Birthday Cake on CX
 

I recently found out the ability to purcahse birthday cakes on CX for 300 HKD or equivalent. I will be flying out of HKG and was wonder if anyone had any comments on the experience / the cake specfically?

Thanks!

If you get a set of good crew they would write you a card and may even sing you a birthday song. Otherwise they would just present the cake at your requested time with a "happy birthday". As for the cake I remember ex-HKG is quite big - at least one pound fruit cream cake.

Some cake photos
 

I order a cake when I fly long haul couple times a year as a tradition (I eat a slice, and give the rest to the crew to eat after taking a picture). A crew member once told me it cheered her up years ago, so I never stopped doing it...plus I want CX to keep offering this since not many airlines do it (it makes the flight more fun).

ex-HKG is usually a white fruit cake, and ex-LAX is chocolate (the routes I generally fly). Custom messages and cake type aren't guaranteed...and you need to schedule couple days in advance.

Here are some cakes over the years I randomly pulled from my google photos so you can get an idea what the cakes look like. Hope this helps!


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5b612f311e.jpg
ex-LAX (Dec 2019)
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...42cfda78ae.jpg
ex-HKG (Dec 2020)
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...07a722ae40.jpg
ex-HKG (Jan 2020)
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...20b2e2ac1a.jpg
ex-YVR (Jan 2020)
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d987eef8a9.jpg
ex-LAX (Jan 2020)
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b543464e97.jpg
ex-HKG (Feb 2024)
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5cb45fec0f.jpg
ex-CDG (Feb 2024)

Honestly service does fluctuate between crew from my experience, tho honestly it might be kinda awkward having crew sing a birthday song in front of all other pax lol

Do the cakes taste good from your experience, especially ex HKG?

Just go to Bakehouse and get a box of sourdough egg tarts - probably taste better 🤣

HND also serves a fruit cake

Wow.. some of those cakes look pretty good... didn't know you can order a cake for any occasion and not only just for birthday!

The one ex-CDG looks fantastic for 300 HKD.

I'm not a cake connoisseur, but it has consistently tasted good enough for me every time I've ordered it (especially ex-HKG).

I don't typically consume many desserts/sweets in general...so I usually enjoy just a slice and share remainder with the crew or other passengers. I do have a habit of always eating the cake in the first meal (so very early in the flight), not sure if that makes a difference in taste. My palette also leans more toward fruity cakes than chocolate due to sweetness level.

Yeah, you can celebrate any occasion so I try to always have fun with the custom messages. Maybe FOMO kicks in from seeing my pictures, and someone else starts ordering cakes too :D

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b9cfa49705.jpg


We don't get to choose the cake type when ordering, so It's always fun to order one and not know what to expect. Certain locations do a better job than others as you can see.

How far ahead of time do you need to order it?

ordering CX cake cut-off time
 

The cut-off time for ordering a cake (and with payment also collected) is generally 24 hours before departure. The CX agents I talk to on the phone recommend 48 hours.

Ah that's good enough. Thanks for your suggestion! I'll probably order one before my flight next Friday

Seeing these cakes makes me even more sad that CX is now so lazy with desserts in J. Desserts are always something moussy in a glass now. It used to be a choice of a cake plus some other kind of dessert.

CX basically thinks dessert is HD Ice Cream now, and other options are just there to provide options in Long Haul J. There are still some cakes around, but the cost to make them are probably way higher than the cupped mouse or HD Ice Cream.