[Continued HK Series #10 of 10]
The other details of our 12-day trip... how we got there and where we stayed.
We flew Cathay Pacific and rode in the Premium Economy seats. We were able to board along with first and business class and were greeted with a hot washcloth and glass of water, juice or wine.
Premium economy is a new category of seats in most of Cathay Pacific Boeing 777s. It's in between Business and Economy class.There are only 32 seats available (4 rows) in this category. Basically it's a domestic business class seat which have been modified for the 'long haul' international flights.
More legroom, wider seats, wider armrests, wider table and for the front row of the premium economy you get a plush built-in leg rest. It also has a pop-up video screen. Plus each seat has your own AC power outlet with an international socket capable of recharging your smartphone or any other USB powered device.
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| Hannah enjoying her kid's dinner: hash browns and chicken nuggets while watching Cinderella |
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| Row 30 with our huge amount of leg room; |
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| The headrest was able to cradle my head too and the seat was very comfortable... I was able to sleep finally! I was never able to sleep in an Economy seat. And it's a 14 hour non-stop flight! |
You also get the same noise canceling headphones handed out to business class, along with a business class pillow which is larger and better padded than its economy counterpart and a much softer and gentler weave of a blanket. The amenities were an eye mask, socks, toothbrush and toothpaste and ear plugs in a cute pouch.
The food was also the same as business class. We took the 11pm flight out and was served 'dinner' about an hour and a half into the flight.
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| Mine and Matthew's dinner: Prosciutto ham with melon; warm biscuit, stir-fried prawns and scallops with steamed jasmine rice, gailan and carrots; Haagen Dazs ice cream; Ghirardelli chocolate, tea coffee or soft drink |
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| Emily's dinner: Same as above except the entree was braised beef short rib with yukon gold truffle mash, wilted spinach and tomato |
About an hour and a half before we landed they served us breakfast...
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| Hannah's kids menu: pancakes, sausage with OJ, fruit, chicken salad, tapioca and oreo cookies |
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| Mine: Seasonal fresh fruit, fruit yoghurt, chicken and mushroom congee, warm croissant with fruit preserve and butter, tea, coffee or soft drink |
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| Matthew & Emily's: Same as above except the entree was scrambled egg topped with chives, pork sausage, hash brown potatoes, cherry tomato and mushroom |
On the flight back home, we were served again, supper first and then brunch.
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| Hannah's: Penne pasta with meat sauce, egg salad, fruit, warm roll and juice. Unfortunately she slept through the whole flight and missed eating her dinner. |
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| I had grilled Australian prime beef tenderloin with red wine sauce, potato gratin, roasted carrot and asparagus, warm roll, Haagen Dazs ice cream, chocolate truffle and tea,coffee, soft drink |
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| Matthew had same same as above except the entree was wok-fried prawns with ginger and shallot, steamed jasmine rice and broccoli |
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| Emily had the same as above except her entree was saffron fettuccine with tomato concasse and Parmesan cheese |
For brunch we were served:
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| Hannah had a hashbrown, poached egg, sausage with chocolate chip muffin, fruit, yogurt and a capri sun juice pack. Of which she also did not eat. Seriously she slept throughout the 11.5 hr flight. |
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| Matthew and Emily both had the fresh seasonal fruit, fruit yogurt, scrambled eggs with mushroom and parsley cream, back bacon, hash brown and tomato; tea, coffee or soft drink |
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| I had the same as above except my entree was congee with dried bonito fish, peanuts and chicken |
Throughout the flight they also offered cup of noodles and assorted snacks that we did not take advantage of since we were sleeping!
We stayed at YMCA Hong Kong on Salisbury Road in Tsim Sha Tsui which is also located right next door to the swanky Peninsula Hotel. It's funny the reaction people have when I tell them we stayed at the YMCA. "You mean you stayed at a hostel?" they say. Come on people.... do you see Me in a hostel?!?! PLEASE...
The YMCA is a Christian organization that offers their activities in the hotel along with church services on Sundays. It is also a very very nice hotel! With top notch service!
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| Our hotel window was the very top corner window.. 14th floor! |
We stayed in a Family Suite ...
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| The 'office' when you first enter into the room; you can see the harbor through this window if you look to the far right |
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| The other view of the 'office, front door, and bathroom |
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| The Master bedroom.. the bed was huge! |
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| The living room |
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| The other view of the living room with two sofas |
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| The view from our living room window |
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| The other view from our window... The Kowloon Hotel |
Not too shabby huh? Did that look like a 'hostel' to you?
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| The living room for the girls: one was a sofabed and the other was a regular sofa |
I had impeccable service too. Actually back in April, I tried booking a Family Suite online and there were none available. December is peak season remember and they don't have too many Family Suites. Chinese travel agents were also unable to secure a Family Suite for me so I was on my own.
So I emailed the General Manager (who wrote me a letter the last time we stayed there which was in 2006 thanking me for our stay and apologizing for a faulty shower head which I had mentioned on a comment card after we checked out) and asked if there were any Family Suites still available and that I would love to come back to stay at their hotel. (Yes I kept that 6-year old letter... he offered me a discount the next time I stayed there and I did not want to pass it up if I needed to take him up on his offer.)
I had no idea if the guy still worked at the hotel. I mean.. it was 6 years ago! But he did! And he emailed me back a few days later AND offered me a family suite at a discounted rate! He even reserved a family suite for my sister-in-law (they were on the 9th floor below us) and two regular rooms my friends' Greg & Carolyn too! What a guy! I was so thrilled beyond belief!!
When we arrived at 7am to the hotel, our room was ready too! We did not have to wait until the noted check-in time of 3pm. They said that they remembered that I had noted an early arrival and made sure my room was ready for me!! I felt so taken care of!!
I was so thankful that I brought a 1-lb box of See's Candy for the General Manager. (Apparently See's is very expensive in HK if you can find it.) I wanted to bring something for him as a thank you in advance for such great service. Smart of me huh? If you give a little, you can get a little and we got a lot! Thank you YMCA of HK!
This finally ends my HK series! Thanks for reading!! Now back to our regularly scheduled posts.
