Flight | CX715 | The Phenomenal Flight Back Home

28th December 2012.
CX 715 | Hong Kong – Singapore
Cathay Pacific
Just half an away from boarding, I left the Cabin and grabbed a box of Pineapple Cakes for my family at home from one of the many gift shops around the airport. At Gate 34, I had the privilege to skip the queue once again and I quickly settled into my seat.

It was another busy flight it seems and this time round the whole cabin was filled with Singaporeans again with two families (and their young kids) taking up much of the cabin.

Yeap the same family that flew from Korea was there too. The business product was the same as my previous flight. It was the herringbone configuration instead of the latest product. For me, it is still a huge jump from the economy seat.

The routine begun once again with a new crew serving complimentary drinks, I had the Cathay Delight, my new found love from the previous flight. It is reminiscent of chendol but with a fruity twist.

Boarding was quick once again and after a short while, we are once again off into the air. After passing through a thick layer of clouds, I saw one of the most beautiful moonlit sceneries in my life. It was a sea of clouds illuminated by a full moon. What seemed like twinkling stars are actually planes from the distance. Judging from the number of “stars”, you could tell HKIA is one busy airport. It is an admirable feat that these planes are so well-coordinated by the people on the ground, the magic of air traffic control.

Soon, the chief stewardess named Lydia gave me a warm welcome and another round of drinks and snacks were being served. Service here seemed more sincere than the previous flight.

One thing I like about transit flights is that each flight is guaranteed to come with a meal =d so a flight from Singapore to Seoul will have at least 2 meals as compared to the miserable 1 dinner on a direct 6 hours flight. Airplane food, notorious they maybe, is something I look forward to.

For dinner, it had the same set up as the previous flight, an air stewardess came and laid a table cover over my foldable table and placed the tray of food on it. The starters for this meal is a Mixed Salad with French Vinaigrette (but the packet clearly reads “Italian Dressing”) and Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Marinated Prawns with French Beans and Roasted Peppers. The starters are flawless, the prawns were succulent and French beans and bell peppers were well-seasoned and still crunchy.

Salad is a little boring but tasted great as a topping for the warm garlic bread.

For mains, I chose the Braised Beef in Noodle Soup. Apparently the Wok-fried Chicken with Chilli and Szechuan Pepper, Steamed Jasmine Rice, Broccoli with Garlic and Ginger is the speciality dish and its indicated by a little symbol showing a bowl of rice with chopsticks, however I didn’t know if not I would have tried that instead.

For an airplane food, I thought the Braised Beef in Noodle Soup was not bad. The noodles wasn’t smooth or springy as you would expect for a good bowl of noodles on land but the mellow soup, nice crunchy sprig of kalian and the tender, tasty pieces of beef make up for it.

I skipped the cheese once again and opt for the dragon fruit and kiwi only. The air steward seemed surprised.

For dessert, instead of ice cream, they served me a rather big slice of Apple Crumble Pie with Clotted Cream. I was amazed that this was actually quite good. I am amazed that the crumble still retains its crunch and the pie wasn’t too sweet. The clotted cream made this a really tasty dessert which I slowly enjoy as I watched a movie. One of the best moments of my life, I have never felt so relaxed before.

Together with my Apple Crumble Pie with Clotted Cream, I also got myself a cup of Hong Kong Style Milk Tea and it was good too. I had only one praline this time round even though the air stewardess offered more. The pralines served on-board are also being sold on their in-flight duty free shop. Apparently, they are being made by Swiss Chocolatiers.

About an hour or so after meal service, the plane was approaching Singapore. It had been 4 months since I left Singapore, seeing Marina Bay and the iconic skyline in the distance invokes a kind of special feeling as the plane begins its descent onto Singapore Changi International Airport.

After a smooth landing, deplaning took place quickly. The air crew bade us farewell and I am back in Singapore, immigration took less than 5 minutes (take that ICN!) and the luggage was out after a short wait.

It had been a truly amazing flight with Cathay Pacific this time round. The service, the privilege, the food, the comfort is indescribable. I now understand why blogs like One Mile at a Time and Aussie Flyer are seemingly addicted to Business and First Class. I felt so guilty after the two amazing flights, it was way over-indulgent for me, my mum and dad deserve it more than me.

Cathay Pacific | 國泰航空
People. They make an airline.