UA 837 SFO NRT 1100 1510 744 15A Ch9^

Upstairs for one of the last times, if not the last. It used
to be so exciting - one would anticipate for days after
snagging the throne in the sky, ahead of the then not so
abundant 1Ks and the captains (well, lieutenants maybe) of
industry. Now, this spot, which I chose for sentimental
reasons only, is just another pod in a larger pod. It faces
backward, which I don't mind, and it still has the side bin,
which I like a lot.

Our flight attendants were veteran and professional, the
kind you fantasize about pouring you Courvoisier all night.

The wine on offer was Bourgogne (Nicolas Potel) 12, about as
ordinaire as you can get. There was a bit of that meaty
cherrylike Pinot taste, but mostly what you got seemed to be
signs of chaptalization. I quickly switched to my usual for
the rest of the flight.

TO BEGIN

Chilled Appetizer
Prosciutto and melon and California sushi roll

Fresh Seasonal Greens
Tomatoes, Kalamata olives, Parmesan cheese
and croutons with your choice of GF ranch dressing
or Italian vinaigrette

I just said no.

MAIN COURSE

Grilled Pork Chop
Green peppercorn sauce, shiitake mushroom bread pudding,
white asparagus and broccolini

Cajun-style Breast of Chicken
Cajun cream sauce, white beans with chicken sausage,
collard greens and grilled onions

Newburg-style Seafood
Fillet of turbot and shrimp with a creamy lobster sauce,
green lentils and mixed vegetables

Japanese Selection
Appetizers of steamed crab and chicken skewer, lotus
root in lemon cup, plum daikon and celery

A main course of mixed seafood with vegetables and
mushroom, clear soup with fish cake, salmon, vinegared
octopus, simmered tofu, mushroom and sugar snap pea,
steamed rice and Japanese-style pickles

I chose the Newburg, still having fond memories of the
turbot United used to serve decades ago out of Europe. This
time the texture was almost right, but the fish, as oceanic
protein so often is these days, seemed to have come right
out of a detergent bath. Very meaty shrimp, almost too firm.
The sauce had probably been introduced to a lobster once at
a dance or something. I liked the lentils; for some reason
I almost always like lentils. Maybe in a previous lifetime
I was born in a kawali or something.

TO FINISH

International Cheese Selection
Grapes and crackers served with Port

Dessert
Ice cream with your choice of toppings

I passed in favor of a Courvoisier.

MID-FLIGHT SNACK

Assorted Sandwiches
Sun-dried tomato basil tortilla wrap with turkey and cheddar
Hummus and Pepper Jack cheese

Red Bean Rice Cake

I like red bean mochi. I remembered just before the end
of the flight to get one, hurrah.

PRIOR TO ARRIVAL

Herbed Scrambled Eggs
Potato gratin and turkey sausage

Pork Katsu
Curry sauce, udon noodles and mixed vegetables

Cereal and Banana
Served with milk

Such a strange thing! The pork probably had been crisp at
one time, but the strange-looking and -tasting sauce had
seeped into the breading so there was this starchy mess on
top of what had been decent meat. I consoled myself with the
thought that this was better than eggs, potato gratin, and
turkey sausage. The noodles were kind of unrecognizable.

UA no longer lists the wine selections in the menu. I'm of
two minds about this. One, it's kind of classless for a
business-class product. Two, on the other hand it does
acknowledge the sad fact that much of the time the printed
list bore faint if any resemblance to what was actually
available on board.