edmm

I had the same thing a couple of weeks ago. It was decidedly ordinary. The fish was OK, the asparagus was not worth eating, my feeling was that the pesto was coating the potatoes.
The icecream was good, and my wife enjoyed the panna cotta. We had the two entrees and they were ok.
The 2016 Burn Cottage Pinot Noir was the highlight.

Thai-Kiwi

Good info for when I fly AKL-SYD in BP in a couple of weeks. Was this NZ103 at 0900?

sbiddle

This is SYD - AKL which serves lunch.

Thai-Kiwi

Thanks for that. I’ll be sure to compare with the ‘breakfast’ options that are presumably offered AKL-SYD.

mad_atta

Interesting to see various menus being posted but given the lack of printed wine lists its always harder to get a sense of what the wine options are, especially on long haul.

Is NZ103 AKL-SYD at 0900 still a breakfast flight? From memory, I'm fairly sure it always has been...

I think your first mistake is to think of AirNZ as a "high end airline". There was a time when it was, but it's decidedly middle of the road these days (but elevated by generally lovely cabin crew and a fairly attentive elite program). Once you stop thinking of NZ as high end, the catering then becomes pretty much what you'd expect - generally higher quality and more interesting flavours than the American carriers (but smaller portions); wines always respectable (though far below the quality they once were); and very little variation from season to season or indeed year to year.

QF is an interesting point of comparison, though... their food has taken a real dive (certainly in terms of quantity) over the last few years too. My sense is that NZ moved more or less in lockstep with them. If QF suddenly lifts its game again perhaps NZ will too.

I can confirm this is definitely the case. UA's food is back to being awful. The only good United food to be found is in the Polaris lounges (which is where I shall be eating prior to NZ3 in a couple of months' time!).

Oooh good to hear that they had Burn Cottage on board. Can anyone else share info about what wine is being served at the moment (besides the Laurent Perrier champagne, as confirmed here by Thai-Kiwi )? On long-haul do they still pretend to have that special fines wines program where they listed a few extra special bottles, one of which was supposed to be on board (can't remember what it was called - I just know that whenever I flew and enquired about it, the answer was always "the caterer forgot to load it")?

codyc1515

Trans-tasman CHC <--> MEL breakfast options

1. Chicken sausage with scrambled eggs
2. Pancakes

Both come with yoghurt and fruit salad.

gbogo

I find ANZ meals to be average to awful. I’m not vegetarian - I just don’t eat meat and an increasing percentage of people are doing the same or only eat plant-based food. It’s long overdue for ANZ to mainstream those diets and stop serving “beef or chicken”. And also move towards more snack / sandwich-sized meal options. if BA can manage both of these things and do it well, than anyone can..

brenrox

I was on the MEL-CHC flight yesterday and had the Sausage and egg....I had just come from an EY flight ex. AUH and had the same breakfast on their flight a few hours prior - not only was it larger, but the quality was so much better than NZ's. Incidentally, the other EY option was a hot cinnamon roll which also looked really good.

valdor

I flew NZ5 from LAX to AKL earlier this month.

mad_atta

Thanks for sharing, valdor . Did you happen to notice what wines were on offer? And how did you find the food?

valdor

I had a Sauvignon Blanc, but do not remember the name (or what the other options were). I'm flying to SIN next week from AKL on NZ282, I'll ask what the wine selection is and report back.

As for the food, it was a bit disappointing. It tasted fine but was not the premium dining experience I was expecting either.

SDB22

Two flights in J over last two weeks, both had Tohu Mugwi Sauvignon Blanc (barrel ferment) and Rockburn Pinot Noir.

Also a Chard, PG and Syrah option, but can’t recall what were sorry

mad_atta

Interesting, thanks. I haven't tried that variant of Tohu but based on reviews it sounds like a good and interesting alternative to run of the mill sav. Meanwhile Rockburn is a reliably good pinot.

jewree

Any ideas when menus might change up? August is upon us ...

cavemanzk

NZ141 AKL-BNE seems to be back to a breakfast service in Y.

Two hot choices now, which I guess is an improvement.

- Classic Tasman eggs option
- Or Hot Cakes