Seat 14A is the second row of the Business class cabin. Seats are slightly older on this A330 aircraft with no USB jack to charge my iPhone.

We are warmly greeted by our flight attendants who promptly take my jacket, offer me a glass of champagne, a hot refreshing wet towel, and provide me with a pair of non-noise canceling headphones (!?).

Degustation begins with a signature cocktail – ‘Pacific Sunrise’ – a refreshing combination of champagne and Drambuie with the zest of orange and lemon. Great start.

My next entry into signature cocktails is the non-alcoholic ‘Cathay Breeze’ – delicious blend of Kiwifruit, coconut juice, and mint. Delicious!

I thought the starter was one of a choice of three, but it turns out all three are served on a tray complemented by a glass of Burgundy from France. So it’s chicken roll on a tomato and olive salsa, seasonal salad with thousand island dressing, and soba noodles with shrimp.

I choose hot seared lamb rack with green peppercorn cream and roasted potato wedge, zucchini, and carrot. Doesn’t work. Lamb is hard. Ask to swap for Teriyaki chicken which I match with an aged Cognac. Sublime.

I’m mixing and matching today – and why the hell not? It’s business class I’m flying today. So I decide to have a 7 year old aged port with my age cheese platter. And it works!

Our lunch ends with a Haagen Dazs ice cream, praline, and a Latte.

Soon after we prepare for landing.

Rating: 9/10 – the way a flight of 2 and 1/2 hours should be.