AA Flight 129 SJC-NRT (San Jose to Narita, Tokyo) Business Class

So on 12/21/2004, I went from San Jose to Hong Kong via Narita, Tokyo. This is the first of a few posts.

Flight 129 left from San Jose on a 777. I spent 50,000 miles (well, 25,000 for one direction) and upgraded so that I could be in business class instead of economy. This was definitely money well spent.

Here is a picture of the airplane:

The plane departs from the International section of Terminal A, which is at the opposite end of where American Airline flights usually leave.

Fortunately, as a Platinum member of American Airlines’ AAdvantage program, and since I had upgrade to Business Class, I was able to use the Admirals Club lounge in SJC:

There were a surprising number of kids on the flight in business class, but they were all quite well behaved. Here is a picture of the seats:

It was a fairly uneventful flight, and along the way I ended up seeing Catwoman. Wow, what a big mistake and waste of time that was.

The food on this flight was interesting though – it offers lunch and dinner. However, what makes it unusual is that they offer a Western Lunch or a Japanese Lunch.

Western Lunch

To Start: An assortment of warm roasted Nuts to accompany your preferred Cocktail or Beverage

Appetizer: Marinated Daikon Radish and Carrot-glazed Chicken

Salad: Fresh seasonal Greens offered with creamy Garlic-Dill Dressing or an individual bottle of Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

Bread Basket: Assorted Breads or Japanese steamed Rice

Entrees – Please select one of the following entrees:

Filet Mignon- Tenderloin of Beef complemented by a Mustard Caper Demi-Glace, accompanied by oven-roasted Carrot slices and Lemon Mashed Potatoes.

Fillet of Fish with Olive Sauce- Fillet of Halibut lightly breaded with a roasted Red Bell Pepper and Green Olive Sauce with fresh Cilantro, served with parslied New Potatoes

Miso Chicken- Seared Chicken Breast marinated with Miso presented with Japanese Eggplant, Red Pepper Saute and steamed Rice.

Dessert: Seasonal fresh Fruit Medley, Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

Well that’s all fine and dandy, but I’ve had that before and decided to try the Japanese Lunch. To this day, I’m still not sure what was what. I thought the calamari was cole slaw! It was definitely an adventure. Here’s a picture:

Japanese Cuisine Autumn Menu

Appetizers: A selection of Sushi

Main Tray:

Kobachi Dish- Rice Wine-marinated Calarmari accented by Wasabi Mayonnaise presented with Flying Fish Roe on a bed of Radish Sprouts, Red and Yellow Cherry Tomatoes, julienned Jicama and Leaf Lettuce

Hassun Dish- Grilled Chicken topped with Carrot Paste, accompanied by Cauliflower with seared Dengaku Miso, sweet simmered Herring, Code Roe Egg Cake, and grilled Shishito Pepper filled with Cream Cheese

Simmered Dish- Japanese-style stewed Beef with Potatoes and Carrots

Entr?e- Stewed Chicken complemented by assorted Mushrooms, offered with Taro and Mizuna in Miso

Soup- Miso Soup with Wakame Seaweed and Tofu.

Accompanied by steamed Rice and an assortment of seasonal Pickles

The flight service also had Snack Attack where you could just go up and get bags of junk food.

There was also, available upon request, Japanese Soba Noodles and Fresh Fruit and fine Cheese.

For supper, however, there was only a Western Meal. I had the Garlic Grilled Chicken and it was quite tasty:

Salad- A mix of Field Greens with Cherry Tomatoes and Caesar Dressing

Entrees-

Garlic Grilled Chicken: Grilled Breast of Chicken flavored with Garlic, served with Spinach, Shiitake Mushroom, Carrots, and Asparagus Medley with crispy Wonton

Deep-Dish Pizza: An individual Chicago-styled Pizza topped with four Cheeses and served with a Green Salad

Dessert- Dulce de Leche Tart

Here’s a brief rundown of the alcoholic beverages that were available, but I did not consume out of fear of dying:

Pommery Brut Champagne
Buehler Russian River Valley Chardonnay
Kenwood Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc
Chateau Lynch-Moussas
Rosemount Diamond Estate Bottled Shiraz
Emilio Loustau Sherry
Choya UMESHU Plum Liquer “Excellent”
Gekkeikan Horin Daiginjo Sake
Graham’s Vintage Port

All in all, upgrading to Business Class on American Airlines flight 129 from SJC-NRT (San Jose-Narita, Tokyo) was well worth it.