European trip-London and Paris

[Mangoe]

I am leaving next week for London and Paris and possibly making my way to Southern France. My question, what should I pack as a light snack or small meal for the flight over? I am flying British Airways.

I have been over to the French forum and picked up some ideas on where to eat and what chocolate shops and boulangeries to drop into....

But I need help in packing a lunch or dinner. My flight is a night flight and I arrive in London in the early afternoon.

I thought about running over to my favourite Greek delis to pack some Hummus, cheese, buns, but I did not want to offend my seatmates. I might offend them with the scent of too much garlic or they might be jealous of what I am eating.

I wonder if some of the restaurants would do pack a small meal for me if I gave them some notice.

And I wonder if some Egulleters would know which restos would oblige?

[Andrew Morrison]

Enthuze

Rangoli

Picnic

Red Door

Kolachy Shop

Phat

Have a wonderful trip!

[Mangoe]

Thank you for the suggestions!

I wanted to make sure the packaging makes it for the onboard portion. Not sure what the dining offerings are for BA.

As I may be visiting friends, I will need to bring some local food type presents from Vancouver. What do you think of the obligatory maple syrup, canned salmon?

I thought about ice wine(too heavy to carry in small carryon).

I have planned the start and end of my trip. I will spending 7 days in London and the surrounding areas. The latter part is still up in the air. Then either taking the Eurostar to Lyon and then to Avignon(Provence area). I think a previous Vancouver egulleteer posted pics on his trip in September.

And then to Paris for the next 7 days. I have been reading the postings in the French forum on solo dining. I think it might be fun and adventurous.

[ElizR]

I always take this evening BA flight when I visit my family in the UK and can safely say that the food is fine - you get a full dinner about an hour into the flight and then a breakfast before landing - the quality of the food is perfectly decent, although not stellar, and the portion are generous enough for an adult with a good appetite.

You will also get free alcoholic drinks - one of the best things about flying with BA!

If you are still concerned, the Fairmont Hotel at Vancouver airport does "gourmet" packed meals designed to be eaten on board and the cost is not too high.

Happy flying and have a great holiday.

[teamboom]

Also, check out Airline Meals!

They have lots of meals from all sorts of different airlines, complete with ratings and class (business, economy, first).

It's really interesting to see the different types of meals each section gets, too!

[samasutra]

I am leaving next week for London and Paris and possibly making my way to Southern France. My question, what should I pack as a light snack or small meal for the flight over? I am flying British Airways.

I have been over to the French forum and picked up some ideas on where to eat and what chocolate shops and boulangeries to drop into....

But I need help in packing a lunch or dinner. My flight is a night flight and I arrive in London in the early afternoon.

I thought about running over to my favourite Greek delis to pack some Hummus, cheese, buns, but I did not want to offend my seatmates. I might offend them with the scent of too much garlic or they might be jealous of what I am eating.

I wonder if some of the restaurants would do pack a small meal for me if I gave them some notice.

And I wonder if some Egulleters would know which restos would oblige?

←

I thought British Airways still provided food unlike most of the other carriers. Unllike most of the other carriers, the last time I flew with them..mind you this was a long time ago, they served great food. Scones,coddled cream and real preserves,etc. Again, this was a long time ago.

I definitely would not eat anything with garlic as its a long flight. I would not appreciate sitting next to someone who reeks of garlic unless of course I was also reeking of garlic. Grin.

Samasutra

[*Deborah*]

Suggest you take the ice wine over as it doesn't weigh any more than maple syrup, really? My understanding is that it is quite pricey in other parts of the world.

[BCinBC]

I have planned the start and end of my trip. I will spending 7 days in London and the surrounding areas. The latter part is still up in the air. Then either taking the Eurostar to Lyon and then to Avignon(Provence area). I think a previous Vancouver egulleteer posted pics on his trip in September.

And then to Paris for the next 7 days. I have been reading the postings in the French forum on solo dining. I think it might be fun and adventurous.

←

Mangoe,

Possibly you are talking about the thread linked in my sig line - it doesn't sound like you will make it all the way down to the Med coast however there is some other stuff in there about Lyon plus the general Province and southern French Alps area. A friend of mine highly recommended Avignon, and sadly we did not make it there this time but be sure to post about it in the France forum.

Re: flight food, I don't know if you've searched the forum but there is another thread around here on the same thing - perhaps a search for "food YVR" might work. I seem to recall that previous suggestions of Rangoli and the Fairmont YVR were concensus favourites though.

As for what to take, I second the ice wine suggestion - since it comes in half bottles it is not that cumbersome, and it is a signature BC thing.

No need to wish you a great trip as that is inevitable, but good luck with the plane meals.

[SBonner]

BA still provides adequate food and alcoholic drinks in economy so no need to bring your own food. I would agree with others in this thread and bring along some ice wine as well as Thomas Hass or Chocolate Arts chocolates. Have a great trip.

Cheers.

Stephen

[annanstee]

Chocolate Arts has those pretty first nations dark chocolate medallions- Thomas Haas has beautiful chocolates as well. I think you should go with a few half bottles of Icewine as well- as *Deborah* said, it doesn't weigh more than syrup. I have also given "C" flavoured sea salts (smoked grey salt was a favorite) maple butter (something different from syrup), and Lesley Stowe Rainforest Crisps. How about vacuum packed smoked sablefish?

[Sonja]

I would bring smoked salmon as a gift. They have pretty fantastic chocolates there already, and nothing beats wild bc salmon. I always take some when I go back home and it is always a huge hit. You can buy it frozen and wrap it in lots of tinfoil or have it professionally packaged in styrofoam containers.

For your on board meal I definitely would bring a snack. Having worked as a flight attendant for years my opinion of airline food is quite low. I always bring good quality organic miso soup (the powdered kind), and some fruit & sandwiches. You can even bring a packaged hot meal, just keep in mind that they have ovens, not microwaves. I've always enjoyed bringing some really good sushi (i.e. from Shiro on Cambie) since it will be the last you'll have in a while and it is easy to eat.

Have a wonderful time! (And yes, go to provence - St Paul de Vence and Avignon etc)

Sonja

[Daddy-A]

Amazing what a little search can turn up ...

I was pretty sure this question had been asked before:

Best of the West - What to Take European Foodies.

Another couple of threads that might also prove interesting:

Local Holiday Shopping

Best of BC: Food Wine & Cookbooks

A.

[Fengyi]

I've always enjoyed bringing some really good sushi (i.e. from Shiro on Cambie) since it will be the last you'll have in a while and it is easy to eat.

Have a wonderful time! (And yes, go to provence - St Paul de Vence and Avignon etc)

Sonja

←

I just took this BA flight last week and the food was really really terrible (I was in economy). We were very happy that we had packed a whole load of sushi for our dinner instead!! (also trying to get one last sushi fix in before going back to the UK...). We also picked up some bento-y bits and pieces from Yaohan (or whatever it's now called) which were good as well. Have a good trip!