Review of EVA Air flight from Vancouver to Taipei in Business

In February, I flew EVA AIR's Royal Laurel Class (Business) from Vancouver to Taipei. I originally booked this flight in Premium Economy, but then I decided to upgrade myself to Business using the miles I earned from the past two years. For your information, it requires 31,500 to 35,000 miles to upgrade you from Premium Economy to Business depending on the ticket type you have. You can now bid for an upgrade starting in March, but I'm unsure how it works. Anyway, let's jump into this wonderful, top-notch flying experience. 

Our aircraft today was B-16707, but this aircraft was parked at the very end gate at YVR and TPE, so I could not get a good shot for it. 

Time to board! The seat was nice and clean and can be turned into a fully reclined bed. A big, soft pillow and a warm, comfy blanket were already put on the seat. I was seated in the second zone of Business Class, a small section in front of Premium Economy. After I boarded the plane, Deputy Purser (DP) who is in charge of this zone and also the whole Business Class came and greeted me. She asked for my meal selections and also if I would like to have some pre-departure drinks. I also told the crew that I upgraded to Business Class and this was my first time flying in Business in my life. She was very kind and said, "All you need to do is sit there and we will take care of you."

For pre-departure drink, I chose apple juice. The DP also gave me a piece of chocolate. 

As the DP saw my cup was empty and we still had time before departure, she offered my to try out sparkling water with lime. 

After finishing the pre-departure drink and watching the safety video, we were all set to go. The cabin light was dimmed with this gorgeous starlight view. 

Every Business Class Seat was equipped with this THUNDER noise-canceling earphones. 

1st Meal service

The prelude for today's dinner service consisted of a foie gras mousse tartlet and goat cheese tart. I was not a fan of either one. For drinks, I chose Calpis, a non-achololic milky drink from Japan. The crew saw that I did not finish the plate and gave me a pack of mixed nuts instead. What a nice gesture!

The DP came again to set up my table. 

Smoked duck breast and grilled prawn with quinoa salad. The duck breast and prawn were moisture, and the salad provided a fresh-start for this meal service. 

For the main, I pre-selected my meal online, which was a fish fillet with fried rice. I don't really know how to describe food and its taste. However, this was definitely a nice late-night dinner. The fish was soft and tender and the fried rice was warm and salted properly. I chose Ginger Ale for my main. The DP was humorous and she said that I always picked the most interesting non-alcoholic drink onboard. 

The dinner was finished by a fruit platter and a chocolate marquise cake. The cake was way too sweet and I could not finish it. 

Inflight

After the meal service, I asked for some pens and papers for my handcraft for the crew. I always write a thank-you note to the crew onboard to show my appreciation, regardless if I am sitting in Economy or Business. I think every passenger should do it. If you are writing a thank-you note for EVA AIR's crew (or other Asian airlines), please ask for a proper compliment form. This will help them significantly (I hope) in terms of getting extra commission or promotion. For Air Canada, they preferred hand-made notes as I observed. Make sure to give your notes/gifts to the crew after they finish the service. 

The crew onboard was really surprised and they really appreciated my notes.  

The lavatory was well-cleaned and provided multiple different amenities. The crew flush the toilet with hot coffee which made the toilet smell a lot better than the ones in the economy. 

I asked for a hamburger and the crew happily brought it to me. The patty was well-heated and was moisture. An excellent mid-flight snack. 

2nd meal service and landing

I started the breakfast with a cup of hot-chocolate. Not a usual drink you will get on a plane and this hot chocolate was definitely beyond excellence. It is probably better than the ones on the ground. 

For breakfast, I chose the classic EVA congee set. It is the taste of home (or Taiwan). Unfortunately, the sides are cold. I was not sure if this was on purpose but as I mixed the sides with the congee, everything turned out fine. 

I finished the breakfast with another fruit platter. Overall, a very nice meal onboard. I highly recommend you to pick the congee option for breakfast if you are flying EVA. 

At this time, the crew was prepared for landing. The DP who looked after me throughout the journey brought Chief Purser (CP) to my seat and they personally thanked me for my notes and how the letter I wrote to their headquarter and some tiny cards I made for each crew made their days. They also gave me a surprising gift: a huge bag of Business-class mixed nuts packs, 5 bottles of Fiji water and some 777-300ER postcards. They wrote a note to me as well! I was so happy because usually I was not expecting the crew to give something in return. The plane landed smoothly and sadly this Business Class trip came to an end. 

While taxiing in TPE, I captured Starlux's newest 350 aircraft. Lucky!