lilbob69 Posted August 25, 2016 Posted August 25, 2016 Hi Guys I'm heading off to BKK on Thai Airways soon and was thinking about meals on the flight. Usually I just have the 'normal' meal (red chicken curry rice etc) which is fine, although not the best red curry. Has anyone had any experience with ordering 'special' meals? I'm usually not really hungry when they serve the food anyway so thought maybe I'd mix things up and get a kosher meal or diabetic meal. No idea what's in any of those of course. Any suggestions? Any sample menus? Cheers Quote
traveller123 Posted August 25, 2016 Posted August 25, 2016 Similar question. I will shortly be flying Eva economy to the US. Has anyone tried their special seafood meal? Quote
TMax Posted August 25, 2016 Posted August 25, 2016 I've seen some of their vegetarian meals come out that looked okay, not tried them yet though Quote
vinapu Posted August 25, 2016 Posted August 25, 2016 I never tried special meals but noticed that they are being delivered before regular service so they may be an attractive option for hungry ones. Day when attractive meals were served in economy are gone , what we get now it's just human feed but I'm last to complain since relative cost of flight went down big time over years Quote
chaotou Posted August 25, 2016 Posted August 25, 2016 Special meals are intended for passengers who have specific dietary needs due to health or religious reasons. Not really meant for passengers who just want to "change things up." Don't add to the crew's duties to satisfy your own curiosity. Additionally as mentioned they are usually delivered before the meal service to the other passengers. So, if you are not hungry when the meal service is offered, you certainly won't be hungry when your special meal is delivered even sooner. In my opinion special meals are not as good as the regular meals. You ask for advice? Mine is to not order a special meal. Decline the regular meal service if you are not hungry. Bring a snack in the event you get hungry before the next meal offering. Quote
kokopelli Posted August 25, 2016 Posted August 25, 2016 When flying in Biz Class I have ordered the Japanese meal when flying to and from Tokyo however that option is not likely when in Economy. That was on Delta. Quote
Guest abang1961 Posted August 25, 2016 Posted August 25, 2016 Oops.. I haven't been on a full-fledged airline to Thailand for the past decade as it is just a mere 2 hour flight from Singapore. However I do book meals on Air Asia, especially the Satay Chicken Wrap. My previous experience on a full-fledged airline was the flight from Singapore to Melbourne by Singapore Airlines. It was almost 80% more expensive than a budget airline and the in-flight food was (at best) bland. I prefer JAL for their cool soba... Quote
Guest 2guys Posted August 25, 2016 Posted August 25, 2016 The special meals (I'm talking about the low fat and the diabetic ones) on most airlines go from tasteless to horrible. I tried quite some bit never do it again, I prefer not to eat or have the standard meal instead. One exception on this was KLM, their low fat meals were always very nice and much nicer than the standard meals. When flying business, I never change my meal as the meals are to nice to even consider diet restrictions. ;-) Quote
vinapu Posted August 25, 2016 Posted August 25, 2016 When flying in Biz Class I have ordered the Japanese meal when flying to and from Tokyo however that option is not likely when in Economy. That was on Delta. not long ago I was flying Korean Air in Economy as always and not only they have choice of Western and Korean meals but Korean one come with very classy instruction of how actually eat it / there was something which was supposed to be blended with something before consumption, definitely edible / Quote
Guest Posted August 25, 2016 Posted August 25, 2016 I always have a vegetarian meal. I've triend the EVA vegetatian & Asian (Indian) vegetarian options and been very pleased with them. The meal is also served before all the others, so if your seating position allows, you can eat & use the bathroom before the queue forms. If you MUST have a special meal, then I find it preferable to books direct with the airline & make sure the booking details state the meal preference. If there is any doubt, phone the airline. Quote
williewillie Posted August 30, 2016 Posted August 30, 2016 not long ago I was flying Korean Air in Economy as always and not only they have choice of Western and Korean meals but Korean one come with very classy instruction of how actually eat it / there was something which was supposed to be blended with something before consumption, definitely edible / I'm also happy with Korean Air and use them exclusively for several years now. Relatively easy to maintain elite status, and many perks, including one glorious upgrade to business class transPacific. I also like the Korean meal, which needs to be combined with several ingredients. Amazingly responsive air stewards, with the occasional hot male ones. The western style meals are hit or miss. I saw recently that Delta is ending service to Bangkok in a few months. United Air did the same. Quote
steveboy Posted August 30, 2016 Posted August 30, 2016 Special meals are intended for passengers who have specific dietary needs due to health or religious reasons. Not really meant for passengers who just want to "change things up." Don't add to the crew's duties to satisfy your own curiosity. Additionally as mentioned they are usually delivered before the meal service to the other passengers. So, if you are not hungry when the meal service is offered, you certainly won't be hungry when your special meal is delivered even sooner. In my opinion special meals are not as good as the regular meals. For me, the meals during flights don't deserve too much attention as long as they are above some minimum standard. Most of my experience has been in flights by United Airlines, the champion in having some of the worst, substandard food one can imagine. And here I found that special meals are a bit better than the regular ones. And I don't give a damn about "adding to the crew's duties", since I find the United flight attendants among the ugliest (in looks and attitude) in the industry. vinapu 1 Quote
Guest ronnie4you Posted September 30, 2016 Posted September 30, 2016 "Adding to the crew's duties" Surely you jest. The crew is there to work and I don't feel bad at all asking them to work for me. By the same token, I don't unduly burden them with special requests, but when it comes to choosing, I choose myself first since I am a paying customer. Quote
Guest Posted September 30, 2016 Posted September 30, 2016 Special meals are intended for passengers who have specific dietary needs due to health or religious reasons. Not really meant for passengers who just want to "change things up." Don't add to the crew's duties to satisfy your own curiosity. Religion is usually a personal choice. In my view it's a very questionable choice, so it is more than equally acceptable for someone to make a non-religious choice of meal. I've not eaten meat for decades, so will chose one of the vegetarian meals. On rational principles. (Which is more than I can say for certain religions) As for the crew, they are paid to serve a couple of meals to each passenger on the long haul flights. So they can get on with it. Most of the Asian crews are fit enough to stand the stress and many of the western ones could benefit from the exercise. Quote
traveller123 Posted October 1, 2016 Posted October 1, 2016 I am just back home in Thailand after a trip to San Francisco flying economy with Eva Air. Only good things to say about the journey, good food for the class of travel, nice cabin crew (but all female) and at the time I booked a good price of 29,405 baht. I could have bought a cheaper ticket on the mainland China airlines but didnt fancy the longer stop overs and shorter leg room. Quote
steveboy Posted October 1, 2016 Posted October 1, 2016 As for the crew, they are paid to serve a couple of meals to each passenger on the long haul flights. So they can get on with it. Most of the Asian crews are fit enough to stand the stress and many of the western ones could benefit from the exercise. Especially the fat older woman and fat black men in United. I don't remember one flight attendant there worth looking at. Quote
vinapu Posted October 1, 2016 Posted October 1, 2016 . I could have bought a cheaper ticket on the mainland China airlines but didnt fancy the longer stop overs and shorter leg room. I flew couple times with China Eastern , nothing fancy but comfortable enough , food aplenty and edible and long hauls quite bearable with exception of one flight when is was simply too cold in the cabin but I explained complaining passengers that when flying over Siberia in dead of winter we can't expect any better . Price was definitely very pocket friendly each time , even for Christmas period 1moRussian 1 Quote
Guest ryanasia Posted October 2, 2016 Posted October 2, 2016 I don't think the ground temperature plays much of a role when you are cruising at 30,000 feet. Quote
Alexx Posted October 2, 2016 Posted October 2, 2016 I think we can safely assume that vinapu said that in jest. vinapu 1 Quote
Guest ryanasia Posted October 3, 2016 Posted October 3, 2016 I think we can safely assume that vinapu said that in jest. lol Maybe my humor meter was off. Quote
vinapu Posted October 3, 2016 Posted October 3, 2016 lol Maybe my humor meter was off. don't worry , few of my co-passengers took it quite seriously too until somebody called me jokester or something Quote