078-079

078-079
Photo taken by: Howard Long
Route: Dubai (DXB) - Sydney (SYD), 28 Feb 2004
Ticket price: £3,900 (total return trip to Auckland)
Flight duration: 14 hours
Aircraft type & class: A340-500, First
Business or leisure trip: Leisure
Meal type: Lunch
Mixed Grill with assorted mushrooms and green asparagus, plum tomato with herbs and chive potato cakes;
Poached Paprica Egg topped with tomato hollandaise, served on a bed of smoked fish hash;
Toast
Drink:
Dom Perignon 1995 Champagne
Carrot Juice
Tea
Comments: Poached eggs were perfect. Being an Arabic airline, any chance of bacon or pork sausages is of course not going to happen. Still, what was offered was excellent except the steak which was seriously over done. The fish hash was wonderful.
Toast, which is freshly made on board, had dried out before I got to try it.
Carrot juice was excellent, as was the tea service, and of course a cleansing Dom Perignon 95 or two.
Rating 1-10 (worst-best): 10 for booze, 8 for food, 9 for service, 10 for comfort.

063-064-065-066-067-068-069-070-071-072-073-074-075-076-077

063-064-065-066-067-068-069-070-071-072-073-074-075-076-077

063-064-065-066-067-068-069-070-071-072-073-074-075-076-077

063-064-065-066-067-068-069-070-071-072-073-074-075-076-077

063-064-065-066-067-068-069-070-071-072-073-074-075-076-077

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063-064-065-066-067-068-069-070-071-072-073-074-075-076-077

063-064-065-066-067-068-069-070-071-072-073-074-075-076-077

063-064-065-066-067-068-069-070-071-072-073-074-075-076-077

063-064-065-066-067-068-069-070-071-072-073-074-075-076-077

063-064-065-066-067-068-069-070-071-072-073-074-075-076-077

063-064-065-066-067-068-069-070-071-072-073-074-075-076-077

063-064-065-066-067-068-069-070-071-072-073-074-075-076-077

063-064-065-066-067-068-069-070-071-072-073-074-075-076-077

063-064-065-066-067-068-069-070-071-072-073-074-075-076-077
Photo taken by: Howard Long
Route: Dubai (DXB) - Sydney (SYD), 28 Feb 2004
Ticket price: £3,900 (total return trip to Auckland)
Flight duration: 14 hours
Aircraft type & class: A340-500, First
Business or leisure trip: Leisure
Meal type: Lunch
Hors D'oeuvres - Feta cheese and olives
Sevruga Caviar with traditional accompaniments
Lobster and Argula Salad
Oven Roasted Lamb Loin
Drink:
Dom Perignon 1995 Champagne
Chassagne Montrachet 2001 (Burgundy White)
Domaine de Chavalier 1994 (Bordeaux Red)
Comments: This is the new Emirates First Class available on select flights. There is supposedly no concept of meal service, in that you can have what you want when you want, although in practice most people went for the meal being served at the same time. They work heavily on the basis that you should press the crew call button for service, and to this extent, the crew were very efficient, despite it being the first time two of the four crew in First Class had been on the aircraft.
Indeed, hanging around the galley seemed to be discouraged unless you were one of the seemingly huge throng of Emirates crew on board on vacation. I would recommend avoiding row 1 in view of this as the noise from the galley could be annoying.
It was a dirty job but there was a Dom Perignon lake in the galley which
needed dealing with. I lost count of the number of glasses I had during the fourteen hour flight, but I'm sure I have insufficient fingers to calculate it.
There was a tasty date and Arabic coffee hors d'oeuvres as well as olives and feta cheese with Champagne.
Caviar is always welcome, and it was served in the normal manner. The wheat blinis weren't too exciting so I used the flat bread individually presented in a basket instead. Yummy, and another reason to break open the Champagne.
The wine menu features two (excellent) wooded Chardonnays. While these were excellent, I think I'd rather have more choice with my food. A Sauvignon Blanc as an alternate would work, especially with the spicy food options offered. A similar comment goes for the two reds on offer - a Bordeaux and a Californian Cab Sav. Perhaps a pinot noir as an alternate might make life more interesting. Still, what there was was truly excellent. There was no dessert wine, although there was a port.
The Lobster and Argula salad was nothing short of spectacular. Very very good - I would certainly have this again. One of the best dishes I've ever had in the air. The lobster must have been enormous.
The lamb was not bad, but as is common with airlines, it was too well cooked. Next time I will ask if I have a choice of how it's cooked.
Tea, did I say tea? Full marks for a fantastic tea service. Silverware included teapot, milk jug, and sugar bowl.
Although you have your own private mini bar, there are only soft drinks supplied. More of a gimmick than any real use.
Rating 1-10 (worst-best): 9 for booze, 8 for food, 8 for service, 10 for comfort.

059-060-061-062

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059-060-061-062
Photo taken by: Howard Long
Route: London Heathrow (LHR) - Dubai (DXB), 27 Feb 2004
Ticket price: £3,900 (total return trip to Auckland)
Flight duration: 7 hours
Aircraft type & class: 777, First
Business or leisure trip: Leisure
Meal type: Dinner
Grilled Bay Scallops
Arabic Mezze
Seasonal Salad
Stir-Fried Beef
Drink:
Dom Perignon 1995 Champagne
Geoff Merrill Reserve Chardonnay 1998
Domaine de Chavalier 1994 (Bordeaux Red)
Comments: It's always a pleasure to knock back a few Dom Perignons, and the '95 is an excellent year. This was a late night flight (22:30) and service was exceptionally slow, so any chance of having the meal and a good sleep was unlikely. The menu is reduced on this overnight flight, so no caviar I'm afraid. I had no wine list which was disappointing - I asked what white there was and was only told about the Geoff Merrill and not about a Chassagne Montrachet that was on board. The scallop appetizer had tiny scallops and the dish itself wasn't that great, although presentation was OK. My travelling companion had the Arabic Mezze, but again this was not as good as expected.
The surprise of the night was the Stir-Fried Beef, which was supposedly only 174 calories. It was really, really tasty, although presentation was perhaps a little lacking, very Business Class.
Cheese was OK, but not exceptional. The one time I used the crew call button I was ignored.
Rating 1-10 (worst-best): 7 for food, 5 for service.