Fly Me To The Moon

Just flew TPE-HKG tonight in J.

The menu was passed out prior to take off, and I took a quick look at the TWO main courses being offered. Nothing was appealing, and I intended to skip the meal.

After take off, and when the attendants started serving the meal, I took a quick look at the trolley being pushed around, and I saw SIX different main courses being offered:

1. Beef tenderloin steak
2. Three cups chicken
3. Fish curry
4. Seafood rice
5. Another fish fillet course
6. Pork with rice

Some of you will probably recognise these as previous or current rotations of the J menu. These were NOT special pre-ordered menus which were being served to selected passengers. Passengers could actually choose from these which were on the cart. Granted, I was in Row 11 of a four-row business class configuration, so I could see/hear all of these courses on the tray and being offered to passengers in Rows 11 and 12. I do not know how many of each course was on board for passengers seated behind me too choose.

Was CX cleaning out the kitchen to load so many main course choices on this flight????

SKT-DK

Interesting! Six courses does seem a bit extraordinary for a regional flight indeed - perhaps a catering mishap in TPE?

Were any of the dishes offered on the printed menu, or was it completely different for the entire menu?

I certainly would not mind if this happens later in the week when I do the same route

sxc

Not exactly on topic, but have they stopped the hot meals in Y on the TPE flights? A few months ago I was served a proper meal, but friends have told me recently they've reverted back to the pastry in a bag.

QRC3288

the pastry never went away entirely. what changed (upgraded) is that what was pastry on all flights, changed into pastry on some flights only.

So to summarize:
Old days: hot meal all flights
Cost cutting change (3 years ago give or take?): pastry replaces hot meal on all flights
Improvement (last 12 months): hot meals return on some flights, while pastry remains on others.

I heard the logic is to try and have the hot meals around proper meal times, while non-meal times (say 2pm departures) would have the pastry. As much as I think CX lost the catering plot, I really can't argue against this logic. Is a hot meal for a 3pm departure ex-TPE really necessary?

I've got my complaints focused elsewhere. I think the hot meal at meal hour / hot pastry for non meal hour" approach seems reasonable! Especially for a 1:15 flight.

(embarrassing to admit, but can I say that I like the pastry? Just like I like junk food. I know it must be just terrible for your health. It reminds me of fast food. But I ordered one in J class last week..)

Fly Me To The Moon

I remember that at least one of the meals on the tray was printed on the menu card, but I cannot recall what the second meal on the menu was.

Thanks also to sxc for mentioning the pastry. I almost forgot. The pastry in the green-and-white box (normally in Y class before) was also one of the choices being offered on the Business Class tray. So, I guess it was SEVEN different choices being offered!

Not sure about catering ex-TPE. The flight I took was a same-plane turnaround from HKG, so the catering might have been loaded in HKG already for the return flight.

Cambo

I think, this hits the nail on the head. Given it is possible to serve a meal in the air, does it always have to be done ?

clubeurope

6 choices does seem to be unnecessary and very strange for a little over an hour of flight on the TPE hop... CX is better off focusing elsewhere in the catering department

clubeurope

Flying can be quite a boring experience, and some people really appreciate and even look forward(?!) being served a hot meal on a short flight after a long day of getting to the airport and boarding the plane. Granted it doesn't apply as much to people blessed with lounge access, but there are still many who refuse to pay airport food prices and skip whatever meal they should be having.

That said, I find that a meal on a flight between HKG-TPE isn't 100% necessary, but always a very great option to have (even if the food isn't very good).

daniellam

Could it be possible the flight was double catered from HKG and on the return TPE-HKG segment there were extra main courses left over from the HKG-TPE segment?

sxc

FlyPointyEnd

When they brought back hot meals for TPE flights it was only for lunch and supper flights, the rest of the day will get the standard pastry in a goodie bag

FlyPointyEnd

TPE flights are catered from TPE, but perhaps you're right that it could have been leftover from HKG-TPE flight.

sxc

If all TPE flights are catered from TPE, this wouldn't make sense then, because all the trolleys and compartments holding food would be swapped out in TPE.

FlyPointyEnd

Could have been in the ovens already.

Ausriver

Mistakes do happen. Maybe TPE did not prepare enough food so they decided using HKG left overs will solve the problem.