Round The World and other travel

Flight Log 2: QR38

Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) - Doha (DOH)

I was the first passenger to board the aircraft, so it was an easy matter to get myself quickly and easily settled in 1K - but not before I had used the opportunity to take a few cabin photos. Menu booklets, headphones and a Georgio Armani amenity kit were already in place in my seat area. I asked for some champagne, but was a little surprised when the flight attendant gave me some story about not having permission to open it. I then asked for water, expecting that whatever formality that was currently preventing the serving of champagne would be quickly resolved, but in fact my glass of bubbly never did appear. Not the greatest start, but at least the warm mixed nuts were nice. Given the choice of a hot or cold towel, I decided that the former was far better suited to the time year in Europe. Despite the drinks problem, my flight attendant seemed very friendly: when I mentioned that I was continuing to Singapore, he instantly recognised it as a Boeing 787 route and it was clear that he was enthusiastically looking forward to his own upcoming training on the Dreamliner.

Just when I thought I was going to have the cabin to myself, 1A turned up at 2100, complete with two minders and the most cabin baggage that I had ever seen being brought on board an aircraft, nearly all of which was shopping. (It filled the entire set of port-side overhead lockers!) I hoped that the minders wouldn't feel entitled to spend lots of time in the F cabin later in the flight, but in fact I wouldn't see them again until arrival in Doha. We pushed back at 2107 and this seemed to be the signal for Arabic coffee and a plastic-wrapped single date to be served. My choices for dinner were taken during the safety briefing, which I considered to be a little naughty if not downright inappropriate. In fact, following on from the drinks issue and the plastic-wrapped solitary date, this was the third niggle since boarding. On another occasion, I might have been tempted to start developing negative impressions, but a list of previous memorable experiences with Qatar inclined me towards an imagined shrug of the shoulders and a silent, but still rather uncultured "Whatever!"

We took off from runway 27 at 2122 and quickly entered into a big right turn - very much the long way round to go from a westerly heading to a south-easterly one. I fired up the in-flight entertainment system and selected the 2002 movie Minority Report, noting that the screen seemed perhaps just a little on the small side by current standards, given its distance from the seat. As my thoughts were now inevitably turning towards food and drink, this seems like an appropriate point at which to share the menu that I had perused while still on the ground.


Tempt your taste buds with our on-demand menu designed to your desire, in any order and at any time during your flight.

PALATE PLEASERS		CHEESE PLATE
Crab and wasabi, with shisho leaf		Cheese selection served with crackers, grapes and
Falafel and fetteh sauce		chutney

APPETISERS		FRUIT PLATE
Oscietra caviar, served with a full selection of classic		Seasonal fresh fruits
accompaniments and your choice of blinis or melba toast
		DESSERTS
Signature Arabic mezze: a wide range of traditional mezze		Strawberry and white chocolate cheesecake, white
including hummus, moutabel, baba ghanoush, tabouleh,		chocolate ice cream and strawberry coulis
labneh with za'atar and moussaka; Arabic pickles and
mixed olives served with Arabic bread		Pineapple tarte tatin with coconut ice cream and mango
		coulis
Summer vegetable salad with buffalo mozzarella,
asparagus, courgette, broad beans and peas with lemon		Gourmet ice cream
dressing
		REVIVALS
Tomato and cumin soup with potato bonda, sundried		Freshly squeezed orange juice
tomato crème fraîche and coriander oil		Blueberry smoothie
		Melon and ginger health drink
Chicken and chickpea soup with yoghurt, and Arabic bread
crisps with sumac		ALL DAY BREAKFAST

Seared scallops with pomegranate and tomato dressing,		Bircher muesli: rolled oats bound with yoghurt, fruit and
served with rocket and herb salad, fennel and pickled red		cinnamon
onion
		Greek yoghurt with mango compote and toasted granola
PALATE REFRESHER
Lemon sorbet		Create your own breakfast: your choice of eggs (scrambled or tomato omelette), then choose from the following list of
		sides: grilled chicken sausage, beef medallion, sautéed
MAINS		potatoes, summer vegetable potato cake, sautéed
Sweet potato gnocchi with cep mushroom sauce, confit		mushrooms, roasted vine tomatoes, baked beans
tomato, sautéed mushrooms and basil oil
		Raisin pancakes with caramelized bananas, caramel
Lamb shank machboos with rice and lemon and cumin		sauce, cinnamon whipped cream and strawberries
raita
		All Day Breakfast dishes are accompanied by your choice
Braised beef rib with parsley mashed potato, baby carrots,		of condiments and warm morning breads
balsamic glazed onions and horseradish jus

Chicken katsu with don bori sauce, breaded chicken with
sweet dashi sauce, pok choy and rice

Main dishes are accompanied by your choice of
condiments and assorted bakery selections

FIRST CLASS WINE, COCKTAILS, SPIRITS and BEER

Champagne		Red wine
Krug Brut Grand Cuvée		Chateau Pichon Longueville 2008, Bordeaux, France
Henriot Rosé 2008		Heartland Directors' Cut 2010, Langhorne Creek, Australia
		Mt Difficulty 2008, Central Otago, New Zealand
White wine
Chartron et Trébuchet Chardonnay 2011, Burgundy, France		Dessert wine and Port
Esk Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Marlborough, NZ		Oremus Tokaji Aszú 2008, Hungary
Fritz Haag Riesling Spätlese 2010, Mosel Valley, Germany		Kopke Tolheita 1974, Douro Valley, Portugal

Signature cocktails		Classic cocktails
Purple Skies: Lychee, pomegranate and a squeeze of		Bloody Mary
fresh citrus combined with Belvedere Pure		Cuba Libre
Dream Royale: Martini Rosso combined with blackcurrant		Dry Martini
liqueur and Belvedere Pure		Champagne Cocktail
Bombay Collins: Bombay Sapphire, citrus juice and soda		Spritzer
water		Screwdriver
Bacardi Daiquiri: Bacardi rum and citrus juice		Black Russian

Apéritifs		Whisky
Bombay Sapphire		Chivas Regal 18yrs old
Campari		Glenfiddich 15yrs old
Martini Dry		Johnnie Walker Blue
Martini Rosso		Jack Daniel's
Tanqueray
		Digestifs
Beer		Baileys
Amstel Light		Bacardi
Corona Extra		Belvedere Pure
Guinness		Camus XO Elegance
Heineken		Cointreau
		Crème de Cassis
		Drambuie
		Kahlua
		Patrón Añejo

NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

Refresh your palate with our exceptional selection of hot beverages, delicious mocktails and refreshments, all prepared for you to enjoy at your leisure.

Luxury Non-alcoholic Bubbly

So Jennie is a delicious alcohol-free sparkling beverage created from grapes sourced in the French Champagne region

Signature Mocktails

Corniche Cranberry Refresher: a tantalising combination of cranberry and pomegranate with a splash of lime

Apple Sour: a sharp yet sweet blend of apple and citrus juice, topped with Sprite

Fruity Fizz: a refreshing balance of fruity flavours of cranberry, apple and lime

Refreshing Twist: a gently spiced combination of pineapple, pomegranate and citrus juice, topped with ginger ale

Cold Beverages

Coca Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, Diet Sprite, Fanta

Ginger ale, soda, tonic

Barbican non-alcoholic beer

Apple, mango, orange, pineapple and tomato juice

Sparkling and still water

Hot Beverages

Tea: African solstice, Bombay chai, Chamomile citron, Decaf breakfast, Early Grey, English breakfast, Formosa oolong,

Forte, Jasmine green, Moroccan mint, Sencha

Coffee: American, Cappuccino, decaffeinated, Espresso, Latte, Macchiato

Hot chocolate

Although choosing the Krug would have meant guaranteed excellence from something that I knew, but only rarely got the chance to experience, I found myself thinking on this occasion that it might be more adventurous to go with the unfamiliar option and broaden my horizons a little; after all, if it proved to be a poor choice, I could always switch to the Krug. In the event, my Henriot Rosé was a most agreeable accompaniment to the two 'palate pleasers', which were served one at a time, in sequence. Since this was First Class and I could have whatever I wanted, I chose to follow the two 'pleasers' with two appetisers, in the form of the caviar and the scallops. The visual presentation of the former was particularly attractive, and on an airline whose Business Class is better than many a carrier's First Class, the caviar service was a feature that genuinely set apart its top-tier product. I switched to the excellent Bordeaux for my beef main course, and by the time that was over, could only manage a small helping of ice cream and a soothing herbal tea to complete the mid-air feast.

On a flight that I regarded as being at the shorter end of the long-haul spectrum, I didn't feel that it was worth changing into night clothes and converting my seat to flat-bed mode. In spite of this, I certainly did manage to fall fast asleep!

* * * * *

The lights came on around 0415 (Arabia Time Zone) and the seat belt signs followed ten minutes after that. So soon after that huge dinner, a refreshing apple juice was all I felt like at this point. With the cabin crew seated by 0450, it seemed as though arrival was going to be extraordinarily early. The local temperature was given as 22C, which sounded rather pleasant for the region, even at five o'clock in the morning. It seemed strange to be flying into Doha for the second time in less than a month - at least on this occasion I would be carrying on eastwards. The aircraft shuddered a lot during the descent, for reasons unknown that I didn't particularly want to think about. Touchdown came at 0510 local time and we parked at a remote stand six minutes later.

Although this flight turned out to be most enjoyable after a few early niggles, and while the overall food and drink offerings were definitely pitched at a higher level than the enviable Qatar Business Class product, my overall feeling was that on this airline, Business Class was actually good enough. That's not to say that I had any regrets: my sole reason for choosing First on this occasion had been a lack of reward flight inventory in Business Class. Given the widely acknowledged excellence of Qatar's Business Class, it will be interesting to see whether its First Class offering has a long-term future.