To give credit where credit's due, my last couple of flights on NZ - in mid-September, so before the official launch of the new style food - did seem to have a higher standard of catering than I recall from my previous few flights on NZ in J.

This was the menu on NZ3 LAX-AKL:



From the supper menu, I had the beetroot cured salmon (delicious) and the slow-cooked beef (lots of flavour and didn't seem to be the usual Uber-cheap cut). The dessert was the usual tasty Kapiti ice cream. More importantly, the onboard service was like the NZ of 10 years ago - really upbeat, genuine and proactive (our FA knew exactly what all the wines were, which is rare these days). Breakfast was fine but unmemorable.

For our connection on to Sydney on NZ103, this was the menu on offer:



We both went with the smoked ahia maki and leek omelette, and it was the most delicious inflight breakfast in recent memory. Really exceptionally tasty. I was even moved to take a photo of it:



The crew on this flight were friendly too, though seemed a bit more chaotic. Overall a more than satisfactory pair of flights, and a much stronger showing than QF J SYD-LAX on the outbound - the only advantage QF had was the hard product, both the suite design and the spaciousness of the A380. Oh and perhaps the calibre of movies on offer.

I'm intrigued to hear a few more reviews of the new long-haul meal service, as it seems NZ is genuinely lifting its game. However I will be very surprised if NZ does in fact make any meaningful change to the slop served in Y to Works passengers on the Tasman and Pacific Island routes.