Airline Food
I am no frequent flier. I do not accumulate miles like some people who travel a 100K or a million flight miles a year for work. I do travel for leisure whenever I can and over the years I have had my share of meals both on domestic and international flights.
Over and over again I hear of passengers complain about the food on flights. In the 25+ years that I've been traveling I can say that I've had my share of both. Fortunately I've had more good experiences than bad ones.
Here is a montage of some food I've had on board international flights to Asia, Europe, and the US.
My connecting flight from Tokyo to San Francisco last April 2014 was by far the one with the worst food ever. I was quite surprised by the quality.
I was traveling on Japan Airlines at that time and I had earlier taken a flight from Manila to Tokyo that day also from the same airline. The food served me then and in coach class at that was plentiful, filling, and downright delicious. On the second and last leg of my flight though, we were served a soupy dish which was downright tasteless and watery. I don't think it was clam chowder. If it was, it sure didn't look nor taste any thing like it. For an airline with good reviews like JAL, I was dumbfounded.
Air China is not known for its food. Westerners particularly dislike it. I, on the other hand, found the beef and rice, duck and salad I had for lunch on the way to LAX Jan. 8, 2012 delicious. I suppose that's because I love Chinese food.
What I disliked about this airline was its stinginess with the drinks. One lady passenger seated behind me asked if she could have more soda to drink. She was only given half a cup and not much more. A can of soda is so, so cheap. When traveling on an international flight, passengers should not be deprived of drinks especially when one wants to quench a thirst.
This was my lunch on board Cathay Pacific during my most recent trip to Hong Kong en route to Manila. Taken last February 6, 2015. Honestly, I liked this meal. It was Chinese food, once again, and it was flavorful. Loved the chicken and mushroom combination.
This was the paltriest breakfast I have ever been given on any flight. This was my breakfast on board my UNITED flight to Vienna in the summer of 2014. I honestly thought the flight attendants were going to return and give us more food given the empty space on the tray. But, no, this was it. Let's just say, I was not amused.
This was my lunch on board another United flight to Germany one summer. This was pretty bland.