Reverse Herringbone seats on EVA 777
Reverse Herringbone seats on EVA 777

In a lot of ways, it felt very similar to other business class flights I’ve taken. It was a great (and LONG at 15:50 hrs) flight, yet not much stood out as a must fly either. I wish I could compare to the new Starlux Business or First class, but at over $3,000 for Business and $9,000 for First, with no partner miles redeemable, that’s not happening 😉 ).

(Side note: In between my first draft of this article, while I was in Taipei, Starlux and Alaska Airlines announced a partnership and Alaska miles will, in fact, be redeemable from this summer…) 

The flight departed JFK at 1:25am and arrived in Taipei just before 6am, the next day.

How I Booked

I transferred both Capital One Miles and Citi ThankYou points to Turkish Miles&Smiles. I spent 62,500 miles and about $156 each way. I thought that was a pretty good deal seeing as a nonstop round trip on EVA from New York to Taipei runs about $9,000. 

125,000 miles and $312 total seems much better than $9,000!

Check in at JFK

Terminal 1 isn’t anyone’s favorite terminal. I encountered long security lines, no PreCheck (having it allowed me to keep my shoes on – that’s it… no separate line).

Business Class passengers are in invited to use the Lufthansa Business Class lounge which is nothing to write home about. You’d also be eligible to use the brand new Turkish lounge which closes at midnight.

Priority Pass also gets you access to that Turkish lounge as well as a Prime Class lounge which was closed when I stopped by at midnight. The Air France lounge closes at 11pm so it’s not a great option for this flight.

Boarding

They are very orderly with boarding, with someone coming to check that people on line to board first indeed have Group 1 boarding cards (which includes Business Class). Pre-departure beverages did not include Champagne. I believe that may be a US tax issue. It was, of course offered anytime after hitting cruising altitude. 

That said, they only had one champagne available – a Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle which sells for a bit over $200 a bottle.

Champagne
Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle (The only choice on this flight)

The Seat

The seat is a completely standard reverse herring done configured business class seat (1-2-1). If you have flown much long haul business class, you’ve been in this seat before.

EVA Royal Laurel Review 777
EVA Royal Laurel Class Seats on the 777

I personally find it to be quite average, with not quite enough width for me to get my knees situated lying on my side. I did appreciate that they brought a mattress topper for the seat for sleeping, which made it a bit more comfy, though it was a pretty thin one.

Reverse Herringbone seats on EVA 777
Reverse Herringbone seats on EVA 777

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the seat, don’t get me wrong. But if you are booking this thinking you’re trying something revolutionary (because EVA deservedly gets a ton of praise for their J product), you won’t be… And it’s honestly not my *favorite* ultra long haul seat.

Just a bit more width would make a ton of difference over 16 hours. Keep in mind that EVA does not offer a First Class cabin.

Reverse Herringbone seats on EVA 777
Reverse Herringbone seats on EVA 777
Me 🙂

Rating: 4*

Amenity Kits and Pajamas

I LOVE when long haul flights provide pajamas and these were maybe the comfiest I’ve ever worn. 5 stars. Make sure you change in the bathroom nearest the cockpit as the one on the right side front is much smaller.  These were Jason Wu brand and so comfy that I wore them to bed my whole trip.

Jason Wu Pajamas on EVA - SO Comfortable!
Jason Wu Pajamas on EVA – SO Comfortable!

The amenity kit was also a designer kit, by Salvatore Ferragamo and included the usual expected amenities, pictured below.

Salvatore Ferragamo Amenity Kit - EVA
Salvatore Ferragamo Amenity Kit – EVA

Note that on the flight back to New York, we got a different design of the kit, also by Salvatore Ferragamo. This one is a hard shell kit and I will definitely be reusing this one! Love it. The same things were inside as the outbound kit.

Salvatore Ferragamo Amenity Kit - EVA
Salvatore Ferragamo Amenity Kit – EVA

Rating 5*

The Service

5 stars. Really.

My flight attendant was so attentive in a way that I can only describe as understated. I never felt like she was hovering yet she was always there when I needed her. I had asked to try two of the late night snacks (for review purposes!!!!) and she actually saved me the second snack (the burger) for after my nap, proactively offered. Loved that. And when I woke 45 minutes before landing and asked if I could scarf down breakfast (knowing that they’d be about to prepare the cabin for landing, she happily obliged. She apologized they had stowed the ice and could give me ice for my coffee and even though I cheerily said “no problem at all!” she returned 2 minutes later with a glass of ice. 

In short, my experience was that the FA’s are intent on providing top notch service for their Business Class passengers and that’s worth a LOT to me.

Rating: 5*

The Food

My best advice here is to pre-order. I mean, REALLY, you have to preorder. 

I had a choice of around a dozen entrees a few days before departure (they even notate which ones are special order only) and got a really nice dish of rack of lamb, cooked perfectly.

Lamb Chops – EVA

And the desert was fantastic as well.

I also preordered breakfast which was a shaobing with beef and egg and just delicious.

EVA Breakfast - beef and egg. Outstanding
EVA Breakfast – beef and egg. Outstanding

The snacks were a bit of a miss.

The pork noodles were fine – a but small and not overly flavorful – but good.

EVA Pork Noodles Snack

The burger was a disappointment, I’ll admit. I’d heard such great things, but it was microwaved, with one half of the bun nearly rock hard and the curly fries super soggy.

Interestingly, on the way home I had the burger again and it was cooked so much better (and the fries, equally soggy, were wedge style, not curly). So I think there must be a bit of YMMV on how they heat things up.

For an entree on the way home I had spare ribs that were just as good as the rack of lamb outbound.

EVA Pork Ribs
EVA Pork RIbs

Overall, though, compared to other highly rated Asian carriers I’ve flown there was significantly less on-board selection – especially for the snacks. Again, we are talking about a flight that you are spending 2/3 of a day on.

I don’t mean to be overly critical – most of the food was overall very tasty! – but I think they could provide a bit more variety. 

Also – there was no menu provided. I managed to grab a picture of the FA’s.

EVA Menu
EVA Menu

With no COVID precautions still in place, not having paper menus seemed off.

Oh, and I had a beer with dinner. Pretty good!

EVA Beer
EVA Beer

Rating: 4*

On Board Wifi

Oh, Panasonic Wifi, how I hate thee.

While free wifi passes are not offered for Business Class passengers on award tickets, you can buy a flight pass for $40.

Panasonic Wifi Options on EVA 777 NY-Taipei
Panasonic Wifi Options on EVA 777 NY-Taipei

While many carriers these days offer free wifi up front, I wasn’t too upset to pay $40 for 16 hours of unlimited data wifi. But Panasonic’s service is just always abysmally slow and intermittent and my plan to do 5-6 hours of work evaporated into 1. It was similarly slow on the ride home.

Rating: 2* (would have been 1* but I was happy they at least offered an unmetered unlimited plan!) 

The EVA Lounge in Taipei

I was excited to check out the Infinity Lounge in TPE on the way back. I arrived 2l5 hours early to enjoy it, thinking it would be like a typical Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines lounge. It wasn’t. EVA has *four* different lounges for different passenger types. The one for business class passengers is called the Infinity Lounge and is supposedly the best one.

It was fairly small and cramped, with decidedly aging furniture, so-so food (American hot dog anyone?!) and absolutely not worth arriving extra early for.

EVA Lounge in Taipei
EVA Lounge in Taipei
EVA Lounge in Taipei
EVA Lounge in Taipei
EVA Lounge in Taipei
EVA Lounge in Taipei

 

EVA Lounge in Taipei
EVA Lounge in Taipei
EVA Lounge in Taipei
EVA Lounge in Taipei- Curry Chicken on the left

EVA Lounge in Taipei
EVA Lounge in Taipei – the “American Food’ Section

I think this surprised me more than anything as we are talking about a 5 star rated airline.

Rating: 2*

Jetlag Advice

Coming back from Asia will be horrendous, I’m sure, but I do have a tip that hasn’t failed me in several trips outbound to Asia. Stay up as late as you POSSIBLY can. We took off at 1:45am and I didn’t take a nap until almost 7am. I napped for 3 hours, woke, had a snack, and then after an hour or so, went back for 5 more hours. This had me up at about 4:20am local time and with a good sleep behind me and coffee all day long, I actually made it up until 11pm. Essentially no jet lag. (I feel off by about 2 hours which is great for a 12 hour time difference!!)

Update: I’m finishing this off the day after arriving home and indeed, the jetlag is hitting me hard around 1pm even though I slept around 6 hours last night. My body thinks it’s 1am and wants to hit the sack..

1st Sidebar: Street Food in Taipei (Night Markets) and the Golden Waterfall

My two favorite night markets were Shilin and Linjiang. Most people would agree on Shilin as being top 2. Linjiang was pretty close to the Grand Hyatt and I thought it was excellent. Smaller than Shilin, yes, but still full of good food and manageable. 

The other market everyone will suggest is Raohe Night Market. If I had just one more night, I would have gone. Instead, while trying to see the Golden Waterfall near Juifen (about 45 mins east of Taipei City), I decided to stop off at Keelung Night Market (roughly halfway between Taipei City and Juifen) since I was already so far east and it was a stop that Anthony Bourdain made in Taipei. Then again, he also liked Raohe ;-).

Here’s the Golden Waterfall I worked so hard to see – using low light mode since I got there after dark like an idiot. Did I mention I took an Uber from Maokong? And that it can take like 45 minutes to get an Uber to come there? Still cool, though!

Golden Waterfall near Jiufen, Taipei, Taiwan.
Golden Waterfall near Jiufen, Taipei, Taiwan.

Here are some food shots…

Taiwanese style Sheng Jian Bao
Taiwanese style Sheng Jian Bao – Shilin
Sheng Jian Bao at Shilin Night Market
Sheng Jian Bao at Shilin Night Market
Taiwanese Sheng Jian Bao
Taiwanese Sheng Jian Bao – Almost no soup!
Taiwanese Shaved Ice. Get it with Condensed mile. And those egg roll cookies on top? Amazing.
Taiwanese Shaved Ice. Get it with Condensed mile. And those egg roll cookies on top? Amazing.
Pepper Beef Bun
Pepper Beef Bun – Keelung Night Market
Pepper Beef ball
Pepper Beef ball – Keelung Night Market
Toast with peanut butter and puff pastry
Toast with peanut butter and puff pastry
Pork rolled around scallions
Pork rolled around scallions at Keelung Night Market

Hot Star is super famous Taiwanese fried chicken cutlets. Shilin Market is where it originated.
Hot Star is super famous Taiwanese fried chicken cutlets. Shilin Market is where it originated.
Hot Star is super famous Taiwanese fried chicken cutlets. Shilin Market is where it originated.
Hot Star is super famous Taiwanese fried chicken cutlets. Shilin Market is where it originated. I usually get spicy but was spiced out. Spicy is definitely better!!
I forget what this was – but the sign was fun/

Non-Night Market Food in Taiwan

Hey – I love food, OK? 🙂 It’s the main reason I travel – local food!

Here are a few more things to try. Two are from the food court below the famous Taipei 101 building. 

Taipei 101 at Night
Taipei 101 at Night

If you’ve never been to Hawker Chan, the famous Michelin starred restaurant in Singapore, check it out here. Actually, have it here even if you have because, and I’ll stick to my guns on this, the food court in Taipei 101 made the roast pork better than the original!

Singapore's Hawker Chan is in Taipei 101's Food Court
Singapore’s Hawker Chan is in Taipei 101’s Food Court
Singapore's Hawker Chan is in Taipei 101's Food Court
Singapore’s Hawker Chan is in Taipei 101’s Food Court
Amazing Pork Katsu Curry - Food Court of Taipei 101
Amazing Pork Katsu Curry – Food Court of Taipei 101
Potstickers at Xiao Le Tian Dumpling House
Potstickers at Xiao Le Tian Dumpling House
Beef soup at Xiao Le Tian Dumpling House
Famous Taiwanese Beef soup at Xiao Le Tian Dumpling House

By the way, I didn’t get food specific pictures but I met friends for a feast at the Din Tai Fung in Taipei 101. The first ever Din Tai Fung was in Taipei and 101 is their second-ever location. Honestly, it tastes so much better than the ones in the US and is also so much cheaper. So leave a meal for Din Tai Fung and prepare for a LONG wait.

2nd Sidebar: Thermal Baths in Beitou

I love thermal baths, so when I learned there was a section of town devoted to them, I was super excited. 

As far as getting there, it’s simple: you just take the Red line on the MRT and transfer at the Beitou stop to a second train which literally only goes one stop to the center of the touristic area of Beitou. You could walk that distance in about 20 minutes. 

You do need to know just a couple of things.

  • There is one local’s spot called Millennium Hot Springs. It’s very basic. I went here because I was traveling solo and wanted a communal hot springs that did not require you to be completely nude (sorry, I’m shy!). Well, every single hotel requires single sex nude bathing, so I went to Millennium precisely because it didn’t. However, it still turned out you needed a special kind of bathing suit and they’ll make you buy that if you don’t have it. It’s much more form fitting than most Americans would wear. Beyond that, the place was full of older locals and there was definitely nobody there to make small talk with an American!
  • So, the other side of that is that if you are traveling as a couple, the move is to rent a private bath room at one of the hotels. I can’t give a suggestion as I never went to one, but if I went back I would. You get an allotted time in your private bath. Many looked quite nice and quite affordable as well. 
  • Total sidebar on my sidebar: the Grand Hyatt’s spa required bathers go naked. Surprised me only because international chains are usually more lenient. The W spa, by contrast, only recommended nude but specifically did not require it.

Two More Things in Taipei

Flight Simulator in Taipei 101

Believe it or not, if you go to the observatory of Taipei 101 ($20) for the great view, there’s a treat as you leave as well. Flight simulator school! I paid for a 10 minute lesson and flew from TPE (Taoyuan International Airport) to TSA (Taipei Songshan).

I usually really stink at these but I managed to take off and land the A320!

Super fun.

Flight Simulator (A320) at Taipei 101 (on your way to the down elevators)
Flight Simulator (A320) at Taipei 101 (on your way to the down elevators)

Taipei Zoo

They have pandas and koalas. And it’s where you need to be to get the gondola to Maokong anyway. Yes, pandas!

Panda at the Taipei Zoo
Panda at the Taipei Zoo

Bottom Line

I know those were some big sidebars, but back to the flight! EVA has a reputation as a leading 5 star airline. While I felt that they definitely hit that note with the service and pajamas, and, to an extent, the food, the seat was pretty average and the on-board food selection could have been better. No airline should use Panasonic for their wifi as it’s always brutal to use. And their lounge in Taipei could really use an overhaul. I was surprised they didn’t even have paper menus available for food and beverage.

I’d give it 4 stars overall. I’d certainly fly it again, but I was mistaken to think it would be along the lines of Qatar’s Qsuites or ANA’s new “The Room” business class. 

By the way…. it’s a long trip!

Thoughts?

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10 COMMENTS

  1. Just flew TPE to LAX a couple of weeks ago. Your reviews and ratings are spot on. Flew Singapore from LAX to NRT and felt their product was better save for the irritating fact that the FA had to set up your seat for sleeping. Your night market food makes me miss Taiwan so much!

    • Yes, but it would have been a bad move for three reasons vs Turkish:

      1) EVA directly charges 25,000 more miles round trip for the same flight.

      2) EVA is not an instant transfer and won’t hold seats

      3) EVA is a 2:1.5 transfer partner at Capital One. So it actually would have cost 32,500 more miles.

      🙂

  2. We will be flying EVA business class from JFK to TPE, which lounge would we be able to get in? We have about 4 hrs layover in JFK with a 1 year and 3 years old! Based on your post, Lufthansa lounge isn’t the greatest. Any advise is appreciated! Thank you so much.

      • Thank you Dave for the quick reply. You are the only one that have blogged about EVA business class able to use Turkish lounge! That is good to know. We are also considering to get priority pass so we can get into Virgin clubhouse or the Air France.

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