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Airline Food: The good, the bad and the ugly

David Ross

By David Ross
in Food Traditions & Culture

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Margaret Pilgrim

Margaret Pilgrim

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, gfweb said:

The Mac was actually cavatapi, for which they gain points, but it was still bland. Hot sauce would've helped.

 

 

For years I traveled with a small bottle of Cholula which was my cure-all for airline food.   

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eGullet member #80.

  • 2 weeks later...
gulfporter

gulfporter

Posted
Posted
On 8/13/2023 at 7:03 PM, gfweb said:

American Airlines lunch.  PHL-TPA

 

Not terrible. A braised beef and macaroni and cheese. Sensible choices for the 737's galley incinerators.  It was tasty. The spice cake was nice. The Seuss-hued hummus was gross, but I am no friend of hummus.

 

20230812_121404.thumb.jpg.b4aa77ce54f3be76cd67bf2c4c8fa8f9.jpg

 

Had the EXACT same meal on American, Guadalajara to Phoenix 2 days ago!  Mine went down easy with a huge pour of a decent red wine 🍷  The boneless short rib was very tender and the green hummus had a bit of a kick; the red (I'm guessing beet derived) was bland (but pretty). 

 

Prior to the pandemic we flew often on American or United from Guadalajara to either DFW or IAH, respectively.  Food was always fairly good.  During the pandemic it was either non-existent or some fairly awful boxed "meals."

 

Earlier this year we had some bad to awful meals both directions GDL-PHX.  Including a breakfast that included a sealed unmarked cardboard bowl of what turned out to be dried instant oatmeal....but the attendant did not bring or offer hot water!!   Got her attention and asked for a cup of hot water.  I saw that the rest of the passengers were Mexicans and upon opening the bowl they shrugged and set it aside (there are only 2 rows in Biz class).  When the attendant brought my water I suggested she offer hot water to others; she spoke not a word of Spanish!  I stood up in the aisle and held my bowl to the small group and said, Es avena, necesita agua caliente.  The attendant then brought everyone a mug of hot water.  

 

The attendant later told me she had flown down to GDL as a substitute and had no idea what was on the breakfast tray.

  • Like 3
  • 7 months later...
KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted

Singapore Airlines JFK-SIN non stop, premium economy (there's no coach on this flight) - we took off not long ago - around 10:30PM NY time. My wife and I both got their "book the cook" where you can order in advance....

PXL_20240703_034944764.thumb.jpg.5982a4ad5476bf59ee3939558e4bef18.jpg

"Braised E-fu noodles with chicken". Very tasty - surprisingly, the Chinese broccoli was nicely cooked and the noodles were not mushy. The salad at top left is a cold shrimp, baby greens with capers and lemon. Dessert is a bread pudding in a nice caramel sauce.

 

PXL_20240703_034813100.thumb.jpg.aca7a4ce2de18059c041819482be63d6.jpg

My wife got a steamed chicken with dried lily flower.

 

If you didn't order in advance, your choices were either Thai red curry chicken with rice or braised beef in red wine sauce with potatoes.

  • Like 13
rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted

@KennethT

 

what sort of advance order selection do you get ?   is there a web site to gp to ?

 

or do you have to have booked a seat ?

 

enjoy your trip .  looking forward to your reports.

  • Like 1
KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, rotuts said:

@KennethT

 

what sort of advance order selection do you get ?   is there a web site to gp to ?

 

or do you have to have booked a seat ?

 

enjoy your trip .  looking forward to your reports.

It varies depending on your flight's point of origin. From NY, there aren't that many selections from the book the cook service - maybe 7? Ranging from several western choices to Asian stuff. For flights originating from SG, there are a ridiculous # of choices - maybe 15 or so? This is in addition to the choices available on the "inflight menu".

 

You can order from book the cook maybe 3 months before your flight (I think) but about 3 weeks before you can also view the inflight menu and make your choices from both.

 

I don't know if you can look at the full menu online, but if you go to Singapore Airlines website you can find out a lot more detail.

  • Like 4
KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted

Breakfast is served about 7-8 hours after dinner (there's always a wide variety of snacks available in the back - but sadly no sambal ikan bilis buns).

 

PXL_20240703_123753988.thumb.jpg.2b463fc0d55dc2bfa9e92b31224baf69.jpg

Stir fried chicken in oyster sauce with noodles - these noodles also have some cabbage and shiitake mushrooms hiding. I ordered this in advance off the "inflight menu"

 

My wife got:

PXL_20240703_123330654.thumb.jpg.24e4210ebcf2c6c12af385446b14e4f0.jpg

Pork congee

  • Like 11
KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted

A refresher served about an hour and a half before landing:

PXL_20240703_193220520.thumb.jpg.3db7d52ceda541a32e2bfef7aba3c490.jpg

 

PXL_20240703_193236416.thumb.jpg.470561c800bc6bbf7de259cf1b80c370.jpg

 

It's no NYC pizza but completely serviceable.  Surprisingly I wasn't hungry enough to get any other snacks during the flight, although I was curious about this chocolate bun, but there's always next time, plus we're going to (hopefully) get some fun stuff in Singapore airport while waiting for our connection, plus they're going to feed us again on the 2 hour flight to Jakarta!

  • Like 9
blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Shelby said:

I'm thinking about taking the same flight and just staying on the plane.  No need to see land.  Just eat the airplane food.

 

At least check out the airport with me!  I'd pay money for a food tour of that Singapore airport led by @KennethT with wine and beverage commentary by his wife!

  • Like 6
Shelby

Shelby

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

At least check out the airport with me!  I'd pay money for a food tour of that Singapore airport led by @KennethT with wine and beverage commentary by his wife!

Ok.  You had me at the wine commentary.   I suppose I'd be ready to use a bathroom other than the airplane one anyway. 🤣 

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haresfur

haresfur

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

At least check out the airport with me!  I'd pay money for a food tour of that Singapore airport led by @KennethT with wine and beverage commentary by his wife!

 

I was kind of disappointed at the food in the airport but I wasn't after fancy. They have what is supposed to be a 24 hour "hawker centre" but most of the stalls were closed in the evening. I was probably still suffering from the heat and humidity during the day but had to eat, so probably not the best test. The food I did have was ok - certainly better than Lufthansa.

  • Like 2

It's almost never bad to feed someone.

KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted

Just some snacks before our next flight:

PXL_20240703_220357436.thumb.jpg.7d2405d605b0d5f0684e6be9456326a6.jpg

Awesome chicken rice (about $6 each)

 

PXL_20240703_222937732.thumb.jpg.4f1a14e37af8fbce50b25506c7014cbf.jpg

Crab nuggets and prawn nuggets 

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  • Delicious 2
KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

At least check out the airport with me!  I'd pay money for a food tour of that Singapore airport led by @KennethT with wine and beverage commentary by his wife!

I'd be happy to show both you and @Shelby around - no charge.... Hehe. Not that I'm an expert - I just do some research!

 

ETA: Jetlag not included....

Edited by KennethT (log)
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Shelby

Shelby

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, KennethT said:

I'd be happy to show both you and @Shelby around - no charge.... Hehe. Not that I'm an expert - I just do some research!

 

ETA: Jetlag not included....

I couldn't take the heat...or the jet lag.     But I'd love your wife's amazing knowledge about wine.  And yours about the food.  Again, I need to stay on the air conditioned plane lol.

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted

Possibly the last airline flight of the day. Even though this flight is just over an hour long, doesn't mean SA won't feed you...

 

PXL_20240704_022226395.thumb.jpg.4e4d159ac432abad267cb5cb68b34845.jpg

 

Fried carrot cake with prawns. Contrary to what a western person would think of carrot cake, this is made with turnip and typically fried with lard and includes fried shallots, chilli and dried shrimp in addition to the fresh prawn (which are cooked perfectly btw). It is addictingly savory.

  • Like 8
  • 2 weeks later...
KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted

Singapore Airlines, Jakarta to Singapore (about 1h15m flying time but of course they need to feed you dinner:

 

PXL_20240713_114703848.thumb.jpg.9d15ea6809bbcb5096909b31dffe3261.jpg

 

PXL_20240713_114658707.thumb.jpg.0d4b16818bf2d19856cf8f1f603d9b24.jpg

Nasi lemak - coconut rice with chicken curry, fish cake made with spice paste/kaffir lime leaf, ikan bilis (small dried fish) and peanuts.

 

 

  • Like 9
blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, gfweb said:

How about all the food that came in between?

 

Patience, grasshopper!  I'm sure there will be a dedicated topic coming our way someday soon. Maybe there will even be grasshoppers!

  • Haha 2
liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted
13 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Patience, grasshopper!  I'm sure there will be a dedicated topic coming our way someday soon. Maybe there will even be grasshoppers!

 

Yes, @KennethTusually gives his full report when he is home and rested.

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted

I'm thinking about it - it would be a bit more brief than normal.

 

Dinner, Singapore to Newark (NY area):

PXL_20240713_163831427.thumb.jpg.ed1b55dffb2a0779e020b995094174c7.jpg

Book the cook - braesola salad with grilled pears and marinated manchego, garlic butter focaccia and pandan chiffon with coconut cream with:

PXL_20240713_164302976.thumb.jpg.7d3188065683367b268b8e32a9e4fe8e.jpg

Chicken biryani

  • Like 11
KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted (edited)

Breakfast:

PXL_20240714_021254549.thumb.jpg.7d8991da34d839c1cbc64f22d831460d.jpg

Book the cook with decent croissant and

 

PXL_20240714_021549567.thumb.jpg.0df1d533a60508ce39563d9162fa3d6a.jpg

Singapore bak chor mee - it's no Hill Street Tai Hwa bcm but pretty tasty for the plane

Edited by KennethT (log)
  • Like 11
liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted
28 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Just before landing 

PXL_20240714_075134980.thumb.jpg.d3b908b8db67a0842a99097f9823fb56.jpg

 

PXL_20240714_075201500.thumb.jpg.40015d5caf952319bc34337b19af4a4a.jpg

 

That doesn't look at all bad for having been served on a plane.

 

 

  • Like 3

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

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