Thanks qbrain

As Kiwi states it seems this treatment is laid on for all F passengers on LX arriving at HKG. I also got an escort from my CX flight to the BA/QF lounge last night at HKG for my BA J flight back to the UK.

Thanks Kiwi


Yep they are and they pack a bit of a punch too.

The Duetz isn't that bad but certainly not up there with my favourite Comtes de Champagne. Mm MMMMMmmmmm.

The photos

OK it is now time to go back to HKG following the same routing but in reverse.
I attempted to use the shuttle bus but there were more people waiting than the bus could take so I opted for a taxi instead to get me back to Kyoto station.

At the station I again purchased a ticket on the Haruka express train to KIX that was going to leave 7 minutes later.

After a dozy 70 minute ride I exited the train and up to the international check-in desks at KIX. Check-in was extremely quick as was security and border control.

I took the little shuttle train down to the gate area and made my way to the Pacific lounge.

The lounge was quite small and had no windows to the outside world which I don�t like. On offer in the lounge were spirits, mixers, juices, tea, coffee, packet soup, wines, nuts, rice crackers, sandwiches, rice balls, donuts and cake.

I grabbed some sandwiches and a scotch and ginger ale before taking a seat. Around 40 minutes after I arrived that lounge started to fill up with other passengers. It did get quite busy in the end.
I decided to make my way to the gate just as the lounge agent was announcing the flight boarding.

I walked to the gate and to the dedicated first/business/elite line and boarding started almost immediately.

Flight CX0507 KIX-HKG Seat 2A
Aircraft: 747-400
Departure time: 18:25

Once on board I was able to take a few snaps before anyone else came into the F cabin. A crew member saw me snapping away and offered to take my photo. No Thanks.

An elderly Japanese couple took seats 1A/K and apart from me that was the full F compliment for this flight.
The captain announced a flight time of 3 hours and 31 minutes whilst I washed may face and hands with the hot towel provided and sucked down a glass or two of the bubbly.

The F purser dropped by to welcome me on board and thank me for flying with CX again.

We pushed back at 18:31 and taxied out for take off.
After the belt sign was extinguished some more bubbly came my way along with some rice snacks and the killer wasabi peas.

The menus were handed out and orders were taken for dinner.

On offer for the dinner service today was:

Menu

Dinner

Starters
Herb marinated smoked salmon, seared scallop and pesto cr�me fraiche

Lobster bisque

Main Courses
Roast lamb rack with pencil potatoes and ratatouille

Hong Kong style curry chicken with steamed jasmine rice, stir-fried pak choy with ginger and chilli

Wild mushroom and ricotta cheese agnolotti with portabello mushroom and basil tomato concasse

Cheese and Dessert
Cheese selection

Fresh seasonal fruit

Fruit gateau with raspberry sauce

Tea and Coffee

Pralines

Japanese Meal

Canapes
Braised nameko and buckwheat, sea eel cake, fish cake with sea tangle
braised baby abalone, broad beans with sticky rice
cheese ball skewer, broiled amago with miso paste

Liqueur
Chinese quince wine with soda

Appetizer
Salted red pandra fillet, ice fish with wasabi, sea urchin roll with red tuna

Clear Soup
Steamed ice fish with sake, boiled rape blossoms, boiled buckwheat seed

Braised Dish
Braised baby octopus, bean curd roll with braised pork belly
braised pumpkin leaf shape

Hot Dish
Deep-fried fish, fresh bean curd skin
buckwheat seed and seaweed with stick sauce

Vinegar Dish
Baby squid, clam meat and crab legs meat, seaweed white miso sauce with vinegar and mustard

Noodles
Seaweed noodle, Japanese yam noodle

Rice Dish
Steamed rice, miso soup, assorted pickles

Fruit
Fresh seasonal fruit

Beverages
Ginjyo-sake, green tea, mineral water

Drinks

Juices
orange, apple, tomato

Soft Drinks
Coke Zero, Coke, Coke Light, Sprite, Perrier water, tonic water, soda water and ginger ale

Coffees
freshly brewed coffee, espresso, cappuccino and caffe latte
regular or decaffeinated

Teas
Fuding jasmine silver fur, Anqi supreme Ti Guam Yin, Ceylon
Japanese, iced Oolong tea, Hong Kong style milk tea
organic selection: camomile, earl grey and peppermint

Hot Chocolate

Wine List

Champagne
Cuvee William Deutz Brut 1998
This charming champagne is crystal clear with a pale gold hue. The rich aromas of baked apples are followed by hints of preserved ginger and nutmeg. It is pure with complexity, which is the hallmark of the Cuvee William Deutz. This is an ideal wine for matching most of the delicate dished offered onboard.

White Wines:
Bouchard Pere & Fils Meursault Les Clous 2005
Meursault is a large village located in the southern part of the Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France, which produces some of the best Chardonnay wine in the world. The 2005 Bouchard Pere & Fils Meursault Les Clous possess a stony, mineral nose allied to pithy citrus fruit, whilst the palate has a bright fresh acidity to complement the supple honeyed fruits with a light touch of oak. It is pure with a silky structure. Fish, poultry dishes with cream sauce and strong ripe cheeses will pair wonderfully with this wine.

Helen�s Hill Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2006
Helen�s Hill Estate is located in Yarra Valley � Victoria�s oldest wine region. This tempting Chardonnay is a light straw colour. The ripe peach and citrus characters are complemented by an attractive mineral layer, toast and vanilla cream. It has great length with excellent balance. This is a great accompaniment to roast pork or chicken dishes.

Red Wines:
Chateau Branaire-Ducru 2001, 4eme Cru Classe
Chateau Branaire-Ducru is an elegant Grand Cru wine from Saint Julien of Haut Medoc, Bordeaux. The 2001n vintage offers beautiful aromas of crushed berries and currants, with hints of violets. It is full bodied with lively acidity giving the win excellent balance. This seductive wine has soft and smooth tannins and a long caressing finish. It goes perfectly with all kinds of red meat and stewed dishes.

Zema Estate Connawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
The Zema family has been consistently producing exceptional hand crafted Coonawarra wines since 1982. The Zema Estate Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 shows vibrant richness and attractive fruit flavours of blackcurrant and mulberry with hints of black olive well integrated with cedar oak notes. This wine is well structured with outstanding depth of fruit and length.

Domaine Jacques Prieur Beaune Champs Pimont Premier Cru 2005
The Jacques Prieur Estate is one of the most prestigious estates in Burgundy. This Cote de Beaune Premier Cru is deep ruby in colour and presentes a concentrated nose, rich in vibrant red fruits and spice. The palate is silky rich, with beautifully integrated ripe tannic structure. Supple and richly textured, this wine is best suited to roast meats, poultry and fine cheeses.

Port:
Ramos Pinto Quinta de Ervamoira 10 Year Old Tawny Port
Prodcued form grapes grown in the vineyard Quinta da Ervamoira, this tawny offers all the maturity of an aged wine while still displaying the vigour of youth. It is smooth and full bodied, with aromas and flavours of apricot and plum balanced with vanilla scents from the aged casks.

Aperitifs and Cocktails:
Campari, Martini Rosso, Martini Extra Dry, Tio Pepe Sherry, Harveys Bristol Cream Sweet Sherry, Gordons Dry Gin, Stolichnaya Russian Vodka, Bloody Mary, Screwdriver

Whiskies:
Chivas Regal 12 Years Old, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Canadian Club, Gentleman Jack Bourbon, Glenfiddich Ancient Reserve Single Malt Whisky

Cognac:
Tesseron Lot 76 XO Tradition

Liqueurs:
Cointreau, Drambuie, Kahlua, Bailey�s Irish Cream

Beer:
International Selection

CX Signature Drinks:
Oriental Breeze
A sour-plum tea and cranberry juice based non-alcoholic drink
with honey and fresh lemon juice and a hint of rose water.

Cloud Nine
A refreshing combination of Vodka, Cointreau and Sprite with a refreshing touch of lemon flavour.


More bubbly and another bowl of snacks was offered before the dinner service began.

I decided to opt out of the Japanese meal this time and went with the seafood starter along with some of the delicious garlic bread from my own personal bread basket.

After I had finished this course the seat belt sign came on and all hot beverages were not permitted to be served. This included my soup. The every resourceful F purser suggested I have another starter and hopefully the belt sign would be off soon.

Another type of starter that was not included on the menu was then set before me and this one seemed to mainly consist of lobster meat.

By the time I had consumed this, the belt sign did come off and I was able to partake of the wonderful lobster bisque.

For my main course I went with the Hong Kong curry chicken which was beautifully flavoured but not at all hot.

I was presented with the cheese board and chose the blue and a soft cheese and accompanied these with a glass of port.

No dessert please I am stuffed.
A double espresso and a couple of pralines were a fitting end to the penultimate flight in this report.

Of course this being CX another hot towel was handed out before the end of the flight.

We touched down at 21:05 and taxied to our gate. I made my way up through immigrations which was mostly quick and painless and then through customs and the AEX bound for Kowloon and another one night stay at the Sheraton.



The photos

<Shamelss Plug> If you liked these you should have a mosy on down to my previous reportings on Japan in this thread</Shameless Plug>

The Photos

On waking up in HKG I realised I had developed a cold and to top it off I had started to hiccup. You might say well big deal but my hiccups are violent and last for days on end. So it was at 06:00 I was feeling pretty miserable and the prospect of the next couple of day�s flights (HKG-ICN-TPE-BKK-MEL 12 hours on ground MEL-BKK-LHR) was not looking all that sweet, even for one who is passionately addicted. I thus decided to make some amendments to my schedule and fly back to LHR the following day after spending an unscheduled night stop in Seoul.

The return portion of my LHR-MEL TG flight would have to be changed again and I would go back to Oz at some later stage, instead of later that day as originally planned.

I sorted out a new ICN-LHR ticket and got myself ready to head out to the airport in amongst the hiccups. Of course all this took time and I was running quite late by the time I got to the Kowloon check-in desks. The agent informed me that I would not be able to check-in there as it was too late and I needed to go to the airport. I asked if I could change to the later flight. She did some typing and made a phone call and all was good. She then checked me in for the later flight and tagged my bag through to ICN.

I jumped on the airport express train and exited, hiccupping, into Terminal 2 for the first time ever at HKG where the TG desks were. I then cancelled my ICN-MEL ticket and changed the MEL-LHR to later in the year. Once this was all done it was time to go in search of drugs. There was a Mannings in T2 where I was able to purchase some cold and flu drugs and some lozenges.

With all that sorted it was time to head back to T1 and through security and immigrations which involved minimal queuing.
A sharp left had me once again walking up to the desk of the Cathay Pacific First class lounge at the Wing.

I wanted to fire up my laptop and check some things but there were no seats available at the desks. I checked the boards and noticed that my flight was going to leave from Gate 63 so decided to head on down to the Pier instead.

Despite the hiccup and the head cold I was hungry and went into the restaurant for a spot of light breakfast. Anything heavy might have returned to haunt me later.

It was a good 4 hours before my new flight was due to depart so I decided another HKG terminal walk was in order. Back at the lounge I sat and surfed for a while and called TG who didn�t seem to have cancelled my ICN-MEL flight as it was still showing as confirmed online. I eventually got through to a Seoul agent who assured me it was cancelled and a refund would be processed.

It eventually came time to board and I walked upstairs and out to the gate which was next to the F lounge.
Boarding commenced and I had my BP and passport checked before proceeding down to the plane.

Flight CX0418 HKG-ICN Seat 1K
Aircraft: 777-300
Departure time: 14:20

Once on board I was shown to my seat and asked the magic question. Oh no he ordered water! Yes I suspected the champagne would wreak havoc with the hiccups as any irritation to the oesophagus tends to trigger them. They had stopped for a while when I was sitting quietly in the lounge.

A hot towel was placed at my seat on one of those lovely lacquered dishes and the captain announced a flight time of 2 hours and 49 minutes.

We pushed back quite early at 14:09 and taxied down to the runway. Take off was at the scheduled departure time of 14:20.
There were 5 in First on this flight which is almost a full complement on the 777.

The menus were handed out and lunch orders were taken not long afterwards.

Menu

Lunch

Starters
Duck Confit and gooseliver terrine with oven roasted tomato

Minestrone with pesto

Main Courses
Pan-fried sea bass with pommery mustard sauce, olive oil crushed potatoes and roasted vegetables with shallot

Steamed pork in golden bean sauce, steamed jasmine rice, braised pak choy and oyster mushrooms

Tomato and spinach tortellini with pumpkin parsley cream sauce and semi-dried tomato

Cheese and Dessert
Cheese selection

Fresh seasonal fruit

Baked cheese cake with blueberry compote

Tea and Coffee

Pralines

Drinks

Juices
orange, apple, tomato

Soft Drinks
Coke Zero, Coke, Coke Light, Sprite, Perrier water, tonic water, soda water and ginger ale

Coffees
freshly brewed coffee, espresso, cappuccino and caffe latte
regular or decaffeinated

Teas
Fuding jasmine silver fur, Anqi supreme Ti Guam Yin, Ceylon
Japanese, iced Oolong tea, Hong Kong style milk tea
organic selection: camomile, earl grey and peppermint

Hot Chocolate

Wine List

Champagne
Cuvee William Deutz Brut 1998
This charming champagne is crystal clear with a pale gold hue. The rich aromas of baked apples are followed by hints of preserved ginger and nutmeg. It is pure with complexity, which is the hallmark of the Cuvee William Deutz. This is an ideal wine for matching most of the delicate dished offered onboard.

White Wines:
Bouchard Pere & Fils Meursault Les Clous 2005
Meursault is a large village located in the southern part of the Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France, which produces some of the best Chardonnay wine in the world. The 2005 Bouchard Pere & Fils Meursault Les Clous possess a stony, mineral nose allied to pithy citrus fruit, whilst the palate has a bright fresh acidity to complement the supple honeyed fruits with a light touch of oak. It is pure with a silky structure. Fish, poultry dishes with cream sauce and strong ripe cheeses will pair wonderfully with this wine.

Helen�s Hill Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2006
Helen�s Hill Estate is located in Yarra Valley � Victoria�s oldest wine region. This tempting Chardonnay is a light straw colour. The ripe peach and citrus characters are complemented by an attractive mineral layer, toast and vanilla cream. It has great length with excellent balance. This is a great accompaniment to roast pork or chicken dishes.

Red Wines:
Chateau Branaire-Ducru 2001, 4eme Cru Classe
Chateau Branaire-Ducru is an elegant Grand Cru wine from Saint Julien of Haut Medoc, Bordeaux. The 2001n vintage offers beautiful aromas of crushed berries and currants, with hints of violets. It is full bodied with lively acidity giving the win excellent balance. This seductive wine has soft and smooth tannins and a long caressing finish. It goes perfectly with all kinds of red meat and stewed dishes.

Zema Estate Connawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
The Zema family has been consistently producing exceptional hand crafted Coonawarra wines since 1982. The Zema Estate Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 shows vibrant richness and attractive fruit flavours of blackcurrant and mulberry with hints of black olive well integrated with cedar oak notes. This wine is well structured with outstanding depth of fruit and length.

Domaine Jacques Prieur Beaune Champs Pimont Premier Cru 2005
The Jacques Prieur Estate is one of the most prestigious estates in Burgundy. This Cote de Beaune Premier Cru is deep ruby in colour and presentes a concentrated nose, rich in vibrant red fruits and spice. The palate is silky rich, with beautifully integrated ripe tannic structure. Supple and richly textured, this wine is best suited to roast meats, poultry and fine cheeses.

Port:
Ramos Pinto Quinta de Ervamoira 10 Year Old Tawny Port
Prodcued form grapes grown in the vineyard Quinta da Ervamoira, this tawny offers all the maturity of an aged wine while still displaying the vigour of youth. It is smooth and full bodied, with aromas and flavours of apricot and plum balanced with vanilla scents from the aged casks.

Aperitifs and Cocktails:
Campari, Martini Rosso, Martini Extra Dry, Tio Pepe Sherry, Harveys Bristol Cream Sweet Sherry, Gordons Dry Gin, Stolichnaya Russian Vodka, Bloody Mary, Screwdriver

Whiskies:
Chivas Regal 12 Years Old, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Canadian Club, Gentleman Jack Bourbon, Glenfiddich Ancient Reserve Single Malt Whisky

Cognac:
Tesseron Lot 76 XO Tradition

Liqueurs:
Cointreau, Drambuie, Kahlua, Bailey�s Irish Cream

Beer:
International Selection

CX Signature Drinks:
Oriental Breeze
A sour-plum tea and cranberry juice based non-alcoholic drink
with honey and fresh lemon juice and a hint of rose water.

Cloud Nine
A refreshing combination of Vodka, Cointreau and Sprite with a refreshing touch of lemon flavour.

The astute amongst you will not that, apart from the different soup and the lack of the Japanese option, this menu was the same as the HKG-KIX flight I had taken a few days earlier.

A pre-lunch drink was offered and I decided to try my luck with a glass of champagne. The hiccups had returned so there was no fear of them being triggered by the bubbly anymore.

I supped slowly on my champagne and ate the cashews whilst the crew prepared the lunch. I was watching progress on the newer IFE route map on the 777 which originally showed our routing as skirting the East coast of China up towards Korea. In actual fact we flew out almost along the same track as my HKG-KIX flight which took us over Taiwan instead.

I opted to go with the starter and perhaps some of the chardonnay would go down a little easier than the bubbly of which I hadn�t even finished the first glass. The starter didn�t turn me on (no pun intended) at all and I don�t think I actually finished it.

The soup sounded like a lovely option to help soothe the savage gullet. It was delicious and did slip down rather easily.
For the main course I opted for the sea-bass which was a little overcooked and again I did not finish the meal or the one glass of chardonnay I had been served during the meal.

I opted out of any further meal options and the half drunk glass of champagne and the last drops of wine were taken away at my request when the meal service was cleared.

I felt the crew on this flight were not quite as friendly and interactive as the previous two flights, but again this could have been down to my demeanour. I was in pain as my violent hiccups really start to make my chest hurt and wear me down considerably. With the cold on top of this I am sure I did not look my usual chirpy approachable self.

The rest of the flight was uneventful and we touched down at 18:20 well ahead of schedule.

Yes folks there you have it in black and white. Moomba only drank half a glass of champagne and 1 glass of wine on an entire 2 hour 49 minute flight!

I thanked the crew as I got off and wandered down to the train that takes passengers from the in field terminal building to the main terminal. Once at the main terminal I made my way to immigrations where each officer had a line of approximately a dozen people in the queue. I do prefer the single queue mechanism most countries use as it avoids the problem of your line having a slow agent or an issue with a person in front. True to form I did pick the wrong line and all the others around me seemed to move much quicker.

Eventually I made my way through without issue and out to the baggage carousel where my bag was happily going in circles waiting for me.

I cleared customs without incident and went outside to try and find the best way to get to the Sheraton Incheon hotel.
I asked several people and got several different answers. The last one actually had a printed sheet showing the hotels shuttle bus times which were few and far between. The next one was due in 1.5 hours so I gave up and decided to catch a cab instead.

This was a relatively painless affair although my taxi driver must have had lessons from Middle East taxi driving school. We were doing a sedate 133 kilometres per hour in the 80 zone over the Incheon bridge.

I could see he was hesitating once we got off the bridge and turned off of the freeway and realised he didn�t really know where he was going. Thankfully I could see the red circle of the S for Sheraton straight down in front of us and urged him forward. He eventually caught on and dropped me off at the hotel.

So it is here I shall hang up my keyboard, bid you all farewell and won�t bore you with a less than stellar flight back to the UK on CX and BA.

Thanks for coming along on the ride and the feedback and encouragement along the way.

The Photos

Hope you are fully recovered now, theres nothing worse than feeling unwell when you are away.

As usual a great read, thanks.

Wonderful TR Moomba! Hope you're feeling better. That pre-departure water is so un-moomba.

Another excellent trip report, Moomba. ^

Not surprised mon petit, not surprised at all.

Just the dregs of the cold left now.

I know, I actually felt guilty not ordering a glass of bubbly to start the flight.

Cheeky!

I hate to read installment trip reports until they're completely installed, and honestly I thought you were still travelling! If it weren't for your March 20th completion notice in your signature, I'd have still been giving it a bit more time.

That said, I loved reading this report. You've woven text, transcripts and photos into a memorable report that will surely rank amongst the most entertaining ever published here at FlyerTalk.

Well done, Moomba! :-::-::-::-::-:

Thanks Seat 2A.

Moomba - your tr's are as always exquisite. Truly get to experience the magic of CX F through them - which I will have to wait to enjoy until my next flight on them sometime in June/July.
For now its BA Club on 3 cabin flights for me.... grrrr.... why did they drop 1st from so many routes...

Thanks avm2806.

Great trip report as usual. hope your cold is getting better. I find the best cure for hiccups is to suck on a teaspoon of white sugar. Always works for me.
Maggies1

Not sure how that could work, but it sounds easier than trying to scare the patient sh*tless.

Thanks for sharing your trip report, Moomba. I really enjoyed it.

On the subject of hiccups, the last time I had them, my friend recommended that I drink a whole can of coke really fast, saying that it always works for her. It worked for me also but my tummy felt really weird for a while. I think the burps outcompete the hiccups. Given Moomba's proclivity for bubbly, perhaps he can try this with champagne.