Originally Posted by
dave31
I will be travelling to Madagascar from London via Addis Ababa flying with Ethiopian for the first time in their Cloud Nine Business class. I appreciate that the topic of food and drink tends to be rather subjective but would appreciate any comments regarding things that may be worth sampling and general selection of wines and spirits. Any observations about flying with Ethiopian will be gladly received.
My wife and I just got back from a 2 week trip from the US to South Africa and flew ET. The wines on board are distinctly better that what I would normally get on UA or AA (the vast bulk of my business/first experiences on both carriers is pre-pandemic). The highlights for me were a Spanish Red blend and a South African Pinotage. The Ethiopian coffee is both strong and tasty.
The food IMO is some sort of fusion between Western Europe/North America and Ethiopia. Most of the Western meals are palatable, although I found one of the beef dishes over cooked and chewy. There was an Ethiopian lamb stew that I found very tasty. Many flights have a section title "The Ethiopian National Dish". Personally, I like it. But I know of many who do not. Many of the snack option on the longer flights have egg rolls, samosas, breaded chicken and/or fish that look like they came out of a bag of froze starters from a cheaper food service.
My wife took some exception to the food as she felt it was a bit over seasoned (chiles). But I grew up in south-central Texas and I grew up eating food much. much spicier than what we were served.
As always, YMMV.