Cathay Pacific Special Meals
#46
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: NT Australia
Programs: QF WP
Posts: 4,160
AVML dinner on a recent SIN-HKG flight. The sticker read: "Carrot Peas Lauki Methi Rice" and was mostly inedible. I have no idea what were the round thing on the left and the desert (?) on the right. Very poor but I had a great vegetarian dish made to order in the Noodle Bar at the lounge so no worries.
#47
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 178
I'm booked on CX865 JFK-YVR-HKG (formerly CX889) in J next week. I'm thinking about choosing Hindu (non-vegetarian) meal to mix it up a bit. I've heard that CX catering usually does a good job on that meal. However, with CX865 there's actually two dinner services, leaving JFK and leaving YVR. Is it possible to select special meal for just one of the flights? If not, is it appropriate to reject the special meal and ask for a standard meal instead? Most likely, I might just reject one of the meals anyway and have a mid-flight snack instead.
Has anyone had recent experience with the Hindu meal on LH out of the US?
Has anyone had recent experience with the Hindu meal on LH out of the US?
Late night departures, trays are loaded at 90% ratio. That is, 10% of passengers will not be catered for from the start.
If you ditch your special meal, that means either some other passenger will be without a meal, or they will have to take your special meal tray. How is that fair?
If you have no intention to eat you special meal, don't order it.
#48
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: HKG SZX
Programs: CX MPC GO, IHG, OZ, NH (no longer UA MP*G thanks to SMJ)(no longer A3 *G due to COVID))
Posts: 620
MOML MOSLEM Muslim meal
MOML MOSLEM Muslim meal
CX715 HKG-SIN (8pm departure)
2018 Oct
CX715 HKG-SIN (8pm departure)
2018 Oct
- cut fruits;
- whole wheat bun;
- pan-fried fish with couscous (fish's condiment taste could not be determined);
- assorted veggie in tomato sauce: diced potato, zucchini, green beans
#49
Join Date: Jun 2018
Programs: AA Plat, MPC Silver, IHG Platinum
Posts: 116
I don't think you can select the special meal for only one segment of the whole flight. I'm quite sure that the FAs will oblige to your request of having a standard meal in place of your special one, though it may not come to be especially charitable given it was loaded as your request.
FWIW, I've had the Hindu non-vegetarian meal out of HKG, and it was really bad, but then again, food from HKG doesn't always have the best reputation.
FWIW, I've had the Hindu non-vegetarian meal out of HKG, and it was really bad, but then again, food from HKG doesn't always have the best reputation.
I think you can select a special meal for a segment. I have done so on their web.
I have been traveling TPAC (5-6 times in last about 7 months) and in my experience, HKG-LAX flight has decent AVML (Hindu Vgetarian meal). I eat all kinds of food, just like the tasty ones better. If you are not used to Indian food, you may not like it as much.
By the way, on CX flights, Hindu vegetarian option is certainly a lot better than just Hindu option. YMMV.
#50
Join Date: Jun 2018
Programs: AA Plat, MPC Silver, IHG Platinum
Posts: 116
You never know. I got Rasgullas this Saturday on HKG-LAX flight. And it was amazing! I like these surprises. :-)
#51
Join Date: Jun 2018
Programs: AA Plat, MPC Silver, IHG Platinum
Posts: 116
AVML dinner on a recent SIN-HKG flight. The sticker read: "Carrot Peas Lauki Methi Rice" and was mostly inedible. I have no idea what were the round thing on the left and the desert (?) on the right. Very poor but I had a great vegetarian dish made to order in the Noodle Bar at the lounge so no worries.
The round thing on the left is called 'Dahi Vada'. The 'dahi' is yogurt/curd. And vada is a deep fried donut kind of a thing (not sweet), made from lentils. It can actually be good, but in my experience the flour is not well 'done' for that stuff on flights and that 'vada' is never as good as it can be.
The main course doen't look interesting though. :-(
#52
Join Date: Nov 2017
Programs: MPC-DM, Enrich-Plat
Posts: 1,310
RAW NAN
CX615, HKG-BKK, Hindu non-vegetarian, without me explicitly asking to have the whole meal stack, including the NAN, in the oven ("let's see, if things go correct now").
I got the cold NAN served separately in an obviously make-shift alu-wrap (it didn't close all around).
AND the NAN was RAW
(I did make a picture of the raw NAN, though my el cheapo camera sometimes screws up and the picture is unreadable).
The meal itself was OK, tasting a bit odd, though also with interesting flavors. Though after heating up they left the meal cooling down for to long.
Not good, this time.
Next time, I'll retake my responsibility as the chef of my own Hindu meal and instruct to get this right
I got the cold NAN served separately in an obviously make-shift alu-wrap (it didn't close all around).
AND the NAN was RAW
(I did make a picture of the raw NAN, though my el cheapo camera sometimes screws up and the picture is unreadable).
The meal itself was OK, tasting a bit odd, though also with interesting flavors. Though after heating up they left the meal cooling down for to long.
Not good, this time.
Next time, I'll retake my responsibility as the chef of my own Hindu meal and instruct to get this right
#53
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: NYC
Posts: 34
I requested low-calorie meals going JFK-HKG. For dinner, I got a slab of steamed salmon, no seasoning, with three boiled baby potatoes, no seasoning. Wheat roll. Dessert was the fruit salad, salad course was another fruit salad.
Breakfast was a piece of egg foam with no seasoning, with a side of a half of a plum tomato, steamed, and three mushrooms, also steamed. No seasoning. Wheat roll and a fruit salad. I will never request a special meal on CX again.
Breakfast was a piece of egg foam with no seasoning, with a side of a half of a plum tomato, steamed, and three mushrooms, also steamed. No seasoning. Wheat roll and a fruit salad. I will never request a special meal on CX again.
#54
Join Date: Nov 2017
Programs: MPC-DM, Enrich-Plat
Posts: 1,310
I requested low-calorie meals going JFK-HKG. For dinner, I got a slab of steamed salmon, no seasoning, with three boiled baby potatoes, no seasoning. Wheat roll. Dessert was the fruit salad, salad course was another fruit salad.
Breakfast was a piece of egg foam with no seasoning, with a side of a half of a plum tomato, steamed, and three mushrooms, also steamed. No seasoning. Wheat roll and a fruit salad. I will never request a special meal on CX again.
Breakfast was a piece of egg foam with no seasoning, with a side of a half of a plum tomato, steamed, and three mushrooms, also steamed. No seasoning. Wheat roll and a fruit salad. I will never request a special meal on CX again.
The simple fact that the Hindu non-veg is usually of an excellent quality and taste as well as suitable for a general public, does not change that.
#56
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: NYC
Posts: 34
I requested the low-cal meals for dietary reasons, not to get a better tasting meal. But just because a meal is requested for dietary reasons doesn't mean it should taste like nothing, which these did. Anyone who is on a restricted diet knows that the food is a big enough problem on its own, and making it taste inedible only magnifies the suffering.
#57
Join Date: Nov 2017
Programs: MPC-DM, Enrich-Plat
Posts: 1,310
I requested the low-cal meals for dietary reasons, not to get a better tasting meal. But just because a meal is requested for dietary reasons doesn't mean it should taste like nothing, which these did. Anyone who is on a restricted diet knows that the food is a big enough problem on its own, and making it taste inedible only magnifies the suffering.
And with a low-cal diet, sauces and baked stuff (ie those items that bring taste to a meal) are (in general) out of the question due to the high amount of cals it brings.
Herbs would be nice, though the old style normal CX meals neither do get that (or only very limited).
The salad course could have been better I think, for example, by using pure lemon as a dressing on small cut raw carrots with beet root and onions or so. Add pepper and it tastes good.
With the new style CX menus, the herbs usage is significantly more interesting, so to say, so let us hope, the low-cal meal does get improved to.
#58
Join Date: Jun 2018
Programs: AA Plat, MPC Silver, IHG Platinum
Posts: 116
Says who? Do they require religious/health reasons for me to select one of the choices? Do I have to be Hindu to select hindu meal? The special meal options are there because they are options if one wants to pick from. And it is quite reasonable to expect a meal to be good.
#60
Join Date: Nov 2017
Programs: MPC-DM, Enrich-Plat
Posts: 1,310
IATA $6.1.5: Special Meals
NO & NO, requiring that, would imply discrimination and a violation of privacy & confidentiality (you don't have to out your religion).
No, see above, it's mandatory for airlines to become acknowledged as an airline.
Yes, though that aspect is (I think significantly more) violated for regular meals
Yes, though that aspect is (I think significantly more) violated for regular meals