Text 2700, 118 rader
Skriven 2008-02-18 12:42:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: travelogue 874
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I tried to get on the earlier flight, but despite the fact
there was seat availability, it would cost me $200 extra;
but anyhow there was nothing available upstairs, much less my
favorite seats, so I decided to stay stuck in the club and do
BBSing and stuff. I thought to pay a visit to the luxurious
ANA lounge, but I was lazy today. The Kirin VSOP brandy here,
by the way, is okay - not much grape character, rather a
smooth nutty opening, chocolaty vanillary palate, and then
the roof falls in from the fire. Long rather woody finish.

There were inarizushi (sushi rice stuffed into sweetened
fried tofu pockets) for snacks; I am fond of these.

The red wine is some weird stuff from the Vaucluse or
somesuch place - I didn't dare try it.

Gave up on plans to wander about and instead had a shower
(the showers are quite nice) and drank more beer and brandy,
both Kirin, both good facsimiles of European products.

UA 852 NRT SFO 1900 1124 777 9H Ch 9 Y Empower Y

A very light load on this one, 1 or 2 in First, 7 in the
10-seat minicabin between First and Business, and the big
Biz cabin looked largely empty - perhaps everyone had gotten
on flight 838, which leaves just a couple hours before. Now I
understand why people say that row 9 lacks recline - I tried
to put my seat back, and shortly after halfway the (pushed
down all the way) headrest smacked into a wall (which wasn't
there, or at least wasn't nearby, on the previous plane). A
pretty good crew; I did wander up front to see if I could
find any BBS buddies in the nearly deserted front section,
so easy to check), but the purser shooed me away promptly.

A very good crew, mostly Japanese ethnic by the look of
them. Hot towels and hot nuts. 

I had a glass of Chateau de Tracy Madamoiselle de T Pouilly
Fume 05, which had all the standard Sauvignon Blanc
characteristics and tasted like passion fruit and cat pee.
There was magic between the cashews in the nut mix and the cat
pee - the resultant flavor was very like durian. I was amused.

to begin
Grilled smoked salmon, prosciutto bruschetta;
vegetable sushi and pickled ginger

Fresh seasonal greens; Creamy Caesar or soy vinaigrette

main course
Pan-seared filet mignon with Madeira sauce; baked potato
wedges and herbs with green beans, carrot, pepper saute

Chicken Florentine with smoked Gouda and tomato basil sauce;
mushroom risotto and asparagus saute

Washoku zen selection
  Appetizers of salmon sushi with fish eggs, roasted lime-
flavor beef with miso, quick-blanched tuna, broiled salmon,
sansho-flavored sweet smelt, seaweed-flavored flounder and
somen noodles topped with sweet egg
  A main course of barbecued eel kabayaki, shrimp and
scallop flavored with sake and seaweed, marinated broiled
sea bass, steamed tofu and assorted vegetables served with
steamed rice and Japanese pickled vegetables
  Served with green tea
  Items in this meal may contain traces of MSG

dessert

International cheese selection: Red Cheddar, Coulommiers

Eli's praline cheesecake

prior to arrival

Scrambled egg and Red Cheddar crepe with mushroom cream
sauce; Canadian bacon

Fresh seasonal fruit plate with creamy yogurt

Today's menu features beef from Australia.

When making reservations on future flights to and from
Japan, you may secure the Japanese meal by preordering.

We apologize if occasionally your choice is not available.

The Japanese meal was mostly acceptable, especially the
appetizers. The salmon and tuna were of high quality and
not messed around with. The beef was a little ripe, as if
it were halfway to pastrami - not unpleasant for that. The
smelt was whole and stared at me until I wolfed it down. Was
its brief life and ignominious end worth it? Perhaps. The
flounder was of an insignificance; the noodles were pallid
and tasteless, even dipped in dashi broth.

The main courses were way overcooked but tasted decent.
The eel was quite tasty but overcooked mushy; shrimp (2)
and scallops (3 pieces) fairly tasty but overcooked hard.
The other ingredients sort of mushed together and stuck to
the bottom of the dish. The tofu, what I could pry off the
bottom, was quite nice. Also on the plate, lightly pickled
cucumber, celery, and red plum. An entertainment: a cherry
blossom tinted pink and white, apparently made of surimi. I
tasted it in the interests of science: turned out to be mochi.

The rice was hard on the outside and sticky in the middle.
I tried to mine down into the middle but gave up after
making a slight mess.

Green tea was of a lowish standard; I had a bottle of
Gekkeikan Petit Moon instead: it was clean, characterless,
and rather like milky pear juice but went nicely.

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