adlibitum

Generally love Japanese cuisine, so tempted to go with that but see from menu that the caviar course is listed with the western menu

Any chance I could get caviar and Japanese meal together?

thanks

JALPak

Sure as long as they have extra, and they usually do.

Guava

They load 1 portion of caviar per # of First Class pax. It's a reasonable assumption I think, while it's classified under the Western menu, it has become a custom to serve caviar course no matter which option you choose although you do have to ask. The reason being all their competitors do that in First Class without you having to ask, e.g. CX, LH, EK. On NH, it's also classified under Western options but if you ask, you will get one.

adlibitum

thank you

Guava

I did 3 JL First Class flights in the last few weeks: JFK-NRT, NRT-CGK, NRT-LAX. I wasn't very impressed with Mr. Uchiyama's Western menu out of JFK. I took some pictures if anyone's interested. I wanted to choose the Western menu but once on board, I went back to the Japanese meal instead. Though I asked some western amuse bouche just to see how Mr. Uchiyama does them, they were not particularly memorable. The Japanese meal out of the U.S. left a lot to be desired, I suppose many could be impressed by it - if they don't know what to look for in a Japanese meal. Essentially, any Japanese meal ex-USA faces the constraints of limited ingredients and the lack of chef(s) capable of doing anything more than some very simplistic Japanese food, definitely not up to Kaiseki standards that is expected in a good restaurant in Japan.

Compared to years past and against ANA, I think JL has come a long way especially in the consistency of service delivery. Many of the older FAs that was part of the legacy JL are now gone after the bankruptcy. JL now has a younger, more modern and enthusiastic crew, which I think make them more closely aligned to NH but they still haven't solved the issue of substandard catering ex-USA, which has always been problematic. The next thing JL needs to do is enlist the help of well reputed chefs ex-USA or prestigious restaurants like CX is starting to do this year. There are some fine Japanese restaurants in New York and SoCal, they just need to develop those partnerships.

Speaking of Western menu, the March menu ex-Tokyo by Mr. Shimomura is excellent. The foie gras appetizer was sensationally done. On the Japanese menu, the seafood appetizer was about the only thing worthwhile though it was very good. Last month's ex-Tokyo Japanese menu was better than in March.

Duke787

Don't forget both the Chivas Regal Royal Salute 21 and the Hibiki 17 are offered both of which are excellent choices for any whisky/scotch lover

Guava

Someone asked me to post pics from recent F menus, I will do so this weekend.

mjm

Meh. Anyone can source good scotch. And if one like Japanese scotch that is a good choice yes. Getting good wine is much harder because of the sheer volume of choices. The food options in F Class are such an extravaganza that wines to pair with the food are really expected. The offerings are not up to the level of food IMHO. I would like to see a wine director with a better sense of choice. Ned, at ANA, is a stellar director and I have always enjoyed his wine selection on and off the ground. That said, I think the management at both NH and JL override too much of the advice they are surely getting and buy what they buy for other reasons (brand recognition, trend, channel).

Guava

Pictures are posted in #25, quality of ex-USA catering is substandard but there are really no better alternatives. CX is even worse. You can go NH but that's in a different alliance and it won't be that much better.

Guava

Pre-meal snack & drink



Caviar Service



Western amuse-bouche



Japanese appetizers



Soup



Sashimi and Foie Gras + Halibut



Japanese Main Course



Japanese dessert



Western meal prior to arrival

adlibitum

thanks for posting these pics

EXPLAT

How's the food and service on the 788 JFK-NRT in Business, no First on this flight. Do they notch it up or same as Business on 777?

Guava

Same as business on 777, you can see their menu online by going to JL's website.

JALPak

Not that's not true. The 788 flight has a scaled down a la carte menu

bmchris

I can't pull up the June menus from the JAL site. Is this a common problem?