CX doesn’t have a lounge at LGW.

I notice on this thread lots of vocal people about cx f lounges who list their card status yet doesn’t give them access to an F lounge.

This reminds me of an experience of a dish in a Sichuan restaurant on the far outskirts of Beijing (recommended by a local). Oh, that's pretty what are the green things? Peppers. The red things? Peppers. The white things? Peppers. And they added good handfuls of mouth numbing Sichuan pepper to presumably help with the experience. What happened to the fish is another story...

You don't have to be OWE to access F lounges.
Paid F
Reward F
Upgraded to F
Guested to F lounge
I have done all but the first. I'm not megarich or a sky warrior, I only fly a few times a year but enjoy maximising my experience which is why I enjoy learning from the knowledgeable folks here and trying to share if I can. Negative comments on other contributors seems a little Grinch-like, please try to provide positive advice.

When they warned me, I just thought, "no sweat, have had spicy food all over the world." Well, had no idea and never occurred to me that "tongue numbing" was part of the experience.

Looks to me, the lounge staff did have a nice day out. You probably weren't the only one who "ignored" the warning :D

Which lounge did you manage to get the spicy Sichuan fish ? I would like to try to, or got it western-adapted since then, due to "complaints" ?

Yea, probably best to just stop reading about it and look forward to whatever comes.

There is an interesting phenomenon with so much info out there, a lot of magic is lost by the obsessive blog (and FT, to be fair) reading. Of course there is good info too, especially on FT, and why I am faithfully loyal to the forum here but have far less enthusiasm for the blogs. I specifically point my finger at the blogs on all those "reviews" which really lower peoples enjoyment of real life experiences. Of course, the reviewers love traveling in premium classes so will justify the reviews as for the greater good. (ha ha). The truth is it activates some type of addictive, compulsive behavior in people which seems very hard to turn off, almost like an addiction. There is something about expectations being elevated, the magic of surprise and the unexpected being lost, when people obsessively consume information about travel before stepping on the plane or arriving at the destination.

Anyway, the Pier is perfectly fine. It is difficult to reconcile my own issues with the Pier with my recommendation to just "have a good time and enjoy it!" But that's my advice, as two faced as it may be;). I'll write something nice in a follow up post.

I will add, a general observation I have is at least a decent amount of whinging comes from some folks, not completely regulars here, who are flying award tickets or el cheapo tickets of some type. I find that an amusing element to this whole business. It's all subjective and anecdotal of course, but it seems to me some people who complain the most and are relentless on compensation et cetera are the ones who may not be paying much at all for their tickets;).

Good experience the other day
 

I've been to the Pier F too many to count, so this is less about the food and more about service.

I had a superlative experience in the Pier the other day. Midday, a very aggressive (in a good way) perhaps Middle Eastern or SE Asian gentleman. I could be getting the heritage wrong here, but hoping someone else knows who I'm talking about? He has a darker complexion but speaks English flawlessly without an accent, I couldn't nail down where he was from. Or maybe southern Mediterranean? Anyway, this guy was doing a fantastic job of checking up on everyone, making sure orders were expedited properly, essentially making sure service was on point. I think I've seen him before and he manages a few of the lounges. Somebody give this guy a raise or keep him around please because the whole drumbeat of the lounge was on point with him in there working hard. Another lady, this one either African or Middle Eastern, was my server and was just excellent. I think she is evenings normally. The food was "fine", I thought my main the chana masala was lovely although I'm not probably a very good judge, but to be honest I don't expect Michelin starred dining in the airport anyway. Kudos to the poster above who brought that up. But hey my appetizer arrived first and a few minutes after ordering, my main arrived a few minutes after I finished my appetizer, my drink came out promptly and was refilled promptly, smiling friendly staff asking if I needed anything else, just everything was on the mark. I don't make a pilgrimage out to the Pier F very often, but this time the service made a real impression on me in a good way.

The whole experience reminded me that when service is on point, it really is a lovely facility. And how much poor service (or just "clueless service") can spoil things.

Now, the wine is still utterly dreadful except for the Champagne. But we all know we can blame CX squarely for the crap wine, not Sodexo. That is definitely a budget item specifically approved by CX if not picked out by them. I've flown CX too long to expect anything out of lounge wines, even in F.

Pier F.

I always choose the latest flights, since I never know when I may have last minute dinner engagements, and it was probably around 9 pm? So, a little tired, and really didn't appreciate "the extent" of the warning. I mean, they did say it was "really" spicy. From reading the posts here, it appears the "authentic" Sichuan cuisine I've had in NA perhaps wasn't really that authentic, at least to the level of spicy aspect.

I mean, this dish was spicy! The PF Chang menus' Sichuan dishes use 3 peppers to denote most spicy--this thing would have been 10! LOL

PS - OT, but since we're on CX cuisine, the best airplane dinner I've had was on the 2nd leg of HKG - JFK. On the YVR - JFK leg, I was the only returning pax on F, and, for whatever reason, the filet was high quality (tasted like a 1% usda prime) & actually cooked at the right medium rare, on the rare side. This FA was probably the best I've ever experienced.

Aside from food considerations, all things equal, the Pier lounges are my favorite of any airport to pass the time. For me it has the perfect lighting, ambience, and comfortable seating where I can find an area, stretch out, and be assured I won't be disturbed. And, unlike other lounges I've been to, it has a pleasant scent (whatever they use). It really is an elegant facility. Though in the same area, I prefer the Pier over the Cent lounge, even though I have access to all of its areas. Unfortunately, most of my flights seem to depart from Gates 1 - 4 (have worked in HK long enough to dislike it when I get Gate 4), so the Wing is more convenient, but I really do prefer the Pier.

PS - The food is fine. I'd even say it's good, unless we compare it to world class Michelin rated restaurants, which seems kind of unrealistic, in my view.

Al Safwa disappointed me a bit in terms of catering but it is way ahead of CX F lounges. OWE in Y or J restricted access and "hotel rooms" are great. I think these lounges cant be really compared.