Friday, 9 May 2014

Cathay Pacific 536: HKG-NGO

Hello World. 

As an attempt to make the sometimes monotonous beat of travel more interesting, I’ve put together this sliver of the internet to document the interesting and perhaps sometimes the mundane aspects of life on the road, in the air, or even the rare time at sea. 

This isn’t the first time I’ve thought about sharing my experiences with the internet, but I’ve been internally divided on which aspects to share. Even from the last hour since I’ve taken off from Hong Kong, I decided to only document my meals on flights, but then have decided to broaden to general experiences as I feel necessary to share. 

So here I begin.

Cathay Pacific flight 536. Today’s flight, aboard Hong Kong’s flag carrier, is taking me to Nagoya, Japan aboard a practically brand-new Airbus A330-300, registration B-LBC. Luckily, this wide-body aircraft is configured with long-haul business class with Cathay’s much lauded Cirrus Lie-Flat seat. 

Champagne glass in Cathay Pacific business class on flight CX538 from Hong Kong to Nagoya

Meal service on board included special dishes from Hong Kong Michelin Star Chef Pino Lavarra. It’s not clear to me if this was a new promotion for the month of May or had been previously offered in April. Nevertheless, the two special dishes from Chef Pino Lavarra came as a starter and a Main. 


Menu Page from Cathay Pacific business class on flight CX538 from Hong Kong to Nagoya
Menu insert for special dishes

Menu Page from Cathay Pacific business class on flight CX538 from Hong Kong to Nagoya
Meal Menu
Menu Page drink list from Cathay Pacific business class on flight CX538 from Hong Kong to Nagoya
Drink List
Menu Page wine list from Cathay Pacific business class on flight CX538 from Hong Kong to Nagoya
Wine List
Menu Page spirit list from Cathay Pacific business class on flight CX538 from Hong Kong to Nagoya
Spirits list


Prior to the meal service, rice crackers and a drink were served. Not wanted to delve into the alcohol too quickly, I decided to relax with a glass of Perrier.



Food Tray in Cathay Pacific business class on flight CX538 from Hong Kong to Nagoya




The special starter was a beef seared carpaccio with ricotta and rice crackers. Perhaps I’m not “cultured” enough, but prior to serving, I was having a very difficult time visualizing a carpaccio that had been seared. Hm. 

Soba and a Salad accompanied with sesame dressing rounded off the appetizer list which made just the appetizers alone feel portioned enough to be a meal… and I wonder why I’ve gained so much weight since I began flying often…


Beef main course in Cathay Pacific business class on flight CX538 from Hong Kong to Nagoya
Definitely no carpaccio here....

The wine pairing for the appetizer was a French 2012 Vignerons de Buxy “Tete de Cuvee Bourgogne. I’m no sommelier or do I currently plan to talk about nose, mouthfeel, and tasting notes, but I felt the wine was well suited to the appetizer. 

The main was a  roasted lamb shoulder confit, grain mustard and herbal bread crust, vegetables caponatta, and black pepper sauce. As always, Cathay has procured an amazing piece of lamb to which I reflect that I cannot recall ever having a less than spectacular lamb dish on Cathay. 

Lamb main dinner course in Cathay Pacific business class on flight CX538 from Hong Kong to Nagoya

For the main, there was no specific pairing, but the inflight service manager recommended the Red Chateau des Jacques Morgan.

To finish, cheese, fruit, and ice cream, and as if perfectly timed with the end of the meal service comes the captains announcement of the descent into Nagoya. 

Cheese plate in Cathay Pacific business class on flight CX538 from Hong Kong to Nagoya


Yes... the spoon reflection was intentional

A perfect flight, with a excellent attentive cathay crew. 


Well... almost perfect. The above was all written during the flight but getting onto the ground involved a go-around a couple hundred feed before our first attempt at landing.








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