All Nippon Airways - Japanese Culture in the Air

For the past year and a half, I've been a frequent flyer around Asia and the states. I've mostly flown Cathay Pacific, as they have quality facilities and service. Plus, Hong Kong is a great hub.

On my most recent trip to the states, I tried another airline because CX was at its peak season. Flights were booked and I had to get to the states on a certain schedule.

All Nippon Airways, ANA. While the seats in business class are not as luxurious as CX, ANA makes up for it in cleanliness, service, and the food. They are constantly cleaning the bathrooms. The service is full of Japanese manners. And, the food is a great change from CX's usual selection (and after traveling frequently on CX I got soo tired of the same choices).

Of course, one of the biggest perks of flying this airline is the stopover in Narita Airport. An opportunity to enjoy the lounge and purchase some Japanese goodies.

Here are some pictures of the meals I had to and from the states.
Place your cursor above "Notes" to read the captions for each of the pictures.

The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album: ANA.

Comparing Plane Food

When I was living and traveling in the U.S., I grew used to traveling on the domestic airlines. Passengers go in and out of planes as though they are buses. Meal service is simply complimentary juices or sodas, and maybe even a snack on Business or First Class.

Then last year I moved to Asia and began to enjoy the Asian hospitality in the air. Even for flights that are less than two hours, there is an actual meal service, whether you're in Economy, Business, or First Class. It may just be a sandwich and a drink, but it's far better than just a drink. It's amazing because these planes carry more passengers than the flights in the U.S.

On my last trip, I took a couple camera pictures of the extreme range of meal service. The first is on a flight from Connecticut to Nevada. A 6 hour flight on Southwest Airlines.

The second is on a flight from Hong Kong to Manila. A less than 2 hour flight on Cathay Pacific.

These two pictures are on opposite ends of the spectrum. On SW, there are no seat assignments, and there is no class division. On CX, we flew First Class and enjoyed the plating and variety of choices.

Place your cursor above "Notes" to read more about the pictures.

This slide show here runs on Flash. If you cant' see it,check out my Flickr album.

More and More Plane Food

The first trip of the year was pretty exciting. The food was pretty fun with all the courses. I gotta admit that by the time the trip was almost over, I wasn't looking forward to the food because it starts to be all the same: seafood, meat, or pasta. Then again, it is nice to have meals even on short flights. That's a change from U.S. short haul flights. Note: All flights were taken on Cathay Pacific.

Manila to Hong Kong
Orange Juice
The drink before take off. We took a mid-morning flight and I didn't have breakfast yet, so this was refreshing.

Fruits
A standard for the tray.

Bread and Butter
I normally don't ask for bread because it's dry. Yeah, it was dry.

The Wine Pairing
Bodegas Alto Almanzora Este 2007. Not really a great tasting Spanish red. I can't wait for Cathay to put in new wines.

Braised Beef
With shallot red wine sauce, parsley potatoes, and roasted vegetables.

Apricot Frangipane Almond Tart
Like the bread, the dessert is also dry and tough.


Hong Kong to Shanghai
The Bread
I was going to say no to the bread, but the smell of the garlic bread was irresistible.

Loch Fyne Salmon
With marinated prawns and corn salsa

Stir-Fried Noodles
With roasted duck julienne and choy sum. Pretty decent because of the duck and the egg noodles.

Ice Cream
Haagen Daz Cookies and Chocolate


Shanghai Lounge
Dumpling Soup
A nice small bowl of soup before the flight. We also got some dim sum, but I guess I was too eager to eat it that I forgot to take pictures.


Shanghai to Hong Kong
Pacific Sunrise
Champagne and Drambuie with lemon zest

Smoked Salmon
With creme fraiche, salmon roe, and asparagus. The creme fraiche was a nice touch.

Braised Duck with Taro
With steamed rice and vegetables. This was ok, it felt too steamed and overcooked, as tradition plane food can tend to be.


Hong Kong to Manila
Cathay Delight
Kiwifruit with coconut juice and topped with a fresh mint. Nice and refreshing.

Fruits

Sauteed Prawns
In Kung Po sauce with steamed rice and mixed vegetables. The sauce was too sweet for my palate.

Baileys Cream Chocolate Cake
With raspberry compote. Another dry dessert, but the sauce saved the dessert.

The Journey Begins

Asia-bound! I've been around Asia a few times already, but I'm excited that this is the first time I'll be documenting my food adventures here on this blog. There's no better way to start than with the airplane food. Because of it's award-winning service, my family always opts to fly on Cathay Pacific. And because of my parent's generosity, I was privileged to fly in Business Class. That definitely made the 14 hour flight to Hong Kong more comfortable.

I'll be posting my non-food related travel pictures on my Facebook and Flickr accounts.

Lunch
Amuse Bouche
Scallops, Cashews, and Champagne Deutx Brut Classic

The Pairing
Bordeaux, Vieux Chateau Landon Cru Bourgeois, 2006. Paired with the duck salad.

Duck Breast Salad
Generous slices of duck with fig chutney and a mango salsa. A tasty start.

Mesclun Salad
With portabella mushrooms, cucumbers, peppers, and lemon vinaigrette.

The Pairing
White Burgundy, P. Ferraud & Fils Vire-Clesse, 2008. Paired with the sea bass. (Turbulence kicked in around this time of the meal, as you can tell by the slant of the wine and the blurriness of the next picture.)

Pan-fried Sea Bass
In a black bean sauce with fried rice. The sauce was a bit salty, but overall this was a pretty good plate. Sea bass is a great choice for plane food.

Cheese Plate
Cambozola, Cheddar, Munster. I forgot to take a picture of the DOW Late Bottled Vintage Port 2004 that I paired the cheese with. I love cheese plates!

Fruit Plate
Pineapple and Watermelon. I asked not to get the honeydew and cantaloupe, since I'm slightly allergic to them.

Pecan Pie
With bits of pecans. It was more like a pecan bar than a slice of pecan pie.


Dinner
The Pairing
Chardonnay, Beringer Stone Cellars, 2008

Starter
A refreshing plate of fruit slices to get our stomachs ready for a light meal.

Congee
Chinese rice porridge with abalone and mushrooms. The slices of abalone were pretty generous. It also came with a couple slices of scallion pancakes.

Apple Crumble Torte
With Vanilla Sauce. Definitely crumbly.

Night Cap
Johnnie Walker Gold Label. Mmm.



CX Lounge, Hong Kong
We had a four hour wait until our connecting flight to Manila. We spent that time in the lounge where they have a Noodle Bar. The portions are nice and small for a refreshing and comforting bowl of soup.
Won Ton Noodle Soup
The shrimp and pork filling of the won ton was filled with flavor.

Shanghai Noodle Soup
The satay-like broth was pretty tasty.

Char Siu Bao
Steamed Buns with Pork.



By the time our flight to Manila took off, I was too exhausted to eat again. As much as I love food, I sometimes love sleep even more.