ANA Business Class (YVR-HND & HND-YVR)

For our trip to Japan, I decided early on that it was time to do a little splurge.  Therefore, I booked ANA Airlines business class from YVR to HND.  Sure, the setup is the older business class seats on the Boeing 787, unlike their new "The Room"  in their Boeing 777s.  But really, I wasn't complaining as having a business class seat to and from Tokyo is a treat for sure.  So along with the ticket, access to the Maple Leaf Lounge was included.  Furthermore, like any other business class ticket, there is dedicated check-in and priority boarding.  2 checked-in bags were included as was a carry-on.  At first, this was a total splurge, but little did we know, it was necessary as Viv broke her leg 10 days into our trip.

The business class cabin is configured as a 1-2-1 setup with the "A" or "K" designations being right at the window with the side table facing the aisle.  If you prefer to sit with someone and have some conversation, the middle seats have a retractable divider.  Obviously, the best seats are by the window and those are booked up first.  However, on my return flight, we changed our seats to the middle since I needed to be nearby in case Viv needed help.

On our outbound flight from YVR, I chose the Japanese meal which included an Amuse Bouche consisting of Smoked Salmon Canapé and Marinated Three Kinds of Mushrooms.  Unfortunately, the crostini underneath the salmon was a bit soft, but it was still fine as I love smoked salmon.  As for the mushrooms, they were a bit tangy.  They were pleasant enough.  A nice start to my meal.

We moved onto a variety of plates including Zensai (Appetizers).  These included Crab with marinated spinach, Grilled Chicken, Smoked Salmon Broccolini Roll, Simmered Octopus, Prawn and Tamago.  Nothing particularly amiss with this as things were as expected.  Textures were on point.  Also on the platter, we had the Jellied Eggplant and the Simmered Chicken & Vegetables.

For the main course, we were served the Grilled Sablefish with saikyo miso.  This included steamed rice, pickles and miso soup.  Pretty solid platter of food where the use of sablefish was a smart choice.  Being a fatty fish, it heated up without much degradation.  Hence it was buttery and had the fermented saltiness of miso.  It was served with some mushrooms and surprisingly, not overly mushy veggies. 

For dessert, we had a choice and I went for the Mango Cake.  It was not bad with a soft sponge cake base, mango mousse and topped with a mango gelatin.  Not too sweet and a refreshing way to end the meal.  So I got a bit peckish between this and my next meal, so I got the Kaoru Fukuoka Tonkotsu-style Ramen.  Don't let the appearance fool you, this was plant-based with a sesame paste broth.  I thought it was fantastic being rich and creamy.  The salt content was on point and the noodles were still chewy.  Delicious!

I decided after that, I would try to get some sleep.  After I woke up, I chose the Sautéed Herb Chicken with mushroom risotto.  I liked the colour on the chicken and it was ultimately rather juicy and tender.  However, the risotto was mushy (forgivable since we were on a plane).  Flavours were impactful enough.  This came with some bread and butter as well as some fresh fruit.

Viv kept the Japanese theme going with the Salt-Grilled Sockeye Salmon with steamed rice and some veggies.  Being a leaner fish, the sockeye salmon was not as moist as the sablefish.  Yet, it was not dry either.  There was enough salt that it wasn't bland.  On the side, there was Simmered Winter Melon with minced chicken sauce.  She also got their famed Corn Soup on the side and wow, so sweet and natural corn tasting!  A must order!

The dessert available during lunch was some Mario's Gelato.  Nice! On our return flight, we both chose the International Meal that also started with an Amuse Bouche.  This was a mix of 2 interesting items with the Gizzard, Cheese and Olive being the most controversial.  I personally love gizzard and this was tender.  Not sure that everyone agrees with me.  The other thing was a Nut & Chili Pie Stick.  It was a bit spicy and of course nutty.  Was okay...

Onto the main dish, we were served a Beef Fillet Steak with chasseur sauce, onion cream, parmesan risotto and seasonal vegetables.  Unfortunately, the steak was fully-cooked which meant it was not juicy (but was still tender).  This was partially alleviated by the chasseur sauce.  It had a nice viscosity with bits of mushroom and shallots.  It was on the salty side, but better than being bland.  Understandably, the risotto was mushy as we were having it on a plane and it was reheated.

For dessert, I selected the Cheese and Pistachio Mousse.  Definitely a composed dish and I expected it to be considering it was curated from L'ecrin Ginza.  Beyond the clean presentation, the mousse itself was super light and creamy.  The pistachio portion was in the middle and it was aromatic and nutty.  Such a subtle dessert as the sweetness was reserved, but it didn't negatively impact the overall flavour.

Prior to landing at YVR, we were served one last meal and I selected the Greenland Halibut with soy-based sauce.  It came with a vinegared appie with octopus.  The fish was plenty soft and buttery while lightly-seasoned.  It came with tamago and lotus root.  Overall, I thought the food was quite good on both flights considering the price point.  Service was truly excellent in terms of attentiveness and professionalism.  The business class seats were the older style, but still comfortable and enough room even for my 6'1 frame.  When set to the lie-flat setting, I found the airflow to be insufficient and I was sweating.  No need for the blanket.  Washrooms were fine but not very big.  In the end, it was a good experience and I would do it again.  Hopefully, we will get the new business class cabins like the flights originating out of NYC in the future.

The Good:
- Excellent service, from the airport counter to the cabin crew
- Food isn't perfect, but pretty good
- ANA lounge is also good

The Bad:
- Older business class product, so needs an upgrade to compete
- Airflow isn't the best in lie-flat configuration, gets rather warm

Porter Reserve

Ever since I spotted Porter Air as one of my options when I visited Quebec City/Montreal/Ottawa in 2023, I was uniquely curious about them. Their pricing was reasonable and they operated out of the major airports. However, we ultimately went with Air Canada to keep things simple. Since then, I've heard much more about Porter and usually positive things. So I finally decided to try them out on my recent 2nd visit to Toronto this year. In fact, I went with Porter Reserve, which only costs a bit more but offers up many perks. I saved a bit more money by obtaining some gift cards from Costco. Essentially, it gives you 10% off your fare.

With Porter Reserve, it is basically premium economy on any other airline.  First of all, there are no middle seats on Porter since they do a 2-2 configuration on their Embraer E195-E2 aircraft.  There is 30 inches of legroom with their Porter Classic seats, which is similar to Air Canada.  With Porter Reserve, we had a whopping 36 inches of legroom which was welcomed for my 6'1 frame.  Not only was I able to put my personal item under the seat in front of me, my legs didn't reach that far, hence, I was comfortable for my entire flight.  The width of the seat is 18.3 inches, which is wider than most Air Canada offerings.

Other perks with Porter Reserve include dedicated check-in, much like business class for any other airline.  However, there was minimal lineup at the regular check-in though.  In fact, with all the self-service check-in kiosks at Pearson, people were on their way quickly.  I did enjoy the Expedited Screening as it was similar to Nexus where you could bypass the line.  Of course there is also early boarding, but since the plane isn't very big, there wasn't much of a need for it.  All passengers enjoy free wifi on the flight and I found it to be fairly decent, but it cutout a few times.  You also get 2 free checked-in bags in addition to a carry-on and personal item.  Be aware that even with Porter Reserve, there is no lounge access included.

For me, to make this relevant, I must talk about the included food options.  On our way from YVR to YYZ, it was a morning flight, so were served breakfast.  Before I discuss what I had, it is important to note that all of the food served on Porter is cold.  There are no hot options.  As an appetizer of sorts, we had the Poached Mango with lemon and lime (also some fresh blueberries too).  Nothing particularly amiss with this as the pieces of mango were tangy with only a mild sweetness.  Right beside, there was an Apple & Cinnamon Round Mini-Loaf.  Didn't mind this as it was pretty moist and they didn't overdo it with the cinnamon.  However, it was pretty sweet.

Onto the main course, we had two options including the Overnight Oats & Greek Yogurt Fruit Bowl as well as the Butter Croissant Duo.  Super thick and dense enough to plaster a wall, the oats and yogurt actually tasted great.  It wasn't too sweet and had the nice tang of the yogurt and sweetness of the fruit.  But ya, the texture was far too thick and gummy.  As for my croissant, they were pretty basic, but also had good flavour.  Inside, we found smoked turkey, cream cheese & chives spread, sundried tomato and baby arugula.  Nice combination of tangy, salty, smoky and creamy.

On our flight back from TO, we had dinner service and started with the Green Goddess Lentil Salad and Pumpkin Seed & Turmeric Mini Loaf Slices.  Salad wasn't bad with firm lentils with green & red peppers, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, kalamata olives and pickled carrot.  Lots of textures and flavours here including the creamy dressing.  The mini loaf slices were quite earthy due to the turmeric, but did have some sweetness.  They were moist and a bit crumbly.  Not my favourite, but not overly offensive.

For the mains, the two options were Riviera Deli Sandwich and the Asian Grilled Tofu Bowl.  For me, the sandwich was the better of the two since it had more flavour and the bread was surprisingly soft for being refrigerated.  Nice balance of sweet, salty and zesty.  As for the bowl, it wasn't bad per se because the dressing made everything taste good with a nice saltiness that was muted by some sweetness and acidity.  The tofu was medium-firm and wasn't offensive.

Other than the food, there was also a selection of drinks, which included alcohol.  Also, there was full-sized snacks sourced from Canadian companies.  Yep, we could take as many as we wanted, but I only took one as I was already quite full from my meal.  I didn't end up drinking any of the bottled cocktails, beer or wine.  I did get my fill of Diet Coke though.  Overall, we really enjoyed Porter, from the check-in, seats and service.  Food is a bit hit and miss, but appreciated nonetheless.  Next time, I'll try the Porter Classic and see how that will go.

The Good:

- No middle seats

- Good service

- Free wifi

The Bad:

- No lounge access with Porter Reserve

- Wish they had hot food, but I guess there are limitations