The fine dining experience is not one to stay confined to the ground for Cathay Pacific Airlines, which has partnered with Michelen-Starred Duddell’s to bring passengers gourmet inflight dishes ranging from wok-fried lobster seasoned with ginger to premium Iberico pork belly and longan jelly for dessert.
Cathay Pacific’s partnership with Duddell’s took flight in February and will serve Business and First Class passengers the Hong Kong restaurant’s acclaimed Cantonese cuisine for the next 12 months.
Each dish on the inflight menu was presented and approved in a tasting session with the Executive Director of Duddell’s parent company, JIA Group, to assure that every element—from the taste and flavor to the texture and presentation—met the highest standards.
“The biggest challenge was replicating a dish in a huge volume with a taste and quality consistent with what we envisaged,” says Yenn Wong, JIA Group founder and CEO, in a statement. “We adjusted the recipes to enhance the flavors of the meals, while keeping health in mind.”
Dishes that made the cut include grouper soup noodles sprinkled with Sichuan pepper, a sweet and delicate steamed halibut with chewy cordyceps flowers, aged mandarin peel and preserved black olives inspired by southern Chinese Shunde cuisine, and ginger milk pudding—a twist on a beloved classic Cantonese dessert.
“Duddell’s sources ingredients that make a dish stand out and prepares it with time-honored techniques that enhance the flavors,” says Cathay Pacific’s General Manager of Customer Experience and Design Vivian Lo in a statement. “The care and passion that went into ensuring each dish leaves a lasting impression is aligned with what Cathay Pacific strives to deliver every day.”
According to Cathay Pacific, more than 40 meals go out per flight across the First class and Business cabins and passengers have the ability to pre-book their choice. Since cooking methods are limited on the plane, the bulk of preparation takes place on the ground in Cathay Pacific’s kitchens near Hong Kong International Airport and then dishes are heated on the plane in about 20 minutes.
More dishes are expected to join the inflight fine dining menu by Cathay Pacific and Duddell’s, which will continue to redefine passengers’ experiences in the air and offer travelers delicious Hong Kong cuisine.
To learn more and explore Cathay Pacific’s inflight dining menu options, click here.
