NYC Spring 2014 via EVA

[VerySleepy]

Hello SQTalkers!

Long time stalker here - Been enjoying the reports and pictures for years, living the adventures through the forumers, and spoiling myself silly with the accounts of others' premium travels. I'm going to share with our kind readers here my trip to NYC in May this year.


Preambles

A long awaited trip - Coordinated with much difficulty between 4 working adults with nearly unmatchable schedules. Half of us will fly to the US on the SQ Suites while the other half will utilize the humble(r) EVA Royal Laurel.

EVA Air had been covered before by a fellow SQTalker SQueeze flying from SIN to TPE while there are a number of other reports elsewhere detailing the trans-Pacific EVA sectors. Whilst I'm not offering anything earth-shattering or sky-splitting here, please allow me to indulge in the joys of writing my own TR!

(I didn't know that the airline name is pronounced as E-V-A. Been referring to her as Eva, you know, the name that brings to mind a svelte dirty-blonde short-haired young woman..)

Being the excitable person that I am, weeks before the actual travel, I did the following:
- Watched the in-flight safety video on YouTube
- Listened to the boarding tunes
- Looked out for the movies available during the flight
- Checked out the SkyShop catalogue
- Pondered over what to order in their version of Book the Cook

Anyway..

First important task of the day was to shoo this black cat who was waiting to jump across our paths when the lift door opened. Taxi was easy to get on this Saturday morning. A smooth check-in at the T1 SATS premium check-in area, minimal queue at the immigrations and we were Skytrain-ing to T3 within 30 minutes of arriving at the airport.



Courtesy of our friends who were to fly SQ Suites (lucky b******s), were guested into the SKL First Class area, a first time for me. While I understand why some may feel that this area of the SKL is less cosy, I appreciate the peacefulness in here. The Business Class area, at 7 plus in the morning, was a hive of humans and activities.





The prerequisite lounge champagne shot - Bollinger Cuvée. With ice-cream. Who doesn't eat ice-creams for breakfast?



Prata (instant/frozen but freshly heated up) with rather tasty fish curry, scrambled egg = Egg prata haha!



Satisfying the foreseen local-food-craving before the trip..



After bidding goodbye to our friends who were enjoying themselves in TPR, we whiled away a couple of hours drinking and catching up on reading. It was rather reassuring to feel the occasional gentle rumble on the chair/floor as some giant planes outside did their takeoff roll. :-)

[VerySleepy]

NYC Spring 2014 via EVA (Part II)

4 shower rooms - Quite generous. Regulars will know that the WCs don't come attached.



Lunch. Again, limited selection as compared to the C area, but with somewhat slightly better quality. (I'm biased because of the presence of a mildly-MSGed old cucumber soup. I love old cucumber soup.)



More Bollinger. Must had finished one bottle between two of us. Cannot drink so much of champagne so early in the day, so had to supplement with cognac and whisky and beers.





A peer into the SATS lounge in T1 before heading to our gate.



Elsa (or is it Anna) letting it go again and again and again..

[VerySleepy]

NYC Spring 2014 via EVA (Part III)

24 May 2014
BR226
SIN-TPE
Gate D42, Terminal 1
Aircraft 77W
Registration B16712
STD 1310H (GMT+8)
ATD 1330H (GMT+8)
STA 1745H (GMT+8)
ATA 1754H (GMT+8)
Seat 5D
Royal Laurel class



Boarding had already commenced by the time we arrived at the gate. EVA boards her passengers by a zoning system - J and premium econ passengers are in Zone 1. Come to think of it, I did not find out how many zones are there for an Eva 77W.



The interior looked exactly as I thought it will be. My first time in a reverse-herringbone setup and I do appreciate the slight extra privacy afforded by the way the seats are angled away from the aisles. Getting into and out of the seats required a little extra effort though - By squeezing through the narrowing at the lower leg area, or lifting the legs to step over the tiny space.





We boarded late so no pre-takeoff drink was offered. Push off was a couple of minutes late and the animated inflight safety video was played as we began taxiing. Pre-flight welcome message from the purser was done when we were airborne - This was done in Mandarin first, then English, and delightfully, Taiwanese Hokkien next. (The cockpit crew only greeted us 15 minutes prior to start of descent.)

Dark brown soft slippers, rather warm though..



Noise-cancelling earphones with mini 'showercaps' for earpiece hygiene..



Pre-meal munchies (yummy!) and thirst-quencher..



Drinks list

[VerySleepy]

NYC Spring 2014 via EVA (Part IV)

Onto the lunch service. In the J cabin, the stewardesses confirmed with every passenger his/her meal choice prior to or just after taking off.

Table setup and appetizer



Pretty salt and pepper shaker



Lunch Meals
Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Madeira Sauce Served with Mixed Vegetables and Potato
Laksa Noodle
Kampong Chicken with Chinese Herb Sauce served with Mixed Vegetables and Chicken Flavor Rice
＊Fried Cream Snapper Fillet with Kong Po Sauce Served with Mixed Vegetables and Fried Noodle
＊Pan Roasted Perch Fillet with Pesto Served Mixed Vegetables and Potato
＊Pork Piccata with Honey-Apple Sauce

* Exclusive meals not available on the inflight menu card.


For my mains, I pre-booked the pork piccata. I can imagine this dish to be rather palatable on the ground. The reheating had rendered the meat dry and hard, and the crust, rubbery - A pity.



Dessert - Something moussy with passion fruit sauce and mango



Fruits



Salty coffee. Tasted like a decent 3-in-1 coffee with a touch of savouriness (to the fans of bubble tea Gong Cha - this tasted like the salty Alisan milk cream).



Lights out and window shades down after the meal service was completed. Harnn's toiletries in the washroom were heavily lemongrass-based.



I'm 185cm tall and I could just about stretch flat..



Journey to TPE was uneventful and we landed 10 minutes later than originally scheduled.

[VerySleepy]

NYC Spring 2014 via EVA (Part V)

With just over an hour in between flights, we made a hasty search for the lounge for a quick freshening up. The lounge assigned to us on the invitation card was the Infinity. I understood that the lounge next door, the Star, was also available for use.



Luckily for me I was able to secure a shower room (the last free one then!) immediately upon arrival.



Shower room was dry and clean and had the basic amenities. I appreciated the three towels provided in a sealed plastic bag - A bath, face and hand towel each. To nitpick - Toothbrush is the cheap soft type and shaver is also not as good as the ones provided in the SKL.





Environment control.. Looks useful, but I could only guess what the functions are..



Water pressure was great!



I barely finished showering when the boarding announcement was made, therefore no chance to check out any of the lounges.

Gate holding room was spartan..



Boarding announcement was made roughly 40 minutes prior to scheduled departure time. Again passengers were boarded by zones and the process was reasonably orderly.

[VerySleepy]

NYC Spring 2014 via EVA (Part VI)

24 May 2014
BR32
TPE-JFK
Gate C6, Terminal 2
Aircraft 77W
Registration B16711
STD 1905H (GMT+8)
ATD 1944H (GMT+8)
STA 2205H (GMT-4)
ATA 2208H (GMT-4)
Seat 5K
Royal Laurel class




I'm starting to get used to this cabin layout!



No pyjamas offered, unfortunately, on this flight. The Royal Laurel improvements had not been rolled out across the board yet. I was looking forward to the pyjamas, and that the Rimowa kits were to come in 2 different colors.

For now, the Rimowa kit comes in Jungle Green.



Pre-takeoff drink, with a cold towel (the thin cotton type) in individual wraps. The supremely-thick blanket (confortable, but too warm!) in the background. We were given the same soft dark brown slippers as well.



Same snacks popped out after the fasten seatbelt sign came off. Difference was, the snacks were presented in bowls instead of their original packagings.



And may I present to you, at the top left hand corner, the stuff that is usually served in F in other carriers..



Dinner was served somewhere over Fuzhou..



The appetizer and huge serving of salad (with a choice of three dressings).





Delicious freshly-toasted garlic bread. Loved the smell of them wafting through the cabin. I can imagine that this lingering smell could irritate some passengers though.




Dinner Meals
Pan Fried Prime Beef Fillet Steak with Rosemary Mustard Brown Sauce,Vegetables,Gratin Red Skin Potato
Steamed Cod Fillet with Nori Paste Sauce,Vegetables and Egg Noodles
Stuffed Chicken Wing with Bamboo Shoot,Shiitake Mushroom and Ham in Superior Soya Sauce, Vegetables and Steamed Rice with Pearl Barley
＊Rack of Lamb Cutlet Coated with Lime Herb Crust with Rosemary Sauce serve with Parmentier Potatoes and Mixed Vegetables
＊Pan Fried Duck Breast with Dark Cherry Red Wine Sauce and Asparagus Rolled with Bacon,Roasted Potato
＊Pan Seared Salmon Fillet and Cold Smoked Tuna Coated with Spinach and Sesame Delight Salad
＊Braised Bean Curd,Burduck,Buttum Mushroom with Monascus Purpareus Sauce in Baby Pumpkin,Five Grain Rice
＊Sauteed Scallop and Prawn with Herb Cream Sauce serve with Charcoal Noodles Tossed with Olive Oil and Buttered Vegetable

* Exclusive meals not available on the inflight menu card.


I booked the duck, which tasted good, particularly with the tangy cherries. However, check out the thick layer of fat!

[VerySleepy]

NYC Spring 2014 via EVA (Part VII)

Huge selection of generously-sized fruits was offered along with a choice of cheese. Fruits were sweet and juicy!



Ice-cream and tea to wind down the meal..





It was a prompt outfit change to the more comfy outerwear once dinner service is completed, 2.5 hours after takeoff.

The 'pilot view' screen.



Mood lighting. Trust me, it looked and felt better than how the photo presented this to be. Notice the stars in the celing? They too, looked better when the cabin lights were totally off.



Flat bed was too.. Flat. I actually needed to angle the head up slightly, or alternatively, I could have asked for another pillow. Length of the bed is excellent - I'm 185cm and I read that even taller people had no issues with the bed. Foothole was small but not too restrictive. I wasn't expecting to be able to spread out anyway.

Could I sleep with this hardware? I wasn't able to get a good sleep but all were due to my own issues. I'm a side-sleeper and the natural tendency was to face away from the aisle - Therefore straight into the illuminated control panel at the side of the seat/bed. Putting on the eye shades, on the other hand, disturbs my sleep! And to sleep supine, I'll need to spread out and contort myself in all sorts of angles, which will necessitate a queen-sized bed. (I’m a royal PITA! ) So I'll go ahead and say that these seats are actually very, very decent.

[VerySleepy]

NYC Spring 2014 via EVA (Part VIII)

Napped a bit, did some reading, watched a movie and played with the onboard entertainment system.

No I really didn't watch this...



Had a supper of dimsums midway through the flight.



Then napped some more, read some more, and it's time for breakfast (well it was 8pm at our destination, but to my body it was breakfast!).


Refreshing Meal Meals
Taiwanese Plain Congee Served with Cold Delicatessen, Scrambled Egg with Scallion and Carrot, Shimeiji Mushroom with Green Beans and Water Bamboo Shoot
Sauteed Seafood with Creamy Pesto Sauce Served with Linguini and Bechamel Sauce
Double Boiled Chicken Soup with Udon Noodles Served with Traditional Delicatessens


No extra meal choices here, even if you selected your meal online prior to the flight.

I had the congee. Lovely, lovely meal, rather appetizing despite the coated tongue. My travelling partner gave a thumbs up to the chicken soup with noodles as well.







Welcome to the Big Apple!

[VerySleepy]

NYC Spring 2014 via EVA (Part IX)

Spent 9 days mostly in Manhattan, one-quarter of the time sightseeing, one-quarter sleeping, and half the time in food coma..

Feel clever already just by being inside the New York Public Library!



An obligatory visit to the Grand Central..



Magnificent Flatiron..



Manhattanhenge. The exact day was overcast with the sun nowhere to be seen - And a few days later, the setting sun was already out of alignment with the streets.



A walk along the Highline..



Of course there wasn't enough time to finish combing the museums in the city..





The Wall Street Bull was well-molested!



A joyride on the Staten Island Ferry..



.. Which afforded us a view of the grand old lady (without going through the crowd and queues!).



As the sun was setting on a rainy evening in Brooklyn..



A view across the East River (the two bright spires in the centre being the Empire States and Chrysler)..

[yflyer]

Thanks for posting, VerySleepy! Great TR so far!

I have never flown BR. I've always felt that BR was outstanding in some respects (One of the premium Y pioneers and great F&B...can't believe they have Dom in J!) but lack that last degree of polish and refinement.

Now that they are part of Star Alliance, they are certainly on my radar when selecting flights.

[9V-SIA]

Enjoyed that

Thanks for sharing

[VerySleepy]

NYC Spring 2014 via EVA (Part X)

Thanks for the kind words yflyer and 9V-SIA! I've always enjoyed your reports too!

-------------------

One of the important reasons for the trip was to STUFF OUR FACES.

Momofuku ssam bar with the enormous whole rotisserie duck - I will return to NYC just to have the duck again!



Jean Georges' asparagus with morel mushrooms. Unfortunately most of the dinner was spent in a daze, being jetlagged.



Charred tairagai clam at Le Bernardin. This place does their seafood well.



Lobster boudin at Per Se. First-class dinner, and we were killed by the generous amount of desserts at the end..



Roasted chicken at NoMAD. Foie gras and black truffle stuffed under the chicken skin, with meat still succulent. Just marvellous.



Magnificent brunch at ABC Kitchen - These mushrooms were perfect!



Poached lobster with beets at Eleven Madison Park. My favourite-est restaurant in the whole trip - Splendid and fun food, relaxed waitstaff, lovely settings, and when the chef came out to greet us at the end of the meal, I almost wanted to bow down and lick his shoes..



Grand Central's Oyster Bar.



Best steak I've ever had, I had at Peter Luger's. Thick slab of bacon as appetizer, which was unimaginably simple but delicious! Humongous porterhouse for two, with creamed spinach and potatoes. For dessert and coffee, every table was given a bowl of schlag - Sort of heavy whipped cream, to be smeared over any desserts you ordered, or to splatter over your coffee, or if you're like me, to be devoured straight by the spoonfulS..

The pictures don't do this place justice. I was too jittery to take proper photos when faced with these fine hunks of meat.

[VerySleepy]

NYC Spring 2014 via EVA (Part XI)

Wish there were more opportunities for more meals at Shake Shack!



When in New York, we must have the eponymous slice of sin..



Generous toppings on massive slices of pizza (I can't remember where these were from, but I remembered these being artichoke, crab and margherita).



On the coldest and windiest night of the trip, I had the Momofuku milk bar's Cereal Milk soft serve..



The ubiquitous roadside kebab/rice with various meats made for a really filling meal - This US$7 portion can feed two pax..



My Chinese food fix in Manhattan Chinatown..

[VerySleepy]

NYC Spring 2014 via EVA (Part XII)

Time to get back to reality..



The contract lounge in T1 (JAL's) was a dump. There’s a Lufthansa lounge nearby - However it was closed at the particular time of our EVA flight.



Miserable offerings..



Gate area. The security people looked at me suspiciously as I was snapping away, oops!




5 June 2014
BR31
JFK-TPE
Gate 8, Terminal 1
Aircraft 77W
Registration B16717
STD 0145H (GMT-4)
ATD 0205H (GMT-4)
STA 0515H (GMT+8)
ATA 0526H (GMT+8)
Seat 2D
Royal Laurel class


The screens that could swivel in and out. During take-off and landing, these had to be tucked in, preventing one from viewing the display.



Standard flight, with another Rimowa kit to add to the collection, but less Dom (too much alcohol during the holidays! ).

Appetizer (and DP fizzling away).




Supper Meals
Chilean Seabass with Basil Tomato Coulis Served with Seasonal Vegetables and Potatoes
Noodle with Stir Fried Chicken Oyster Sauce Served with Traditional Delicatessen and Soup with Pork Sparerib and Watercress
Grilled Fillet of Beef with Rosemary Sauce, Served with Mixed Vegetables and Gorgonzola Stuffed Gnocchi
＊Braised Pork Rib with Lily Flower and Black Fungus, Seasonal Vegetables, Steamed Rice
＊Lobster Thermidor Served with Seasonal Vegetables, Fingerling Potato
＊Baked Seafood in Lotus Leaf, Seasonal Vegetables, Jade Rice
＊Stewed Pork with Morel Sauce, Seasonal Vegetables, Spaetzel
＊Veal Cheeks with Braising Sauce, Seasonal Vegetables, Leek and Potato Terrine

* Exclusive meals not available on the inflight menu card.


Lobster wasn't spectacular. Haven't had the SQ one before, so couldn't compare them here..



Self-branded bottle of water for every passenger.



Poorly-focused shot. The stars on the ceiling were gimmicky but rather soothing..



Midnight (or mid-day) snack of XO-sauced rice rolls. Very fragrant. In fact I was woken up by the smell of this being served to other passengers..




Breakfast Meals
Plain Congee Served with Traditional Delicatessens and Egg Pancake with Green Onion and BBQ Pork,Stir Fried Dried Scallop with Kai Choy
Egg Benedict with Hollandaise Sauce and English Muffin
Egg Pancake with Chopped Gammon and Chinese Sausage with Traditional Delicatessen and Red Date with Sweet Gluten Rice Congee


Was very glad I ordered congee for breakfast again. Excellent fermented beancurd served (that brown thing in the middle small plate). I could finish an entire bowl of plain porridge with just this single condiment added..

[VerySleepy]

NYC Spring 2014 via EVA (Part XIII)

With 2 hours between flights, we could afford a more leisurely pace to shower, visit the EVA lounge and walk around the airport.

The Star lounge (turn right at the entrance).



The Infinity lounge (left turn after the lounge dragons). Much has been discussed about the 'atmosphere' in here..



Largely Oriental-oriented buffet spread.



With stupendously sweet and fluffy sweet potatoes!





In the hub of the Hello Kitty airline, we must not miss the mania surrounding this 'I'm-not-just-a-cat' little girl..





Coming soon to SIN end of the year!



The other major user of TPE.