NYCBunny

Hey all,

Like the title says, wondering if people have any experience and recommendations with the "special meals" in they're stuck in Y.

So it looks like I'm not getting an upgrade on the flight I'm on back from Tokyo in January. Looking at the menu from HND -> JFK in Y, just looks awful. I had the "chewing chicken" once before and it was just atrocious. I figured I have nothing to lose, so would try my luck with the special meal category. Anyone have any experience with them, in particular the Hundi Non-Veg meal?

Thanks,

NYCB

karenkay

bumping this ancient thread looking for any data points. can't request online--codeshare w/aa. is it worth waiting on hold to request a special meal across the very long pond?

brenc3

I've requested child meals for my kids. My impression is these will be better ex-Japan (not sure about other special meals). I thought they were great, with rice made into animal shapes. But my kids preferred the regular meal everyone else got.

I actually think JL food is about as good as it gets in long-haul Y. Are you sure you can't request online as AA codeshare? I'm pretty sure I've done that before. Maybe I called. But you should get a JL record locator to use in the JL website.

karenkay

thanks.

there's a known problem (feature? ) with AA codeshares and JL. even with a JL record locator, one is unable to log in to the record...whether it's to select seats, meals, or for any other reason. rather a lengthy thread in the AA forum debating whether it's a JL limitation or an AA one, but either way--online is out.

JALPak

It's a JL feature as this applies to all codeshare reservations operated by JL, not just AA's.

bundubasher

I haven't flown my flights yet, so may not be worth much. When I bought my AA codeshare ticket I entered info for seat selection, meals, FF# and 4 months later it appears to be holding. As it gets closer, I guess it needs to be watched.

NYCBunny

They should confirm the meal when you check-in if you requested a special meal. They did with me.

Can't actually tell you how it tastes because I ended up getting upgraded on said flight while waiting in the lounge. Though I did nearly lose the upgrade because they couldn't guarantee me my "muslim non-veg meal" in J, but thankfully caught it in time.

karenkay

I ended up contacting aa on twitter and asked them to request an asian vegetarian meal. worked just fine, and was indeed confirmed at checkin.

it was a bit spicy, as advertised, and the first meal was pretty decent, all things considered (ex-usa). I wasn't overly thrilled with the second meal, but it looked better than the hot dog(!) my fellow coach travelers got, so I was fine with it. I like the idea of the muslim non-veg meal for the return, it's either that or the pescetarian. hmmm.

LapLap

There hasn’t been a surge of posts sharing folks’ experiences with JL special meals, so here’s a rather old example showing what I was served on business class between CDG and NRT. Back then foie gras was part of the J menu and, despite calling and enquiring directly, there just wasn’t a way to not have it included (disposing of it in the plane went against the point of not wanting it).

Here is the pescatarian meal. It tasted worse than it looked. I found most of the second (main) course to be inedible; from me, that’s quite something.




Best meal was an option in between the main dining times where one could request plain rice with furikake.

Happily, the meal on the return flight from NRT to CDG in Economy was much, much better.

Both flights were memorably fabulous though, the cabin crew in both the cabin classes were sensational.

karenkay

HND-DFW muslim meal in Y, for anyone curious.
first meal…ground beef and lentils, scrambled eggs, some kind of greens and carrots. best thing about it was the Yuzu sorbet, top right. meal was…not great. FA blanched a bit when I asked her to bring the gin and tonic with my muslim meal, but delivered all with a smile. service was excellent, even if the food wasn’t.

second meal. tasted about as good as it looks.

LapLap

I was, thank you.

That first course looks very similar to the combined hayashi-rice and omurice on carrot-rice (with a flourish of shibazuke) that you opted out of.

bj27

If it's helpful for anyone, my travel companion and I flew ORD-NRT in F and NRT-BKK in J in July of 2022; she's GF and we requested meals as such.

ORD-NRT meal service was a bit of a letdown: her main was essentially a garden salad with two scoops of what we surmised to be some sort of sweet potato mash. She did request the caviar which the FA served alongside the salad (with no blinis of course). I don't remember exactly the 2nd course (breakfast) but I think it was eggs and potatoes.

NRT-BKK was again some sort of salad with what we think were fishcake balls.

Overall it was a bit of a letdown but the FAs on both flights did help her in selecting a few additional items off the main menu. Luckily we had eaten in the AA Flagship Lounge in ORD prior, and then got a snack in the NRT Sakura lounge as well (great sushi).

tai4de2

Wife had seafood special meal recently. It was a plate of lox, shrimp, and scallops, followed by a main course of fish that would not have been out of place as a regular meal ("non-beef western meal" in JAL parlance). Quite impressive and she'd order it again.

Sorry I didn't get a photo.

LapLap

Which airport did she depart from for this decent meal?

tai4de2

Flight was SEA-NRT.