Best airplane food I’ve had. A mushroom rice with grilled asparagus and bell pepper entree, with side salad, dinner roll and fresh pineapple and grapes.
Boarding Malaysia flight
Letters from the Land of the Rising Sun
When I bought my tickets to Japan, I have to admit, the price seemed
too good to be true. The roundtrip, non-stop flight from LAX to Narita
on Malaysia Airlines was $671, easily half of a normal fare to Tokyo
and at least $200 cheaper than most sale fares I’d seen on other
airlines. I had never traveled — never even heard of — the Kuala
Lumpur-based airline, but they allowed me to pick my seats for both
directions and request a lacto-ovo vegetarian meal.
I arrived at the check-in counter at Tom Bradley International
Terminal about 4.5 hours before the flight on Friday, and when the check-in
counters opened 4 hours before takeoff, the line went quickly.
Boarding, too, was surprisingly swift and while the seats in economy
were relatively tight, it was no different than any other
international flight to Asia. Each seat had a personal video screen
and was provided a pillow, blanket and headphones. By the time we were
in the air, I had scoped out the movie selection, which leaned heavily
toward the action genre.
SkySnax with Japanese crackers, two cookie
packets and chocolate-covered peanuts.
One of my biggest worries was the food service and that ended up
being, in my opinion, Malaysia Airlines’ best quality. The vegetarian
meals were surprisingly tasty and I heard that the regular menu
options were flavorful as well.
A “light meal” was served about 40 minutes after we reached cruising altitude, consisting of salad, pasta with marinara sauce and grilled squash, a dinner roll and fresh pineapple.
Salad, pasta with marinara sauce and grilled squash, a dinner roll and fresh pineapple
A couple hours later, the flight attendants
passed out a SkySnax box with Japanese crackers, two cookie
packets and chocolate-covered peanuts. Because I had requested the vegetarian meal, I also received a dinner roll with
cream cheese, lettuce, tomato and cucumbers, which came in handy as I
gave away most of my snack box contents.
The dinner, served 2.5 hours before landing, was the best airplane
food I’ve ever had. A mushroom rice with grilled asparagus and bell pepper
entree, with side salad, dinner roll and fresh pineapple and grapes.
The mushroom rice was incredibly flavorful and filling, and
I was very happy that the flight attendants were quick with delivery
and remembered my special request for both meals without prompting.
My seatmate’s dinner, a teriyaki beef with rice, grilled bok choy and carrots.
My
seatmate’s dinner, a teriyaki beef with rice, grilled bok choy and
carrots, was good, but did not receive nearly as many rave
reviews as the mushroom rice.
The flight landed nearly an hour ahead of schedule, which might have
inconvenienced some travelers but overall was good news for many on
the plane. Several passengers were connecting to Kuala Lumpur, but had
to disembark for two hours before returning to continue their journey.
Turbulence was minimal, though the pilot suspended hot-drink service
until dinnertime. As long as my return trip is even half as smooth,
I’ll be a happy traveler and look forward to flying Malaysia Airlines
in the future. The airline, which seems to be struggling and posted a
third-quarter loss, has been offering steeply discounted fares for
most destinations, making travel to and around Asia extremely
affordable.
Tanakasan