Cathay Pacific First Class JFK-YVR
JFK-YVR
CX 889
777-300ER
11:00P-1:55A (sked)
12:35A- 2:55A (actual)
March 21, 2012
Booked 4/6
Seat 2A
OK, I'll just come out and say it. One of the best flights I have ever had on any airline at any time!
Boarding was typical JFK chaos with the usual array of gate lice, but once on board, it was 7 hours of seamless and flawless service, and the most blissful travel experience one could ever hope for. What set this one apart was being wonderfully pampered while still at the gate, being the only F pax on board for more than a hour as we waited for inbound connecting pax. Perhaps it was the entire bottle of Krug that I polished off before push-back. 
Take that macabus! Sometimes you just really click with the cabin crew. Well lead First FA Carrie and I just clicked, especially when I started taking cabin pics and she found out that I was a CX "regular" and had just been to Hong Kong and flown CX from SFO. Others with more SQ/CX flight experience have remarked about the differences between the SQ and CX FAs, with SQ being more robotic and CX more personable. I finally get it.
The first of many glasses of Krug.
And the second, or third, or fourth...
And the usual tour of the best First cabin in the skies...
Although boarding commenced at 11:00P, the doors were not closed until almost 12:30A. Apparently, the last 30 minutes of the delay was due to CX holding the flight for two F pax inbound from MCO.
Finally discovered the live camera which was pretty cool.
Wheels up into the heavy blanket of low lying fog...
Shortly after take-off, and I do mean shortly, Stephanie and Carrie were in action. First and most important order of business, close the curtain to keep out those J pax. 
While the JFK-YVR segment features a somewhat abbreviated Supper menu without the caviar, it was more than adequate and again puts the NA airlines to shame. While we were waiting at the gate, Carrie and I had reviewed tonight's menu and the wine list (yes, the '04 Lynch-Bages is preferable to the '07) and I had already made my choices.
New York - Vancouver
Supper
Starters
Smoked Salmon carpaccio with avocado creme fraiche timbale and capers
Truffle potato soup
Caesar salad with marinated prawns
Main Courses
Grilled USDA prime beef tenderloin with creme de cassis onion marmalade, mashed potatoes, baby carrots, asparagus and artichoke
Rigatoni with gorgonzola cheese sauce and mixed vegetables
Chinese Favourites
Double boiled duck with winter melon soup
Cold plate - vegetarian duck
Stir-fried lobster with scallion and ginger, steamed jasmine rice, kailan with black mushroom and carrot flower
Cheese and Dessert
Cambozola, St. Paulin, Goat Cheese, Yellow Cheddar
Raspberry yoghurt cake with raspberry coulis
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
SNACKS
Wontons in noodle soup
Ice cream
The wine list was exactly the same as our SFO-HKG list from last month.
Champagne
Krug Grande Cuvee Champagne
White
2007 Estancia Reserve Monterey Chardonnay
2008 Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes
Red
2010 Sauvion Deliction Chinon
2009 Finca Origen Gran Reserva Malbec
2004 Chateau Lynch Bages Grand Cru Classe Pauillac
Port
Ramos Pinto Quinta da Ervamoira 10 Year Tawny
With meticulous item by item placement of each table item, my 1AM dinner began. The Smoked Salmon carpaccio with avocado creme fraiche timbale and capers was sensational.
Carrie already knew my wine sequence preferences and had already presented and poured my first glass of the wonderful 2008 Girardin Puligny-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes. I recall having 3 glasses of this, but quite frankly and as you will read later, it could have been more.
As I usually do on CX, I went for the Chinese menu tonight starting with the nice Double Boiled duck with winter melon soup, even better with chili sauce.
The Cold plate - vegetarian duck stumped me. Vegetarian duck? No idea whether it was really duck as it seemed more like mushrooms (which I love in pastry). Didn't really matter actually as I slathered more chili sauce on it and devoured it, and another glass of the Puligny.
OMG, the stir fry lobster with scallion and ginger was fabulous. Another glass of the Puligny, and for fun, a glass of the 2010 Dilection, which I had enjoyed from SFO-HKG.
Kailan with black mushroom and carrot flower were lovely. And another glass of Puligny.
One of the wonderful things about First on the CX 777 is that you can't see or generally even hear anyone else. I know that the fool in 1A passed on supper and went to sleep right after take-off. Not sure about 2D and 2K, but at this point, I'm thinking that Carrie and Stephanie are wondering just how much this guy in 2A can drink and eat.
I believe this qualifies as a double cheese portion, accompanied by a glass of Ramos Pinto port.
Mr. SFO, do you still have room for dessert? Silly girl. Bring it on, and perhaps another glass of Puligny??? We're getting to the best part of Money Ball, for the 6th time in the last month.
Pralines? Why not?
No idea what time it was but I'm guessing around 2:15AM-2:30AM EST, I head to the lav and tell Carrie that it's bedtime. I changed into my PJ tops and returned a couple minutes later to a beautifully turned down bed. Apparently I passed out soon after lying down as the next thing I remember is the captain announcing that we were 25 minutes to landing in YVR. Wow, I guess alcohol is indeed a substitute for Ambien. Or at least two bottles worth are. macabus, how you could have consumed 8 bottles of Dom in 27 hours is beyond me. My hero indeed!
A quick trip to the lav to freshen up (more like try to wake up), brush teeth and change, and I was back with Carrie offering me juice, coffee, tea, etc.. Sadly, we touched down at 3AM just a little over 5 hours after take-off. Thanks to the wonderful Carrie and Stephanie and CX for another memorable CX experience. 