Bula from Air Pacific. I travelled on this airline on my way from HK to Pacific island nation of Fiji as an Easter holiday with my wife.
Our flight was an afternoon departure so they served us a late lunch as we reached cruising altitude.
There were two choices on board for our meal: Chicken or Beef, from which I chose the latter.
I was given the standard tray of airline food goodness with a main course, appetiser, dessert, bread roll, biscuit and empty tea cup. As I travelled economy I was given plastic cutlery but even these ones looked cheap.
I opened the lid of the main course to reveal beef with choi sum, carrot and egg noodles, as shown below.
The beef was nice, with decent sized, cooked slices with a good sauce. The vegetables were al dente but the boiled noodles were a bit dry. However this was countered by the sauce from the beef.
The appetiser was a mixed salad of leaves, tomato, sweetcorn and I think processed chicken pieces, which was adequate. Unfortunately most of the vinaigrette dressing had seeped to the bottom so needed to be mixed up bit for flavour.
The Coconut dessert was pannacotta-like; good, light and creamy and not overly sweet.
I did not eat the Bread Roll nor the Nestle chocolate bar as I had sufficient.
Service, was friendly in the usual South Pacific hospitable manner was not that efficient. Usually on flights the drink is served with the meal but they came down the drinks trolley a while after serving the food. Nonetheless I chose a can of Fiji Bitter. This was refreshing and had a stout taste to it, without being too heavy. I also had a tea at the end of the meal.
The Boeing 747 plane was old and there were some faults. One was my wife's tray table was broken in that it was not level when laid down. So to rectify this she had to prop it up by wedging a pillow between her lap and the underside of the table.
Another sign of the plane's age was the entertainment system not functioning properly whereby my controls operated my wife's screen and vice versa.
Then there were the other travelling passengers. Some were fellow holidaymakers, some were Fijians returning home after seeing their side victorious in the Hong Kong sevens and most were mainland Chinese. It felt like I was on a train journey in the mainland, with the usual loudness (does one need to yawn that loudly to sound like a wolf call?), general uncouthness, lack of fashion sense and unawareness of safety announcements. If it were not for airline health and safety standards, guaranteed one of them would have lit a cigarette on board.
Sticking with people watching, I think I saw my first North Korean my with own eyes as I saw a large group a gentlemen with the same clothes (some jump suits) and they all had pin badges of Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un, or both.
Anyway, I landed safely and had a great time in Fiji!
Scores:
Food: 3/5
Presentation: 2/5
Service: 3/5
Setting: 2/5
Overall: 10/20
Total Bill: Included in the flight ticket price, which at about £900 a head, was not cheap.
I ate: Beef & noodles, salad, coconut dessert.
I drank: Fiji Bitter, Tea.
I wore: A holiday smile.
Our flight was an afternoon departure so they served us a late lunch as we reached cruising altitude.
There were two choices on board for our meal: Chicken or Beef, from which I chose the latter.
I was given the standard tray of airline food goodness with a main course, appetiser, dessert, bread roll, biscuit and empty tea cup. As I travelled economy I was given plastic cutlery but even these ones looked cheap.
I opened the lid of the main course to reveal beef with choi sum, carrot and egg noodles, as shown below.
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| My Meal |
The appetiser was a mixed salad of leaves, tomato, sweetcorn and I think processed chicken pieces, which was adequate. Unfortunately most of the vinaigrette dressing had seeped to the bottom so needed to be mixed up bit for flavour.
The Coconut dessert was pannacotta-like; good, light and creamy and not overly sweet.
I did not eat the Bread Roll nor the Nestle chocolate bar as I had sufficient.
Service, was friendly in the usual South Pacific hospitable manner was not that efficient. Usually on flights the drink is served with the meal but they came down the drinks trolley a while after serving the food. Nonetheless I chose a can of Fiji Bitter. This was refreshing and had a stout taste to it, without being too heavy. I also had a tea at the end of the meal.
 |
| Fiji Bitter |
 |
| 'Restaurant' Exterior |
Then there were the other travelling passengers. Some were fellow holidaymakers, some were Fijians returning home after seeing their side victorious in the Hong Kong sevens and most were mainland Chinese. It felt like I was on a train journey in the mainland, with the usual loudness (does one need to yawn that loudly to sound like a wolf call?), general uncouthness, lack of fashion sense and unawareness of safety announcements. If it were not for airline health and safety standards, guaranteed one of them would have lit a cigarette on board.
Sticking with people watching, I think I saw my first North Korean my with own eyes as I saw a large group a gentlemen with the same clothes (some jump suits) and they all had pin badges of Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un, or both.
Anyway, I landed safely and had a great time in Fiji!
Scores:
Food: 3/5
Presentation: 2/5
Service: 3/5
Setting: 2/5
Overall: 10/20
Total Bill: Included in the flight ticket price, which at about £900 a head, was not cheap.
I ate: Beef & noodles, salad, coconut dessert.
I drank: Fiji Bitter, Tea.
I wore: A holiday smile.
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