Though, to be fair, I've had more than pretzels and juice. My first real memory of plane food dates back to April 1996, on a flight from London to Seoul, which was also my only time flying business class. It was a grueling 14 hour flight, and in the middle of the night, I woke up to find myself and my brother the only two passengers that weren't completely passed out. It's fascinating to see what privileges come with being children -- we were offered sweets, as well as stick biscuits with cheese dip. By no means are these special items in everyday life, but in the confines of a plane, these were rare delicacies to be savoured and talked about for years to come.
The real fun of plane food comes at mealtime. I'm sure anyone that has been on an intercontinental flight can recall receiving a tray with tiny plastic containers of bread, salad, and some not-so-aesthetically-appealing entrée. Or a tray with just an omelette, in the case of morning flights. The omelette I had on a domestic flight through the USA in September 2002 still holds the title of "Worst Omelette I've Ever Had", without a single contender, seven years later.
Fortunately, some airlines have introduced different items to make our tastebuds happy even on light. The two major Korean airlines (Korean Air, Asiana) introduced Bibimbap on flights not so long after the turn of the century, and from what I hear, it's been a smash hit. Sure, it's never going to come sizzlin' in a stone bowl, but with instant rice that tastes as if just cooked, pre-cut veggies, and chili paste in tubes not unlike those of acrylic paint, it was a refreshing change from the same old pasta. In 2004, my family liked it so much that we even came home with a box of 10 of those chili paste tubes.
Today's flight to London marked my first intercontinental flight in over 5 years, and my booking reference email also mentioned in-flight meals. Hooray! While I was fully aware that I'd be flying with a non-Korean carrier (read: no bibimbap for dinner), the promise of an in-flight meal was a reason in itself to be excited. Even as I was falling asleep by the window, I was telling myself not to sleep too soundly, lest I miss this rare opportunity.
After an hour or so, I woke up to the smell of food. Curried chicken, but not quite. Mmm... If the food tasted as good as it smelt, I'd be one happy traveller today. (I had also been blessed earlier with food that wasn't a pre-made, overpriced sandwich in layers of cling wrap) I saw one of the flight attendants serving dinner a few rows ahead, and sat upright in anticipation. When he got to about three rows ahead of mine, he went to the far rear of the plane with a non-empty cart. I was left staring at where he had been standing 15 seconds ago, sniffing other people's chicken dinners, and thinking that even within the same economy cabin, some people must be more equal than others.
A few minutes later, the same flight attendant resurfaced with a full cart. Now that he was closer, I could hear my dinner options: "Chicken or pasta?" After the lady in front of me got her chicken dinner, I was also asked the same question. I replied, "Chicken," waiting for a silver and green tinfoil wrapped meal to come out of the cart. But alas, the chicken was all gone! I was left with different dinner options now: Pasta or Starve? I am no fan of pasta, and in theory, I should not be eating cheese. Yet in situations like this, survival instincts trump all. In the mean time, a pasta tray had made its way onto my open-up table, and I found myself eating it without second thought. At least the salad came with tasty sesame ginger dressing.
In-flight dinner: Dinner roll, pasta, salad, and an "oatmeal chewie".At the time of writing (on paper while in the plane), I have 2.5 hours left till my next in-flight meal: Breakfast. Maybe my omelette from 7 years ago will find a successor for its title, or solidify its position as reigning champion.
Though really, in-flight food isn't bad, given all the restrictions of a plane...
Epilogue: An omelette breakfast was actually quite a good in-flight breakfast. Today I got a small banana loaf and raspberry yogurt. Even that I got because the guy next to me was nice enough to hold onto mine while I was asleep...
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