ANA (All Nippon Airways) recently rolled out a new meal service for economy and premium economy class flights leaving from Japan. For $30 CAD you get a truncated Business class-esque meal. This might sound pretty intense, but if you think about it you’d probably spend more at Milestones or Moxies or something… for worse food.
I was really impressed with my economy class food when I flew ANA last year. Breakfast included a perfectly poached egg (which is better than what some restaurants in Toronto can do on the ground!) and surprisingly fluffy pancakes. Thus, when I saw this special meal available I jumped at the chance for a sneak peek (looking forward to the full Business class menu next year).
Soon after boarding, a flight attendant dropped by and confirmed that she knew about my special booking. My food arrived with everyone else, but it was definitely very different.
The fluffy, just moist enough rice was wrapped in parchment paper so that it retained its moisture during the re-heating process. I really enjoyed the simmered kinmedai — usually, I have this in nigiri form. The meaty yet tender texture held up well to the savoury flavours of the soy marinade.
The delicate sweetness of the crab was a nice surprise (considering it wasn’t mentioned in the menu) and the smoked trout had the right amount of saltiness while not being overbearingly fishy. If I had to complain, the shrimp was a tiny bit overdone but it’s to be expected for airplane food.
According to trusty Wikipedia:
” Pierre Hermé is a French pastry chef and chocolatier. Pierre Hermé began his career at the age of 14 as an apprentice to Gaston Lenôtre. He was awarded the title of World’s Best Pastry Chef in 2016 by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants and as the fourth most influential French person in the World by Vanity Fair in 2016. “
I had no idea who this person was while I was eating dessert, but I have to say even as someone who doesn’t normally like dessert much this was the best part of the meal by far. The balance of sourness and different types of sweetness (multiple fruits, vanilla) along with the lush creaminess of the yogurt created this impressive explosion of flavours in my mouth more akin to what I’d find at a really nice patisserie or something. Having it 35000 feet high in the air was inconceivable!
JeffKCW Food & Travel 