About 12:30am I wandered downstairs to the gate.
Signs were setup with designations for each class. Boarding started right on time and it was nice they asked for first class to board first since there's at most 6 of us.
We boarded through L2 and was escorted through the mini business cabin.
Into the dated, but still wonderful Cathay first class cabin with 1-1-1 seating.
I'd selected seat 1A for this leg and as of check-in, was the only person in F. Fingers crossed it'd remain that way, but alas the flight was overbooked and ended up with 5 op-ups so a full F cabin :(
The huge Cathay first seat, you could comfortably fit 2 people side by side, 3 if you wanted to be like United economy.
Bulkhead furnishings.
The footrest and buddy seat in case you wanted to dine with someone else. Unfortunately this plane had not been updated with the newer higher resolution screen.
Also definitely worse for wear.
But all was forgiven with the first presentation of vintage Krug 2004. It was wonderful with a toasted brioche and lemon curd nose, a body that was medium weight, rich lemon curd mixed with a crisp green apple finish that kept it refreshing.
The first of several glasses pre-departure along with warm nuts. I forgot to take a picture before I ate all the cashews.
The amenity kits with the usual CX meh was passed out, but also with nice full size Bose noise cancelling headphones.
Pajamas were distributed and per my usual, changed into before we pushed back.
Menus were also distributed.
No surprises here, standard CX F fare, I was hoping for the lobster like I had on my LAX-HKG flight a few months ago.
Also typical.
Overall nice, but not over the top wine list (with the exception of the Krug 2004).
Warm towels were distributed right before we pushed back.
And as soon as we pushed back, the famous orchids were put in place since we didn't have to worry about US customs anymore.
It was quite cold outside with plenty of snow still on the ground.
A fairly quick taxi and off we went into the night.
A somewhat decent shot of Boston on the climb out.
The nice night mood lighting.
I hadn't seen Somm 3 and figured this was a great time to watch and enjoy a good meal and wines.
Starting off with the always fantastic caviar presentation, bread basket and more Krug 2004.
Wonderful and hit the spot as usual.
Perfectly timed with the intro to Somm.
After having Krug with caviar, I switched immediately to the 2012 Brainaire-Ducru. At first I was a bit disappointed we didn't have Lynch Bages, but that was until I had my first whiff.
The nose was wonderful with a creme de cassis, eucalyptus and blackberry nose that was deep and intoxicating. The body was silky with bramble, dark fruits like boysenberry and blackberry, some earthy notes, but really pure fruit, delicate tannins. As the wine opened up, it became more eucalyptus and red berries, but then continued to evolve into more blueberries on the body. Definitely a wine that drinks great out of the bottle with a fantastic nose that is rich, exciting and fresh and well balanced acidity, fine tannins and just plain really nice and elegant wine overall.
The wine went great with everything, starting off with the fantastic cream of mushroom soup that CX does so well to be deep in flavor, yet not overly heavy.
The lobster salad was fine, the lobster chunks themselves were good, but the rest of the dish was meh.
I couldn't make my mind up for the main and having remembered how good my filet was on my HKG-LAX leg a few months ago, decided to get it again. The ratatouille was fine, but the mashed potatoes left a lot to be desired. The rosemary sauce was awesome and pulled the dish together and overall went great with the Brainaire.
Steak cooked perfectly!
Time to start moving on to the sweet stuff with the 2009 Lietenant de Sigalas Sauternes. It had a nose that a was a bit floral combined with honey notes. The body wasn't too heavy with a honey, toffee, apple, floral, yellow fruit and nice acid on finish. A good, but not great Sauternes.
The cheese plate wasn't special, but it was tasty and I enjoyed more of the Branaire with it.
Then the pistachio cakes with ice cream, arranged funnily, but tasty.
I hadn't seen Crazy Rich Asians and figured what a setting to watch it in. Funny to see them try to merge Singapore and Emirates into a singular airline, meanwhile I was flying CX.
After a bit I asked for turn down service and got brushed up for bed. I forgot to take a picture of the bed before getting in, but got one facing down. I think CX is probably my favorite bed in the sky, it's huge and comfy.
I slept great and woke up almost 9 hours later. Upon waking up I was greeted and I asked for the Oriental Breeze, my favorite non-alcoholic drink. It's wonderful with sour plum tea, cranberry juice, honey, lemon juice and hint of rose water mixed together. So refreshing!
For good measure I ordered the duck ramen. So far out of all the airlines I've experienced, Cathay does the best and most consistently high quality mid-flight soups. I'd be happy to have this on the ground.
Then it was time for coffee and getting some work done before we got closer to landing.
When we were about an hour out, I asked for breakfast. I started with fresh fruit, OJ and coffee.
Then some dim sum which was tasty and the perfect quantity.
And like that the cabin was prepared for landing and the mood lighting back on.
Early morning landings into HKG are my favorite in the world.
We touched down a few minutes ahead of schedule.
And like that our nearly 16-hours flight was over.
Cathay might not have the newest first class product, but it's consistently really good and 16-hours fly by. I could've happily had a few more hours to work and relax before landing. Definitely looking forward to flying them again.
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