Actually, I was mightily impressed by both the quality and variety of the foods offered in the departures terminal at Hong Kong airport. But, most importantly, it was the great money-for-value aspect that I liked. For example, the Hainanese Chicken Rice set that I ordered only cost me $52 HK, which is the equivalent of around $7 AUD. The price of a sandwich from any of the cafes located in Sydney airport. Except my chicken rice set was so much more filling and tastier than any $7 sandwich could be.
Hainanese Chicken Rice set
In addition to a reasonable portion of chicken and rice, the set also came with the usual dipping sauces, some pickled vegetables, and a bowl of chicken broth. The chicken was so tender. I am not exaggerating at all when I describe it as "melt-in-your-mouth".
The chicken skin was uber-fatty and therefore...uber-delicious. I ate mine, as well as my health-conscious companion's chicken skins as well.
From the same place, we also ordered toast with butter and condensed milk. I don't even know if a picture of it is necessary; the description alone sends my coronary arteries a-spasming. But show you I will:
I couldn't help myself - I kept going back for bite after bite. The bread was crusty and warm and had that indescribable flavour and texture of fresh toast. The butter had all but melted and seeped into the pores of the bread. And the condensed milk...why hasn't anyone else thought of doing this in Sydney?
The other main dish we ordered was a bowl of noodles in broth, with chunks of what looked like fatty pork on top. Simple, but delicious.
My ideal in-flight entertainment - Jamie Oliver's 30-minute meals
Two hours later, we boarded our Cathay Pacific flight. I commend Cathay Pacific on its service, the friendliness of its staff, and the overall comfort of the flight. The thing which transformed the flight from merely "bearable" to "almost enjoyable" was the provision of a wide variety of programs on the in-flight entertainment system. There was Jamie Oliver (sadly only the one episode), Big Bang Theory, some recent movies like Harry Potter 2 and, amongst other things, America's Next Top Model (er, yes, my guilty pleasure).
Po about to unleash some serious whoop-ass in Kung-Fu Panda 2
The fact that there was an electrical socket at the back of every seat was the icing on the cake.
Charging up my iPad so I can read my ebooks when I get bored of watching ANTM contestants bitching at one another
Dinner onboard the flight to Sydney was the usual combination of main dish, side dish, bread roll and butter, and dessert. I was still stuffed from the Hainanese chicken, but when I saw that there was Haagen Daaz ice cream for dessert, I simply couldn't resist. And it was cookies 'n' cream as well - my most favouritest flavour in the world.
In addition to a Tim Tam; guess we really were going home :D
Cookies 'n' cream x 2
The main itself was some sort of braised fish. I didn't dare touch it.
A few hours later (and many, many episodes of Tyra Banks doing her thang), breakfast was given out:
I was quite hungry at this point, so I made the unpardonable decision to eat the bright yellow powdered egg concoction you see in the bottom right hand corner:
The sausage and bacon were nice, though. I guess when you're hungry even fake eggs and dubious-looking meat taste good. It was a pity that my first croissant in months had to be a limp, aeroplane one, but slather enough jam and butter on it, even a girl spoilt by Bourke Street Bakery will nom it down xD.
But nothing, and I mean nothing, can make me go near low fat yoghurt again. *shivers*
Cool. That was entertaining, right? Right? Hahaha, I think it's pretty obvious by now that I've run out of things to write about regarding this trip. So much so that I have resorted to assailing you with pictures of soggy airline meals. Time to wrap it up!
A quiet moment of contemplation in my hotel room, at the end of a busy day of sight-seeing, shopping, and eating.
Thank you, Hong Kong! I had fun, and look forward to seeing you again.
