After takeoff, orders were taken for post-takeoff drinks. I had a very refreshing homemade lemonade while my partner went for a red wine. Can't remember which red wine it was but it tasted rather sweet. Linens were also laid out on the tray tables in preparation for supper service.
The onboard chef first came around distributing the canapes. For the canapes, appetisers, soups and main courses, the crew delivered the trays and courses individually from the galleys. No trolleys were used for these courses, with the trolleys only making 'grand entrances' later on during the meal service. Even though it made for a more personal service, it seemed rather haphazard as the crew needed to keep walking up and down the aisles to collect and deliver the courses in a rushed manner, especially for a full flight like this. Service wise, the TK crew delivered standard European airline service, generally casual and efficient but not exceptionally polished and proactive like the Asian carriers. No address by names nor formal pleasantries. But at least they did attend and respond to requests and get the job done. No complaints from me since it was really a busy full flight and I was an 'upgrader'.
Onboard chef serving canapes to passengers.
Canapes consisted on a fried king prawn, grilled meatball and an asparagus wrap. It was all pretty delicious and beautifully presented!
After canapes were cleared, meal trays were brought out and delivered individually from the galleys. As it was a Supper service, meals were served on trays instead of crew individually setting up tables. The tray consisted of some starters as well as the appetiser. Also visible was the new TK inflight dining concept, Candlelight Dinner. On each tray was an electronic flickering candlelight to simulate a candlelight dinner ambience.
"Candle" and really cute salt and pepper shakers.
Tabbouleh, Red peppers stuffed with cheese and Shepherd's salad. Really interesting mini-starters and you can choose to have all.
I chose the Potpourri of Turkish Mezzem which was a combination of eggplant, chicken breast and cheese. Already, the deluge of starters was pretty filling. And according to the chef, if it were to be a lunch/dinner service, he would have rolled out an appetizer cart offering 12(!!) choices of starters! Craziness!!
My partner had the King prawns starter choice, which was generous and tasty as well.
After starter plates were cleared, Creamy Zucchini cheese soup with olive-spread crouton were again delivered by hand. The soup was excellent! TK must be one of the very few airlines serving soup in Business Class. Bread was also offered but we declined as we were still rather full from the food in the lounge and the assortment of starters.
After the soup course, mains were again delivered individually. By this time, I really pitied the crew who were walking up and down the aisles non-stop to clear and deliver the different courses. With the high quality of starters and soups, the main courses caused a bit of a let down.
I had the Salmon Au Pistou, which came a bit on the dry side. Portion was also not too big but we were already stuffed by then so no worries.
My partner had the lamb chops, which though flavourful, was also on the dry side. However, both main courses scored in the presentation aspect.
Top-ups of wines/water was not too proactive by the crew unless requested. However, with the constant walking up and down clearing and delivering of courses to the full cabin, I don't think the crew even had time to offer wines/water top-ups, not helped by the fact that the bar is at the front of the cabin and the main galley is at the rear.
After we were done with our main courses, our meal trays were collected away. This was when trolleys finally made its appearance. One of the TK's dining concept was the range of desserts offered, well-suited for the sweet tooth. An elaborately prepared dessert, cheese and fruit trolley was rolled out into the cabin to offer a huge range of dessert choices. Dessert choices were then plated right in front of you and you could have a choice of everything if you desired! Really overwhelming!
