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Tag: Hong Kong

LOUNGE REVIEW: Qantas Hong Kong Lounge
Hong Kong International Airport is a stronghold and a heaven for oneworld elite members. With Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon being home-base carriers and operating such a strong network of lounges in their home ports, one would naturally be very curious as to how another oneworld lounge may compare.

Entrance to Qantas Hong Kong lounge, right above gate 15

That’s why, this time round I decided to try the Qantas Lounge rather than head to Cathay’s The Wing, given that oneworld elite members can also gain entry to the Qantas lounge.

The Qantas Hong Kong lounge is located to the immediate right hand side right after immigration and security checks, and easily missed if you don’t know where is it. Overseeing gates 15 & 16, the lounge features a high ceiling and plenty of natural light during the day and an abundance of space.

Feature wall adjacent to the entrance

The present lounge opened in 2014, featuring an international concept that catered to both first and business class passengers. The design is contemporary and influenced by the airport itself, featuring a lot of triangles similar to what you get from the airport’s ceilings.

Opened from 11.30am to midnight daily, the lounge changes its offerings throughout the day to cater to the different profiles of its key customers. Early in the day, the lounge serves mainly JAL business class passengers, while the evening and night crowd serves the redeye Qantas and British Airways customers.

One of the many sections in the lounge

I got in at about 5pm in the evening to check out its offerings and also to get some work done before my overnight Qantas flight to Sydney. I was immediately impressed with the amount of space and natural light, although the evening sun was starting to come in.

The lounge is longish and features several zones. When you first enter, the bar greets you with the lounge’s signature roast proudly displayed behind it. The next zone features the restaurant style dining area, where you will get table service during the evening peak.

Dining area

Further in there’s the self service buffet bar, as well as coffee tables and armchairs where guests who don’t want to dine can lounge at. Right at the other end from the entrance is another self-service drinks bar, stocked with sodas, an espresso machine and wines.

The food was amazing. Let me just give you a list of what they offer in the evening:
Made-to-order
- Barbecue pork & roast pork rice
- Beef brisket noodles
- Barbecue pork buns
- Stir fried prawns with rice
Small bites served in trolleys
- Dumplings in soup
- Siew mai
- Tempura prawns
- Deep fried beancurd with salt and pepper
How’s that for a lounge offering?

Char siew rice

Pan fried prawns with rice

Beef brisket noodles

On top of that, there’s the full buffet bar with 5-6 different salads, cheese, and 3 hot dishes, similar to what was available in the Singapore Qantas lounge.

There’s also a full bar, serving up all kinds of cocktails. In the early evening, there will be a trolley full of cocktails meeting customers right at the entrance, so guests can just grab one on their way in.

The signature drink, Chi Chi, features a dark rum, complete with pineapple juice, lime juice, vanilla syrup and topped with a kaffir lime leave.

Chi Chi, Qantas Hong Kong signature drink

Overall, you can see that Qantas has definitely up the ante with its offering in Hong Kong. Competing directly with Cathay’s suite of lounges given that both carriers are in oneworld, the Qantas Hong Kong lounge is definitely a worthy alternative for those who wish to avoid the crazy crowds at Cathay’s lounges.

Also, with that crazy amount of food – especially made-to-order food – on offer, they have enough to create a complete restaurant menu, so I’ll definitely be back again for another dinner some time.

Dimsum trolley service
27 May 18
LOUNGE REVIEW: Cathay Pacific Lounge – The Wing, Hong Kong International Airport

The Coffee Loft

On a whirlwind business trip to Shanghai and Hong Kong, I managed to spend some time at the very much acclaimed Cathay Pacific lounge at their home base – Hong Kong International Airport.

Cathay Pacific has a ridiculous number of lounges in HKIA itself – a grand total of six, of which two have dedicated first class lounges.

If you need a whirlwind introduction, Lounge Buddy has a handy guide here.

Cathay Pacific The Wing lounge, right across Gate 2

For this trip I went with The Wing, Cathay’s flagship lounge which was recently renovated. The double-storey lounge is located closest to the immigration counters, on the left right after immigration and security right across gate 2.

The lounge has two sections – one for business class and oneworld sapphire members, accessible through the entrance opposite gate 2, while the first class and oneworld emerald section can be accessed directly to the left once you clear immigration into the upper floor. For business class passengers this can be quite a walk (maybe five minutes), which was the case for me.

Upon approaching the lounge the façade looks very understated, but when you step into it, the feeling transforms. If it’s your first time into the lounge, be sure to head upstairs first if you want to hit the food directly, but if you want to have a shower stay down.

There are several zones in the lounge, so let’s tackle them one by one.

On the lower floor, there are the showers, and a smaller lounge with a self-service beverage bar.

Cathay Pacific Lounge shower suite

I first headed to the showers to cool off before having my lunch on the upper floor. The walkway to the showers were mood-lit, leading you to an array of 24 private shower suites. There was hardly anyone taking a shower when I was there and I had plenty of rooms to choose from.

The shower layout were standard by airport showers, but very elegantly dressed. Cathay Pacific offers up Jurlique amenities in-flight for business class customers, so similarly the Jurlique products were used in the shower rooms too.

Unlike the Qantas lounge in Singapore, the towels are made available within the showers, and replaced after every passenger who uses a shower room. This is a lot handier than having to take one from the counter before showering.

The upper floor is where the fun is. Going up the stairs, the First Class lounge is on the right (which will be cordoned off anyway), but on the left is a myriad of zones with different offerings.

Stairs to the upper floor

The Long Bar stretches across the entire first zone you see, overlooking the gates and the aircraft stands. Not to be confused with Singapore’s Raffles Long Bar, this sleek bar serves up an extensive list of spirits, wines, classic cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages. The only downside is the choice of draught beer – there was only Tsing Tao available.

Long Bar – get your cocktail or champagne right here

The famed Noodle Bar is tucked right at the end, completed with long wooden benches and well padded stools.

Noodle Bar

On the menu was a selection of four made-to-order noodles and three baos (oriental buns) to choose from, and right beside the bar was a mini buffet of dim sum and other oriental treats, complete with a beverage bar where you can pick drinks, water and coffee from.

The Noodle Bar cook-to-order menu

Adjacent to the Noodle Bar is the Coffee Loft, serving up barista-made coffee, along with an array of pastries and cakes to choose from. A little known secret is that this place also serves up Haagen-Dazs ice cream and the very local Hong Kong milk tea!

Iced latte and Haagen Dazs ice cream

To sum it up: I love the lounge. the open top concept on the upper floor exudes a feeling of space and allowing plenty of light into the lounge during daytime, and the multi zone concept gives passengers a choice regardless of the time of the day they visit. Serving up hot favourites such as freshly cooked noodles, a comfort food for many Asians, is also a big plus point for me.

Elegant design, fully stocked pantry and food bar

My only regret is the lack of time to spend in this lounge as the immigration lines were far longer than I planned for. The business class lounge is amply spacious, although there were quite a far number of passengers inside given its proximity to the immigration checkpoints.

If you have never been into a Cathay Pacific lounge at Hong Kong airport, this is definitely a good place to start with before checking out the other lounges offered by the airline.

4 October 17