JL062 on July 28 2009

Once again, I upgraded to business class using the Super Discounted Upgrade Award (10,000 miles for a business class upgrade) on my return flight. My flight was COMPLETELY FULL and I didn't reserve the upper deck this time, so the service was less attentive as expected. But I would still pay 10,000 miles for the upgrade on any day :). Here are some pictures I took during the flights.

Before boarding, I had a chance to relax in the JAL Sakura Lounge at Narita. Unfortunately there was a long wait for both the massage and shower service and the earliest available time was after my flight's departure time. So I didn't have a chance to use any of those. The lounge wasn't crowded at all as you can see in the picture below. Can't imagine what the waiting time would be if the lounge is packed. But I did try the newly added item on their menu - Maison Kayser freshly baked bread. And yes, it was freshly baked!

JAL Sakura Lounge at Tokyo Narita

After takeoff, we were served the welcome drink (either champagne or orange juice). Then it was the amuse bouche. The one on the left (white dish) is some kind of fish. The one right has bell pepper, smoked chicken (or whatever meat it is, you know everything tastes like chicken LOL). I love this "chicken" dish especially the sauce. I still can't tell what is it but it kind of taste like pepperoni pizza LOL. I kind of wish they had listed the appetizer in the menu so I know what this is but it's no where to be found.

Amuse bouche on JL062

Amuse bouche on JL062

Amuse bouche on JL062

After the amuse bouche, we were served dinner. Once again, I picked the Japanese menu. Below is the Kobachi menu, pictures and my comments.

Kobachi 
Top row from the left:

• Green Tea Flavor Tofu with Sea Urchin (I can't really taste the green tea flavor in the tofu even when I only eat the tofu alone)
• Mixed Egg Yolk Mousse with Fish Roe Simmered Taro (Nothing special to talk about)
• Tuna Sashimi with Yam Sauce (Sorry I don't eat raw fish so can't tell you how this taste like :P)
• Rolled Marinated "Kisu" Fish with Vinegar Jelly (I didn't try this one either because of the look of it)

Bottom row from the left:

• Grilled "Ayu" Sweet Fish (Taste pretty good and I enjoyed this the most out of the 8 dishes)
• Pike Conger Teriyaki "Oshi Sushi" (When I showed my brother the picture, his first comment was "How come it's so dry and the color was so pale?". And guessed what, it doesn't taste good either. The rice was kind of dry too)
• Egg Roll Soft Shelled Turtle in Jelly Simmered Goby (This is DEFINITELY NOT for everyone. If I haven't read the menu, I would probably had tried it. After after finding out it's TURTLE and Goby, no thanks!)
• Simmered Abalone & Lotus Root Yuba Crepe (It's abalone, I can't complain :)

Kobachi on JL062

Kobachi on JL062

Kobachi on JL062

Dainomono
At this point, I really regret picking the Japanese menu. As I said, it's not for everyone. But at that point, I could only hoped the entree would be better. For entree, I picked the Baked Eel Teriyaki & Tofu Mousse with Sweet Soy Sauce served with Grilled Sea-bass Green Tea Flavor. When you have eel sushi in the Kobachi, why would you put Eel again in the entree!?!? But at least this time the eel wasn't as dry and it comes with tofu mousse instead of dried rice! The sea-bass didn't have any green team flavor. I wouldn't had guessed it's green tea if I hadn't read the menu. But it was cooked perfectly and it wasn't greasy at all! All of these were served with freshly steamed Koshihikari rice, miso soup and Japanese pickles.

Japanese meal main dish on JL062

Japanese meal main dish on JL062

Finally it was the dessert. It was Fromage Blanc served with Dry Fruit Stick. It tastes okay bu not as good as the one I had on JL061. One minor complain though, there was some kind of dirt on the outside of the glass. Not that it bothered me but they should have cleaned it a bit better since no one wants to eat with dirty dish. Some people might get really upset by this but fortunately not me.

Dessert on JL062

Before landing, we were served the breakfast. I still picked the Japanese option even after the adventurous dinner I just had. Below is the menu and pictures. The congee wasn't as good as the one I had on JL061. I like the texture of the seafood congee better. Taste wise it was kind of bland if you don't eat it with the pickled plum. But this is expected since it's only plain congee. The dish I like most is the mountain jelly vegetable. I like the crunchiness and the taste of it. The salmon wasn't bad either just nothing special.

Breakfast Menu

• Plain Congee with Pickled Plum
• Salt Grilled Salmon / Egg Roll
• Braised Tofu Flake Salad Style
• Spicy Sauteed Mountain Jelly Vegetable
• Fresh Fruits

Japanese breakfast on JL062

Japanese breakfast on JL062

Japanese breakfast on JL062

I was actually surprised to found I enjoyed the JL061 menu better. Next time I probably will go for the Western menu and try their new rice flour bread. And next time it will be on a 777-300ER, which is kind of both sad and exciting. The sad part is I have to say goodbye to my favorite 744 and upper deck but the exciting part is I can finally try their brand new seats (in ALL classes) and finally say goodbye to MAGIC-I!!! Can't wait to fly on JAL again.

Related post: JL061 on July 2 2009