I FIND food served by airlines to be among the fascinating things about air travel.
When I sit down and think about it, I am fascinated with how airlines prepare food for thousands of passengers daily. At the same time, it is interesting to note that they have to make sure the food is fresh and will taste good above air. So much technology and science come into play when preparing food for airline passengers.
On a recent trip to Indonesia in September, I had the chance to try some of the in-flight meals of Cebu Pacific. Like most low-cost carriers, Cebu Pacific has a buy-on-board and pre-order program for the in-flight meals. This means, you either buy what available food they have on-board or make an order online when you book a ticket.
In our case, our food was pre-ordered online. The great thing about pre-ordering meals is you can be assured to have something to eat once the seat belt sign is turned off after take-off. Also, most buy-on-board options are for snacks and will not fill you up.
For my Davao-Manila flight, which is just a short flight, I had the Cheesy Chicken Sausage Turnover. I love that the puff pastry was light and not soggy when it was served to me. The filling was also tasty and cheesy.
Then on our late night three-hour flight to Jakarta, I got the Beef Bulgogi. This was a satisfying midnight snack considering that we had an early dinner prior to the flight. The meal was good and I love how saucy it was. This was my favorite from the meals I had with Cebu Pacific during the Jakarta trip.
Meanwhile, on our flight back to Manila from Jakarta, I had the Japanese Chicken and Egg, which was my least favorite. The vegetables on the side looked sad but were the best part of the meal. The Japanese chicken and egg, on the other hand, were boring and lacking flavor. It was only sweet and needed some salt or soy sauce. I still finished it though...I was hungry.
Then on my flight to Cebu, I ate Japanese Chicken Mayo Sandwich, which was just ok. It was enough to satisfy my hunger for a short flight to Cebu.
Cebu Pacific loves to update their meals every now and then, which gives the passengers the opportunity to always try something different whenever they fly with them. You can visit their website to see what they are currently offering.
A tip when pre-ordering, go for meals that are heavy on the soy sauce or spices. Due to different factors on board the plane -- like altitude, pressure, cabin air, the noise of jet engines --, our ability to taste is affected. Hence, go for dishes that seem like flavor bombs and saucy.
For someone who loves airplanes but is a nervous flyer, eating is one way to calm my nerves. Cebu Pacific’s in-flight meals are simple but are good and tasty enough to satisfy your cravings and fill that tummy.