Friday, August 14, 2009

Dining 39,000 feet W/Cathay Pacific

My work is finally done in Toronto and I'm on a long flight back to KL via Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific flight CX826. Total flight time from Toronto to Hong Kong is 15 hours and 30 minutes.

I had a friend ask me once why I never had a post about airline food since I fly so much. And so... with all the time in world I've decided to do one on this flight.

I was sitting in business class and we were served two meals on this flight; Brunch and Dinner. Snacks are also available on business class and they were Beef Teriyaki Sandwich, Roast Duck with Noodle Soup and so forth.

With Cathay's new flat-bed seats, the idea of bed and breakfast becomes a reality. Tucked in my duvet with my seat reclined and watching "The Boat that Rocked" our friendly air stewardess setup my table for the Brunch service.

Dining 35,000 ft in the air

We had several options as our mains and I chose to have Fish and Prawn Porridge with a Pan Fried Pork Bun. For our bread selection I chose the Blueberry Muffin.

My Brunch Set

I started off my meal with the blueberry muffin which I thought was really good. The muffin was moist and fluffy and packed quite a strong blueberry flavor.

Blueberry Muffin

The Pan Fried Pork Bun was also very good. The bun itself was crispy on the outside and soft inside. The pork filling was also very tasty. The only thing I wished was for more pork filling.

Pan Fried Pork Bun

Fish and Prawn Porridge however was pretty bland. The one thing that surprised me was how the prawns were not overcooked despite being re-heated on the flight.

Prawn and Fish Congee

Our dinner came some 8 hours later and it was a multi-course menu. We started off with an amouse bouche of a Chilled Prawn with asparagus.

Amouse Bouche: Prawn with Asparagus

Next came our starter of a Mesclun Salad and Smoked Duck with Fig Chutney, Honey Dew and Cantaloupe Melon.

Dinner Meal Starter

I really liked the Smoked Duck which was very tender. The melons were a nice touch to balance the salty flavor of the duck.

Smoked Duck with Fig Chutney, Honey Dew and Cantaloupe Melon

The salad was also decent but what threw me off was the dressing. For CAD $6000 a seat one would expect aged balsamic vinegar with a good quality olive oil but instead we were given a plastic packaged balsamic dressing from Kraft.

Salad

For my main course I opted for the Sweet and Sour Cod with Egg Fried Rice and Bok Choy. The cod was not overcooked and went well with the sweet and sour sauce. The fried rice however was a little too soggy and flavorless.

Sweet and Sour Cod with Egg Fried Rice and Bok Choy

Next, we had a Cheese Course and Fresh Seasonal Fruits. Honestly the fruits are not seasonal. I'm on a Cathay flight every two months and it's always the same combination.

Assorted Cheese Platter
Assorted Fruits

For dessert I had a really good Apple Raspberry Cheesecake with Berry Compote. The cake was velvety smooth and creamy. There were also some crumbs on top which gave it a nice crispy texture.

Apple Raspberry Cheesecake with Berry Compote

Despite the long flight, the food and movies definitely help make the flight feel shorter.

Contact Information:
Address: 39,000ft above the Sea
Tel: N/A
Website: www.cathaypacific.com

2 comments:

TummyFull said...

Cathay food looks great. I saw the yummy assorted cheese there!

Cirmicica said...

very good...