After nearly three years of border closures due to the pandemic, Hong Kong is primed and ready to lure in the crowds that once packed its streets. And none other than Cathay Pacific – the city’s flagship carrier and one of our favourite premium economy seats – is leading the charge. Less than a month after the announcement that the airline will be giving away over half a million free flight tickets, Cathay Pacific has revealed plans to take the city’s rich culinary heritage to the skies.
Hong Kong has long been the financial hub of Asia and is home to some of the best hotels, but it’s also a culinary hotspot for foodies – serving a mix of Cantonese, British and South East Asian-inspired flavours, among other international cuisines. Despite being one of Asia's smallest destinations, its foodie scene is impressive, with 71 Hong Kong-based restaurants receiving Michelin stars in 2022 alone. While most of these are housed in sky-high towers, Cathay Pacific is taking it up a notch – specifically, 30,000 feet up.
Working alongside Michelin-starred Dudell’s, whose London outpost by Borough Market closed in 2019, the collaboration celebrates Hong Kong's vibrant gourmet scene through an exclusively curated menu of authentic local delights. A pitch-perfect partnership, Dudell’s original restaurant in Hong Kong’s bustling Central has been a local favourite since opening in 2013, serving refined Cantonese cuisine and hand-crafted dim sums that are already worth travelling for.
“We hope to give our customers an unforgettable introduction to our city’s culinary offerings and a comforting reminder of the taste of home,” says Cathay Pacific general manager customer experience and design Vivian Lo. "As Duddell’s serves Cantonese cuisine, the theme is unquestionably Hong Kong-inspired. We want to create and bring Hong Kong's traditional flavours, with easy access, to different parts of the world.”
Available only to First and Business class customers flying out of Hong Kong, passengers will be served three courses; appetiser, main and pudding. First class passengers can choose between chilled abalone and cucumber with black vinegar or lettuce-wrapped minced pork with vegetables, sweet pomelo and prawn crackers. Mains are just as flavour-packed with a choice of sweet, sticky-glazed braised pork belly – a take on a Shanghainese classic – or the wok-fried lobster in white pepper sauce and fluffy rice – a crowd favourite in local seafood restaurants. Pudding is a chrysanthemum and longan jelly treat, a subtle nod to two key elements used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Business class passengers can indulge in drunken prawns with aged Huadiao wine or fork-tender chicken and jellyfish salad with nutty, sesame dressing. For the main attraction, there’s steamed halibut with cordyceps flowers, aged mandarin peel and preserved black olives inspired by the cuisine of Shunde in Southern China, alongside a sour rice noodle soup filled with barramundi and pickled mustard greens. To end the meal, spiced ginger milk pudding and Beijing-style strawberry yoghurt pudding are on offer.