lcohen999

I had a very interesting experience just walking off 37 right now

For the brunch, it was the standard omelette/pancake mix and 2 chicken legs.

A few funny things

They loaded exactly one portion of the chicken legs. I can't imagine how that was planned.

It was just...horrible. Way too much sauce and rubbery chicken.

Even the crew was not impressed, overall very amusing

gabdusch

AC11 YUL-PVG September 2018

Off to a good start, the Champagne was properly chilled. And of course, so much better sharing with a friend




The Smoked duck, soy daikon and edamame salad, cilantro, wasabi aioli, sesame seeds appetizer has been around for a few months now.

The garlic bread is a nice idea, and has been improving since its introduction in April, but ex-Canada I found the slices to consistently be low quality and by the time they reach my seat, often cold. Keeping the garlic bread warm in the metal container seems to be a challenge and I think AC should look into a solution because lukewarm garlic bread doesn't exactly scream premium service.




Nice presentation, but this appetizer just doesn't excite me very much, and I find it a bit dry and uninspired.




On the other hand, the Miso sablefish, ginger fried rice, sugar snap peas, bok choy, XO sauce, is quite a nice dish and when not drowning in sauce, not overly salty either. I still think the original Sablefish from 2015 was the best dish Hawksworth created (along with the seared tuna appetizer), but this is a nice effort.




Cheese and fruit course:




I passed out for a few hours, and later on had the Lemon cheesecake with raspberry lemon compote. Quite good, but the portions are so tiny, I had to ask for a double serving.




A few hours later, just as we are about to cross over Lake Baikal...




It's noodle time! Always better with a few packs of hot sauce, of course.



I did not partake in the pre-arrival meal, so no photos here, sorry. For those interested, the choices were either omelette, congee, or e-fu noodles with chicken, mushroom and green onion.

cyralax

Maybe it's a me thing, but I can't believe how bland these noodles are. I get that it's basically just Mr.Noodle, but both times I've gotten them they literally just taste like instant noodles in hot water.

yyznomad

That's because they are exactly just that.

gabdusch

That's why I always make sure to use a generous helping of the spicy sauce, to add some taste to the mixture.

24left

AC11 YUL-PVG September 2018


As menus are no longer posted on AC's website, it's back to photos of the hard copies. How hard is this to get them posted and keep them posted?










And yes, it was so awesome to travel and share bubbles with a friend.








Since I don't eat duck and the appetizer doesn't look appealing anyway, I just had this instead.

I also skipped the garlic bread as it is really grilled bread, no flavour and lacks crispness.




LOL.




I've lost track of how many times I've head this meal recently, along with all of the other meals on the menus. Clearly, I fly AC too much and offerings are designed for those who may fly "significantly" less often.

As I've mentioned before, the fish itself is decent, but not when drowned in the red sauce. A little drizzle works best for me so sauce on the side, thanks.

Same with the ginger rice. It has a nice but subtle flavour. If the sauce is poured on it (as I've experienced), then well, the meal becomes "have some fish and rice with your sauce".

However, the biggest flaw in the service remains cold food.













As mentioned, the pre-cut cheesecake pieces are tiny so I zoomed in for the photo and yes, I also took two.

I would also add that this particular raspberry lemon compote was quite bitter. Too much lemon, not enough raspberry. The cheesecake would be fine on its own and I'd sooner drizzle some Bailey's etc on it.






EDIT TO ADD:

I was very happy to find this flight had my favourite mid-flight snack





I also skipped the pre-arrival meal. Nothing was particularly appealing.
.

longtimeflyin

I've often wondered why Air Canada doesn't take the effort to put that red sauce for your fish dish in a nice proper sauce holder/e.g. china. Leaving it just like the way it is is incredibly tacky, but then again, heating up plates is of course a much higher priority.

24left

Well, AC does not serve the sauce like that. The galley FA puts it on the fish. Since I don't want it on my fish, I ask for it on the side. The fact that AC does not have small little sauce holders is because they don't design their meals to include them. However, at the least, it would be nice to have the side sauce served in the small dish they use to serve the nuts. But that requires time and creativity.

On another flight with photos upthread, I managed to get the photo of the fish without including the aluminum container of sauce. This recent AC 11 to PVG was delayed over an hour and the flight was almost cancelled, so I think the crew just wanted to get meal service going.

This was even worse with the return AC 18 and the 3 hour delay on the hot tarmac. The meal service was shortened and I think the SD and crew made the right decision.

james dean

The Sable fish gave me a gut ache, I think it was the sause/butter/oil or something...wont have it again!

24left

AC 18 TPE-YVR September 2018

As you know if you've been watching from your comfy seats at home, @gabdusch and @Nazdoom and I were on this flight. This thread will provide details of the 3 hour delay and issues trying to leave TPE.

Delay on September 3 AC18 TPE-YVR; Any insight into the flight remarks and the ETA?


I also believe it impacted the dinner meal service, for which I DO NOT blame the crew. IMHO, the SD Cameron and the crew did an awesome job all things considered. Also, we had recently flown with Cameron on another AC 18 (delayed 2.5 hours, lol).

When we finally departed, the crew made the decision to skip the drink and nut service and go straight to meal as the time on the ground was not helping with some food items requiring chilling, prep etc.

Photos of menu here since AC not posting on their site.







I don't eat shellfish but this was for the photo. What a strange looking appetizer. The plate was mostly empty with 3 dollops of dressing and tiny pieces of prawn and scallop and tomato.




Salad was fine.



.
@gabdusch had the chicken IIRC and @Nazdoom had the beef and they both seemed to like their meals.

Of course thinking I'd be safe with the fish........


Well, this arrived. I was too tired to even ask what it was so I took a bite and seek, it was not fish. I was served the pork. Aside from that, the sauce has an odd taste. Ugh.




Crew then brought me the fish.

This was gross.

I have no idea if this stuff was supposed to be breadcrumbs, but it was undercooked. The fish had no taste at all and was COLD.




Ugh.




The pasta had even less taste than the fish.

Let's call it zero for discussion purposes.





Meanwhile the chestnut cheesecake dessert arrives. The bottom cheesecake part was fine. The top layer did not have a nice taste. No idea what it was supposed to be but......





***********

After some sleep, breakfast service was starting.

And yes, maintenance and mechanical delays happen, but I was really happy that @gabdusch and I got to enjoy Bubbles for Breakfast.





The omelette was fine and I asked that the sausage be removed before serving.

No pain au chocolate this time but apricot danish so I opted for the plain croissants instead.

The croissants were warm and the meal overall was hot and tasty.

Queen B

Not a fan of fish on a plane, I made myself try the salmon and it was dry.
IMO Fish is best cooked in a real kitchen or on the bbq

I’ll stick with the other options

yyznomad

Keep the little nuts dish (after wiping it of crumbs) for the side sauce.

yyznomad

Have you ever tried any of AC's cod dishes in the past? I find that they are not dry compared to salmon, which is often dry. Having said that, I've had some salmon dishes on AC that were tasty and moist.

Queen B

I haven’t tried the cod.
I had heard from others that the salmon was good, unfortunately mine wasn’t.
It’s hit and miss I guess

Queen B

🙌 bloody brilliant!