Cathay Pacific 'Hong Kong Flavours' dishes for business, first class

By David Flynn, February 12 2019
Cathay Pacific 'Hong Kong Flavours' dishes for business, first class

Globetrotting business travellers tend to love trying local dishes, but why wait until your flight touches down? Cathay Pacific is tapping into its roots with a series of authentic Cantonese inflight meals under the airline’s new ‘Hong Kong Flavours’ dining concept.

Available on flights from Hong Kong to Australia, New Zealand, Europe, South Africa and North America, the dishes reflect the diversity and vibrancy of the city’s rich gastronomic traditions.

From February to April 2019, Cathay Pacific’s business class passengers will be offered Hong Kong delights such as E fu noodle soup with crab meat sauce (considered a particularly “auspicious dish” for celebrating the Chinese New Year); roast duck with lai fun rice noodles in soup; coconut and red bean pudding; and Hong Kong-style milk tea pudding with tapioca pearls.

Stir fried pork and shallots in chilli tomato sauce on-egg noodles
Stir fried pork and shallots in chilli tomato sauce on-egg noodles

On first class flights, travellers can look forward to mains such as braised abalone with flower shiitake and choy sum-layered bean curd, and braised garoupa with bean curd and shiitake mushrooms in ginger and scallion sauce.

Other dishes to watch for under the ‘Hong Kong Flavours’ banner will include

  • wok-fried lobster in broth with crispy and steamed rice
  • braised brisket with flat rice noodles in special beef broth
  • stir-fried pork and shallots in chilli tomato sauce on egg noodles
  • fish ball and fish cake flat rice noodle soup
  • soy-braised chicken with Chinese sausage on steamed jasmine rice
Braised brisket with flat rice noodles in special beef broth
Braised brisket with flat rice noodles in special beef broth

“It’s not an exaggeration to say that people from Hong Kong are crazy about food,” admits Vivian Lo, Cathay Pacific’s General Manager Customer Experience and Design (below).

“Our new dishes are inspired by those you find in local Hong Kong restaurants. These neighbourhood eateries define Hong Kong’s everyday culinary scene and provide simple yet hearty and delicious dishes for those, like our customers, who are always on the move.”

Still on the food front, Cathay Pacific will extend its new ‘business class dining experience’ to Sydney flights in May 2019 with Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne and Perth following in June.

David

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

15 Aug 2017

Total posts 116

Plenty of mixed reviews of the new Cathay Business Dining out there so far sine it’s Launch. I had it recently on a CX Europe to HK flight and found it a nice but small upgrade on their previous food service which has been lacking for years. It will be interesting to see how it goes on the Aus flights.

The dishes sound great and look delicious in the studio photos. I wonder what they look and taste like at 40,000 feet.


(“auspicious dish” for celebrating the Chinese New Year) this means for the non Chinese but culturally celebrate the Luna New Year then you are out of luck.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

10 Apr 2012

Total posts 317

Am i one of the few that actually don't mind the catering on CX? lol

I'm reliably advised that is the unfortunate position.

The Cathay Business and First lounge experience at Hong Kong (in particular) and many international destination airports (but obviously excluding their share arrangement with Air NZ's ghastly AKL 'public cafeteria') is superb. Their in-flight culinary experience remains mediocre, at best. We (wife and self) spent quite a few years being disappointed in their in-flight food offerings before wiseing up to the (by then) obvious ... Cathay lounges are for relaxing and eating ... Cathay aircraft are for sleeping.

mrj
mrj

14 Jun 2017

Total posts 4

Endorse others' comments re mediocre quality of food in Bus Class. Also, a distinct lack of non-meat options. One final comment is that on the service to Tel Aviv - which is otherwise terrific - food options including pork and shellfish are probably culturally insensitive at best.

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