Warning: This may be the longest post I’ve ever written. There’s just so much to share about this crazy suite and the food and drinks onboard. I paid 177k Emirates miles and $1200 for the entire itinerary ORD-DXB-BKK and that included my stopover in Dubai. It’s a lot of miles and cash, but it was a bit of a bucket list itinerary.

EK236 777-300ER ORD-DXB
Scheduled: 20:35-19:10 (+1 day)
Actual: 20:44-19:06 (+ 1 day)

It was finally time to board my first Emirates flight. Nothing like starting with their best product which is only available on nine planes. I was led to my suite, which was (for now) one of the center suites in this 1-1-1 configuration. Why would I select a center suite? They have virtual windows (see above) and are slightly wider without having to factor in the curvature of the plane.

It became pretty obvious that the rest of the people in First Class were all traveling together. I asked one of them and he said they actually had six people in their group, but because I had already grabbed the award seat in First Class, that person had to sit in Business Class. Well, boo-hoo! Anyway, I asked the lady next to me if the person in 1K would like to switch with me. While 1K is slightly smaller due to the curvature of the plane and narrowing of the fuselage, there is no seat door across from it. In other words, 1A and 1E open across from each other and 2F and 2K do the same. 1K and 2A are the most private seats on the plane. You can see this in the picture below from Aerolopa which is a great website to see which seats are the best (and worst).

So, after some musical chairs, I ensconced myself in 1K for the duration. I took a look around the suite. There was a massive 32″ 4K screen, snacks and drinks in the cabinets on the sides of the screen, a separate amenity kit inside the mirror that pops up, and the headphones inside the closet to the left of my seat.

There were plenty of other bells and whistles in the seat. There was an iPad-sized tablet to control every aspect of the suite and the big screen. There was also a control panel on the wall that allowed you to control the color of the lighting, the individual lights, the temperature of the suite and showed the flight info as well.

The seat also contains several storage areas, a wireless remote control, multiple USB ports, a plug adapter and probably other stuff I didn’t even find. Also, I was able to store my bags underneath the console. There’s even a seatbelt for your bag but I didn’t need to use it.

I was offered a pre-flight beverage so of course I selected the Dom Perignon. Even though the pre-flight menu showed a 2015 vintage, it was actually 2013 – not that I would be able to tell the difference.

I decided to change into my pajamas before the flight so I checked out the restroom. I could have actually just closed the door and changed in my suite. It was mostly a regular business-class sized 777 bathroom, but Emirates added some faux marble and fancy finishes.

Next I was served some Arabic coffee and dates, and Emirates offers three types – plain, almond and orange. I chose the orange and it was tasty.

OK, it’s time to look through the menu. It’s not just a menu by the way. It’s now a huge souvenir booklet that you can take home with you! First the food:

Now I’ll show you the wine. Keep in mind each wine had its own page of the menu.

We’re not done. Here are the other drinks:

There’s also a card inserted that shows the movie snacks you can order after dinner, as if you’ll have room for anything.

We taxied out in the Chicago sunset. There were some nice views as we headed out on our 13+ hour flight to Dubai. I could also watch the cameras on the huge screen.

In the window seats, Emirates provided binoculars. I can’t say these were very useful to be honest. It’s hard to use them on a moving plane. They really didn’t add anything.

As we rose up into the Midwestern sky, it was showtime – Emirates style. Now, when I ordered, I was a bit disappointed as the flight attendant told me they only loaded three Arabic mezzes which were already ordered by other guests. She offered the business class version, but I declined that, figuring I had another Emirates First Class flight to come where I could order the proper version. In the end, she told me in the morning that they did still have a serving left as one of the people that ordered it ended up declining it after they ate too much other food. A bit annoying, but in the end, I liked what I ordered instead.

I told my flight attendant that I wanted the meal to be coursed out slowly so I could enjoy it and digest a bit in between courses. She took my order and said she would wait for me to finish each course before starting to prepare the next one.

First I received a refill of the Dom and some warm nuts. Then my table was set and an amuse bouche was served. There was a prawn in some sort of sauce and a mozzarella/tomato bite. Both were delicious.

Now it was caviar time. All the accompaniments were served – egg, creme fraiche, onions, and blinis. The pictures came out a bit dark as only one of the two dining lights appeared to be working in my suite.

The blinis were fresh and not stale (definitely an issue with my Etihad caviar service later in the trip). The caviar tasted great and I enjoyed it while starting Dune which I had not yet seen. It seemed like the perfect movie to watch while enjoying a meal spaced out over several hours.

Next up was my appetizer. I chose the seared prawns as my alternative to the mezze and they turned out to be delicious. They were atop a seaweed salad and had feta cheese served on the side.

I was also brought a bread basket that included warm garlic bread.

After a digestion break, I moved on to the main course: lobster tandoori. It was absolutely amazing – one of the best dishes I have ever had on a plane. It was spicy, the lobster was tender and everything about the dish worked. I paired it with the Corton which I enjoyed, even though I’m not a big wine drinker.

After another digestion break, I moved on to dessert although even after I said I was ready to order it, the flight attendant brought the after-dinner chocolates. She was very sweet but a bit clueless sometimes. Anyhow, I ordered the apple blackberry torte which was probably the most disappointing part of the meal. It was fine, just not memorable.

Of course, the only way to end a meal in Emirates First Class (or so I had been told as it was my first time) is with a glass of Hennessy Paradis, which is $1300 a bottle. I had a sampling of the chocolates along with it.

After the movie finished, I asked the flight attendant to make up the bed. They keep the bedding in a cupboard above the seat which makes it easier. The bed is huge and very comfortable.

For some reason, I could only sleep about three hours. I decided to check out the contents of the snack cupboard. I took most of these with me except the chocolate which would have melted in 10 seconds in the Dubai heat.

I was feeling all the booze a bit, so I had one of the hydration tablets dissolved in a bottle of water and felt a bit better. I saw that the inflight entertainment system had the entire series of Gavin & Stacey, a British sitcom I’d been meaning to watch. I started watching and enjoyed the first two seasons over the rest of the flight.

About eight hours into the flight, I was a bit hungry again and decided to have breakfast. I started with a smoothie, fruit, yoghurt and the pastry basket. As you can see, it was light out by this point, so I added some natural light to try and acclimatize to the time change.

I decided on the chia pudding for my main course as I wasn’t that hungry. I ordered an iced latte to go with it. The pudding was great with fresh coconut.

There’s actually a video call function on the tablet and I tried it but didn’t get a picture of the actual answering flight attendant. It’s about as useful as those binoculars considering the flight attendant is about five feet away.

The tablet also has the ability to adjust the seat in many different ways. I enjoyed the zero gravity setting when lounging between meals.

I wasn’t really hungry with an hour or so left to go, but I figured I would try something from the snack menu for “review purposes.” I ordered the sliders and a sparkling water.

They were quite tasty, but I couldn’t even finish these tiny things after all the other food. I enjoyed our approach into Dubai on this dusty, hot evening.

We landed around 7pm local time and had a short taxi to our gate. There was quite a long walk to immigration, but it was welcome after such a long flight.

I had a blast on Gamechanger. I would have liked to sleep more, but sometimes I think the excitement of flying a new product gets the better of me. The food, drinks and service (for the most part) were all excellent. I’m not sure if I’ll get to fly this product again with the changes to Emirates First Class award booking eligibility (must have elite status now or book via Qantas miles), but if not, I’ll remember this flight fondly.

Up Next: Emirates Dubai Connect JW Marriott Review

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