RTW Roundup: Best of economy class eats
Actually, every airline outside of the US was awesome when it came to economy class food. Whether it was TAM, South African Airways, or Lao Airlines, every airline provided meal service on flights as short as 45 minutes. It's tough to compare, since some of my flights were domestic, while others were short-haul international. But if I had to choose, the two standouts were Bangkok Airways and Air New Zealand.
On the ~1 hour flight from Phnom Penh to Bangkok on Bangkok Airways (shorter than LAX to SFO for comparison), I was shocked that there was a full hot meal service. The flight attendants were truly rushed, and I also felt really rushed to finish eating everything before the trays were collected. But the meal was delicious. Green curry chicken with two types of rice: regular white rice and a special organic purple rice. The little card to the left describes how the purple rice is grown by the Sukhothai Airport in affiliation with the airline. Such a relief to have curry that was spicy and sour, in contrast to the sweet curries we'd had in Cambodia. In fact, it was quite spicy; though it had coconut milk, it wasn't heavy. The appetizer was a pomelo shrimp salad that I had wanted to try in Cambodia, since I'd seen it on several restaurant menus, and dessert was a tropical fruit crumb cake.
I also quite enjoyed the meals on Air New Zealand's trans-Tasman services (between Australia and New Zealand). What was impressive about these meals is that they were totally unlike any airline meals I'd had before. Basically, the main courses aren't pre-plated in a casserole dish and warmed all together in the oven. Instead, individual items are heated together and it's plated at the last minute when you're served. So, hot items (pies, or chicken cordon bleu as in the picture below) can go right on top of cold items like cole slaw. Plus, their pastries remain incredibly crisp and flaky, and this fried chicken was nice and crunchy. I usually expect these things to go soggy when reheated. This chicken was also unusual because I think it's the first time I've eaten something on an airplane with bones in it.
