, I wouldn’t have ordered this, and the reason is that I tend to dislike passionfruit desserts. Not that I dislike passionfruit, in fact, I quite like fresh passionfruit, but passionfruit desserts always taste fake to me. Above the fluffy mousse was a thin layer of mango glee and white chocolate shavings. I liked the contrasting crunch from the shavings. On the outside were thin chocolate ribbons, that didn’t extend into the dessert at all.

This dessert was quite pretty, with nice layers and garnishes, although it was given to me with the plastic wrapper still on it. I’m guessing this is because the attendant is not used to serving this dessert, as I said, it came from business class.


Breakfast Starter: Muesli, decaf coffee.
Even though I was crazy tired, I went for a decaf coffee, which was very dark and very strong. I’m still not sure it was decaf, but it wasn’t my style, as I prefer a medium or light roast. Sugar and milk were offered alongside.

Now, for the muesli. Let me just start by saying that I adore muesli. Well ok, I haven't actually liked any I've had within the US, but when I lived in Sydney, I fell in love with bircher muesli. I desperately hoped that this would be like Australian muesli. Even on the Qantas flights I took to/from Sydney, the muesli was better than any I’ve had in the US. But when I recently flew on Cathay, the muesli was just granola-like cereal, not the stewed version I knew and loved. I had no idea what style this would be.

It was much closer to the Australian muesli, as it was soft and clearly had been stewed together with little chunks of apple and plump raisins. However, the base was too strong on the yogurt for my liking. Perhaps it was just the type of yogurt, not my thing. I did love the consistency, and the shredded coconut on top.


Breakfast Breads: Danish.
A few minutes after I started my muesli, the breakfast bread service began. Just like with dinner, I was presented with a basket of assorted bread choices, all warm. This time there were croissants, toast, more of the same cranberry rolls, and danishes. None looked particularly good, but, I can’t ever resist breakfast pastries, so I selected the danish, not having any idea what kind it was.

Inside was a sweet cheese, which was ok, but not remarkable. The pastry itself however was as bad as it looked, not flaky, clearly not fresh. At least it was warm? I certainly wouldn’t get this again, and didn’t bother finish it. The little jar of jam it was served with was decent quality strawberry jam by Wilkin & Son, which I’d see again on a later flight with my scones, but didn't make sense with my danish.


English Breakfast Tea.
Around this time, my coffee ran out. I knew I wanted a hot beverage to go with my upcoming waffles, but I really didn’t like the coffee, so I wasn’t eager for another. I noticed that everyone else around me had ordered pots of tea. Not to stereotype, but, the British are known for their tea, so … I decided to get a pot, even though I don’t normally drink much tea. The selection was all by Twinings, and contained several black teas, some herbals. Of course I picked the English Breakfast.

The presentation was as cute as you would expect, a full pot, served with a little pitcher of milk, and sugar packets on the side.

The tea was excellent, perfect with milk and sugar. The British know how to do tea, that is for sure. I wish that they had Splenda, since I was having so much sugar in my waffles, but they only had regular sugar.


Pecan waffles with sautéed bananas and cinnamon honey.
And finally … the waffles!

Now, I knew I was ordering waffles on a plane. When I had told my mom I was excited for breakfast and for waffles in particular, she scoffed at me, saying “Julie, you are going to be on an airplane - the waffles will not be good”. And, she had a point. My cafe at work makes fresh waffles daily, and I stopped eating them long ago, as they are never as good as I want them to be. I have specific desires for waffles: crispy outside, moist inside, interesting flavor, and decadent toppings. Surely, there was no way these would be good.

The description said “pecan waffles with sautéed bananas and cinnamon honey”. I didn’t know quite what to expect, but I assumed the pecan would be in the waffle batter, that they’d look like thin soggy Eggos, and have some warm bananas on the side, perhaps drizzled with honey. I also just assumed there would be a pot of syrup, even though it wasn’t mentioned, because, well, don’t waffles always need syrup?

I was a bit wrong in my expectations, in all ways.

First, the waffles didn’t look anything like a thin, flimsy Eggo. My plate had two waffles, both super crispy. And, even better, a bit caramelized on the outside. The pecans were not inside the batter, but rather a garnish on top, a scattering of pecan halves. While the base flavor of the waffle wasn’t anything remarkable, they really win for the texture. How they made waffles actually crispy and not soggy and moist from being microwaved on a plane I have no idea. I was shocked.

I was also wrong to expect a pot of syrup. Rather, the waffles were drizzled with the honey. I didn’t taste cinnamon, but it was sweet and sticky, and even though the whole thing was a sweet overload, I couldn’t help by use my waffles to soak up every last drop of the honey sauce. I would have preferred it on the side though so I could add it as I wanted, rather than having some pieces really coated in syrup, and others not at all.

The bananas were the only disappointment on the plate, a pile of soggy, lukewarm, mushy, bananas.

Overall, this was actually quite good, and I shocked myself by finishing the plate in record time. I’d certainly order this again, for breakfast, or, even for dessert, as it did outshine the desserts the night before. It was worth waking up for.