FRIDAY, ApRIl 25, 2014 I‑S MAGAZINE 11

travel

Spinning plates Which budget carrier has the best in-flight food? By Samantha David, Crystal Lee and Khairul Amri

taste test

Odds are you only look at flight timings and price when booking your weekends away. But when two airlines come out even, how are you going to choose between them?

Since we're all food-obsessed, what better way than by picking your airline based on who has the best on-board grub? We sampled the food available on the Singapore-Bangkok route of four low-cost carriers, to see who came out on top.

Typical menu items

Airlines AirAsiawww.airasia.com www.jetstar.com

Jetstar

Specials

What we tried

Presentation

What we liked

What we didn’t

Overall

Destination-specific—in this case, a good mix of local Singaporean fare like chicken rice ($5.90) and classic Thai dishes like basil fried chicken with rice ($5.80).

Expect seasonal items for festive periods like Hari Raya as well as locally-relevant products like made-in-Thailand banana chips ($2.30).

• Thai green curry chicken with rice (only available pre-booked, $5)

• Basil fried chicken with rice ($5.80)

• Mango sticky rice ($4.60)

Standard aluminium cases—solid, but unremarkable.

Much cheaper than the rest; generous portions; and a decent level of spice.

Nothing, really. Top marks for consistency.

It’s hard to argue with prices like that.

A mix of local Singaporean choices, international options and Thai dishes. Don’t expect a wide range to choose from.

Festive season-dependent. During Songkran, there’ll be a pad thai dish on offer.

• Chicken rice ($12)

• Udon noodles with shrimp ($12)

• Thai green vegetable curry ($12)

• Chicken tikka masala ($12)

Neat, tidy and efficiently organized. Kind of like Singapore.

The green vegetable curry and chicken rice were good; the chicken tikka masala even better.

It was a hearty portion, but the udon noodles with shrimp lacked flavor compared to the rest.

limiting their options does at least mean more attention to the ones they have. Go for Indian if you want the good stuff.

Best for: Value‑for money meals

www.tigerair.comTigerair

Only ocassionally do they offer specials. The last one they had was during Christmas—a roast turkey with cranberry sauce.

Singaporean and Southeast Asian signatures like mutton biryani ($12) and oriental chicken stew ($12). plus a solitary Thai red vegetable curry ($12).

• Hainanese chicken rice ($12)

• Nyonya chicken rice ($12)

• Nasi lemak ($12)

• Smoky chicken sandwich ($12)

Comes in a plastic-sealed black container. It’s neatly arranged, at least.

Umami-heavy, tender chicken in the nasi lemak; juicy meat in the chicken rice.

Mushy rice; tough sandwich bread; spice overload with the Nyonya chicken rice.

They don’t scrimp on flavors; but you’re better off sticking to the signature dishes.

Best for: Great‑tasting

SEA dishes

Best for: Damn good

Indian creations

www.flyscoot.comScoot

Unless you’re pre-ordering your food (you have more local and interna-tional choices then), the focus is on Western favorites, although there’s also a Thai red curry with mixed brown rice ($12).

Not so much; though they did have turkey on offer at Christmas.

• Beef bourguignon pasta stew ($12)

• Beef kway teow (only available pre-booked as a combo meal, $17)

• Tom yam fried rice (only available pre-booked as a combo meal,

$21.99)

• Roast beef with caramelized onions wrap ($9)

If they’re not covered with aluminium foil, they’re sealed with peel-off plastic. We struggled with the latter.

The “healthier option” labeling is a nice touch; the beef bour-guignon was ambi-tious but impressive.

It’s pretty pricey (relatively speak-ing); and the noodles and rice were a bit limp.

Hard to fault the variety—especially if you pre-order—but we say pick their Western options over other items.

Best for: Variety + healthy options

scoot

airasia

Jetstar

tigerair

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