I saw the Hyatt options for the first time last week to SFO.

Sadly, I really don't notice any change.

(J class)
*Hyatt main course:
Some Chinese dish with scallops and shrimp. Except for the additional ingredients of "scallops", the dish looked identical to every Chinese dish CX regulars are familiar with...sauced-up protein, veggies, and rice. It looked no different to all the other CX Chinese dishes I've seen. It looked so thoroughly appetizing....I decided not to eat the main course.

*Hyatt dessert:
a Chinese red bean soup thing. My first impression: great! My second impression: where is the cake? Because, at least on my flight, CX cut out the cake/tart cart as a result of including the Hyatt dessert option. So it's hard to see this as an addition; rather, it's just a zero sum game between people who prefer Chinese dessert to the cake/tart option.

I am not sure if CX is axing one of the western dessert options every time the Hyatt dessert is included, but if so at best the cost is a wash, and it's possible the Hyatt dessert is cheaper. It certainly was less volume than the tart/cake CX normally includes at the end of meals.

Menu / marketing
There is a big splash with the Hyatt name across the bottom of the menu, which makes the (otherwise somewhat spartan) menu look busier. I know marketing fluff when I see it...and this was fluff. So my first experience with the Hyatt menu seemed to be more fluff than substance. Disappointing but that's kinda what I expected.

I don't know if Aaron Claxton simply has nothing to work with budget wise, or Claxton is the problem himself, or Ivan Chu thinks we're all morons (not entirely untrue !) and won't notice cutting in catering, or something else, but something is clearly not right in that department. If I were running things it'd probably be a case of fire them all and restart from the ground up.

J catering is definitely making a long-term dent in CX's image. Just check out the guys coming over here from AA (!!) and complaining about CX food. That's when you know something is off. I'm not even sure if CX is aware of the issue. This Hyatt thing is kinda patronizing. If the food is bad, I wish CX could just embrace it and not feed us marketing nonsense.