Cathay Pacific has rolled out a new series of menus featuring locally inspired dishes that will be served to passengers in all classes on flights departing Hong Kong.
The airline’s “Hong Kong Flavours” concept will see new and updated dishes added to its in-flight culinary offering, with separate menus for passengers in first class, business, premium economy and economy.
For business class passengers in particular, the updated menu adds to Cathay Pacific’s revamped restaurant-style dining concept, which it began rolling out last summer and will be available in business class across all long-haul flights by June this year.
Business Traveller Asia-Pacific was invited to sample a selection of dishes that will be available as part of the new local menus at a media event in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
Dishes will be served on a rotational basis, with the current crop set to appear on board from February to April this year. The menu for the first three months will be as follows:
First class
- Braised abalone with flower shiitake and choy sum-layered bean curd
- Braised garoupa with bean curd and shiitake mushrooms in ginger and scallion sauce
Business class
- E fu noodle soup with crab meat sauce
- Roasted duck with lai fun rice noodles in soup
Premium economy
- Baked seafood rice with tomato sauce
- Steamed halibut with Tai O preserved mustard greens and steamed jasmine rice
Economy
- Soy-braised chicken with Chinese sausage on steamed jasmine rice
- Hong Kong-style seafood curry rice
Business class passengers will also be offered the choice of three different desserts: coconut and red bean pudding; Hong Kong-style milk tea pudding with tapioca pearls; and osmanthus jelly with wolfberries.
There are a few other dishes that were presented at the event that aren’t listed on the airline’s upcoming menu for February to April, however.
These include:
- Wok-fried lobster in broth with crispy steamed rice, spring onion and ginger (first class – also currently served in business class)
- Braised Australian wagyu beef (first class)
- Red-braised pork cartilage with thick egg noodles in soup (business class)
- Stir-fried beef in black pepper sauce with steamed jasmine rice (premium economy)
- Braised eggplant with minced pork in mild chilli sauce and jasmine rice (economy)
Cathay Pacific has also unveiled photographs of yet more dishes that will be available as part of the menu, including…
…fried fish in sweet corn sauce on jasmine rice…
…traditional steamed pork and water chestnut patties on jasmine rice…
…stir-fried pork and shallots in chilli tomato sauce on egg noodles…
…braised brisket with flat rice noodles in special beef broth…
…and fish ball and fish cake flat rice noodle soup.
Describing the new dishes as being “inspired by those you find in local Hong Kong restaurants”, Cathay Pacific’s general manager of customer experience and design, Vivian Lo, noted the new menu features dishes that, like those in the city’s restaurants, are enjoyed by customers “who are always on the move”.
“It’s not an exaggeration today that people from Hong Kong are crazy about food; and as Hong Kong’s home airline, it is important that our inflight dining reflects our heritage,” added Lo.
Unfortunately for passengers flying with the airline’s regional sister carrier, Cathay Dragon, the new dishes will only be available on flights operated by Cathay Pacific, a spokesperson from the airline told Business Traveller.
The airline also put a damper on the prospect of its dan dan noodle dish, a popular offering at the Noodle Bars in its airport lounges, becoming available inflight any time soon, citing the strong smell of the dish as making it less suitable to serve onboard its aircraft.
Cathay has been making a number of changes to its customer offerings, notably adding Chateau Montrose 2005 to its first class wine list late last year.
The airline also gave its business class lounge The Pier at Hong Kong International Airport an enhancement earlier this week with the addition of a new dedicated yoga and meditation space inside the lounge called The Sanctuary.
Last year, rival carrier Hong Kong Airlines launched a similarly Hong Kong-inspired local inflight menu for passengers travelling in its economy class cabin.
