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Trip Report Index

I have broken my 16 hour flight from Dubai to Houston into four parts because I had over 200 photos and several videos from the flight. This section covers the ono grindz.

There are only two possibilities: either you will overeat when flying Emirates First Class or you have much stronger willpower than I do.

I filled up in the lounge in Dubai and got on the plane full. Immediately I was face-to-face with a personal snack basket in my suite.

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The Snack Basket is in My Left Hand

I resisted because none of the premium brand snacks were to my liking. That was about the only food I didn’t eat on the flight.

Before take off, I was given a menu (which I’ve reproduced in full at the bottom of this post), and the flight attendant explained the dine on demand concept. On Emirates flights, First Class passengers can order anything any time. Forget about carts rolling down the aisle on their schedule. Everything is on your schedule.

I decided to have after I woke up about 10 hours into the flight, but before that I snacked relentlessly. At the First Class bar between the two shower spas up front, there were sandwiches and fruit. I’m not sure what we were supposed to do with a whole pineapple, but I had and enjoyed the vegetarian sandwich.

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While I was at the Business Class Bar before and after my main meal, I took advantage of the snacks there–finger sandwiches, olives, mixed nuts, arare, and fruit skewers.Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 7.48.44 PM Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 7.45.42 PM Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 7.41.17 PM

And near the end of the flight, a few hours after my main meal, I ordered the steak sandwich off of the snack menu.

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It was ridiculously good. I’ve decided melted cheese is my favorite food.

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But the star of the food was the main meal. When I woke up from my nap, I asked for it be served in two hours and for the flight attendant to grab me from the bar when it was time.

She found me two hours later and told me she was ready if I was.

The large table is elegantly set for your main meal with linen, real silverware, and nice plates.

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The first course was caviar and a salad. Caviar is served with the typical accoutrements of egg, onion, those little pancakes (probably not their real name), and lemon. It’s also apparently customary to drink a shot of vodka with your caviar, so I asked for a shot of Russian Standard Imperia.Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 7.46.28 PM

As you can tell, I wholeheartedly endorse drinking vodka with caviar.Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 7.46.47 PM

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For the appetizer, I asked for a cream of mushroom soup and the Arabic mezze. The soup was very good, and I didn’t even notice that the Arabic mezze never came because I was, at no point on the flight, hungry. I’ve included a picture of the impressive mezze from the review of my flight from Zurich to Dubai.
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For the main course, I ordered achaari murgh because I love Indian food. I’d never had this plate before, but it was delicious as I’ve come to expect from Indian food and from Emirates.Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 7.47.43 PM

For dessert, I ordered the glutton’s trio: the fruit plate, the cheese plate, and the chocolate tart. Amazingly there were two other deserts I didn’t eat.

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Do I rally need to tell you how delicious dessert was. It was perfect, sweet with a crust that balanced the chocolate perfectly.Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 7.48.12 PM

When I was eating my main meal, I was the only passenger eating, which meant that the flight attendant had her full attention on refilling my drinks–water and vodka pineapple–clearing my plates, and bringing my next course. I like to eat quickly when I’m eating alone, so I was happy that she kept up with my pace.

One thing that frustrates me when eating in Business Class on a plane with a big cabin is that the meal service usually moves way too slowly for me. There is no such concern in Emirates First Class.

Room Service

One thing I love about Emirates First Class on the A380 is that the remote control in the armrest can also act as a telephone to call the galley, complete with “Calling Room Service” on the screen.
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Unfortunately on both of my Emirates flights last month, I tried multiple times to call the galley and got no answer.Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 7.47.55 PMI’m not sure if it was a technical glitch or I was being ignored. It seems like the service is more convenient for flight attendants because it saves them a trip to your seat.

 

Bottom Line

 

The food is awesome in Emirates First Class, and there is too much of it. You can have anything, any time, and it’s all very high quality.

How to Fly Emirates First Class for Yourself

Alaska Airlines charges 90,000 Alaska miles one way in Emirates First Class from the United States to Dubai or 100,000 from the United States to Europe, Asia, or Africa via Dubai. (Or vice versa since I flew Zurich to Dubai to Houston.) You can stop in Dubai as long as you’d like on the award.

You can get Alaska miles by opening the Alaska Airlines personal and business cards, which each come with 25,000 bonus miles, no spending requirement, and an immediate $75 annual fee. Both cards are churnable every few months, and you can have several open at once. You can even open multiple personal cards at once. You can also transfer SPG Starpoints to Alaska miles at a 1:1 rate with 5,000 bonus Alaska miles for every 20,000 Starpoints transferred.

You can book Emirates award flights on alaskaair.com as outlined here. You will pay (low) taxes plus a $12.50 per one way booking fee. There are no fuel surcharges on the awards.

Menu

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