Japan Airlines Business Class Food – Tokyo (Haneda) to Sydney, Australia

Summer salad Japan Airlines business
Nutrition Rating: 8/10

Japan Airlines Business Class Food – Tokyo (Haneda) to Sydney, Australia

I flew out of Tokyo (Haneda) to Sydney Australia on a 7pm flight in Japan Airlines business class as I made my way back to Australia from Europe. This was great as it allowed me to try evening flight service on Japan Airlines as the last few flights I took with them were morning or day time flights. So I was interested to experience a dinner service and an overnight flight. The flight didn’t start of great as my in-flight entertainment screen didn’t work. But the crew were exceptional in trying to reboot it and finally moving me to another seat. I couldn’t fault how they handled it and Japan Airlines then provided some compensation – no questions asked. On top of that the food service was attentive and the food offering was solid.

Menu Japan Airlines Business Class Food – Tokyo (Haneda) to Sydney, Australia

There was both a Japanese menu and International menu available on the flight for both the main meal service, A La Carte meal service/second meal service and snacks. I love the idea of the A La Carte meal service as it allows passengers to eat according to their appetite and the time zone their body is on or trying to get on. Essentially the flexible second meal service and snack service contributes to travel wellbeing.

Japanese menu for the main meal service on Japan Airlines business class haneda to sydney
Japanese menu for the main meal service
International menu for the main meal service on Japan Airlines business class haneda to sydney
International menu for the main meal service
 la carte menu Japan Airlines business class
A la carte menu Japan Airlines business class
A la carte menu Japan Airlines business class
A la carte menu Japan Airlines business class

Main meal service – Japan Airlines Business Class

Olives and mixed nuts were served as a pre-dining snack. On previous Japan Airlines flights over the years they have served amuse bouche instead of nuts and olives and I must admit I was disappointed they didn’t serve this amuse bouche. Wile olives and nuts are incredibly nutritious, I didn’t think the snack was a business class service – essentially the snack was a bit ‘boring’. Also serving nuts on flights can be dangerous for people travelling with nut allergies.

I chose the International cuisine menu and the Summer Salad appetiser was a beautifully presented dish with a variety coloured salad vegetables, sea urchin and abalone. Two bread rolls with butter were also served along with the salad – there was no choice of the type of bread/bread rolls served. The summer salad had a beautiful flavour with the amount of dressing complementing the salad, rather than drowning it. There was no choice of appetiser.

Japan Airlines Business Class Food - Tokyo (Haneda) to Sydney, Australia - Japan Airlines Business
Pre-dining snack of olives and nuts
Summer salad appetiser Japan Airlines business class
Summer salad served as the appetiser

There were two choices for the main meal – a beef fillet and a linguine with tilefish, lobster and mussels. I chose the beef as I don’t like seafood pastas. The beef fillet was served with a red wine sauce, corn puree and a salsa fresca. And I have to say I found it awful. It had way too much corn – alongside the corn puree it was like there was a whole tin of corn kernels dumbed on top and ended up floating around in the red wine sauce. The salsa fresca was a very small amount of chopped tomato and cucumber placed on top of the steak like a garnish.

Beef fillet with corn puree and salsa fresca Japan Airlines Business
Beef fillet with corn puree and salsa fresca
Nutrition comment

The Summer Salad dish was welcomed as just vegetables, abalone and sea urchin which is beneficial for for passenger wellbeing. Abalone and sea urchin are good sources of protein and sources of marine-based omega 3 fats (EPA/DHA). However I wish the salad came with more vegetables as the greens nearly seemed like garnishes – could have done with another 1/2 cup of greens to boost the nutrients and fibre even more. The salsa fresca while delicious needed to be more than just a spoonful on top of the steak – another 1-2 spoonfuls would have provided more vitamin C, lycopene and beta-carotene (antioxidants) which are important for travel wellness. Corn is quite nutritious being a source of fibre and also containing a variety of antioxidants depending on the colour of the corn. Overall the main meal service in Japan Airlines business class was fairly nutritious. The light appetiser of salad and lean protein helped to deliver an overall balanced meal service.

A La Carte menu/second meal service

The A La Carte menu had a range of foods available to be served anytime during the flight ranging from salad, soup, sandwiches, light meals, noodles, cheese, fresh fruit, ice cream and a two course plate meal (Japanese or International cuisine).

I chose to try the ‘JAL’s recommendation’ which was deep-fried Japanese chicken served with rice, Japanese omelette, and pickled greens. The chicken tasted delicious but was quite fatty as it was deep fried. There wasn’t much of the pickled greens included on the plate.

Japan Airlines Business Class Food - Tokyo (Haneda) to Sydney, Australia - Japan Airlines Business
Japanese chicken SAKURAHIME with rice

Just prior to landing I chose to try the international plate with was described as a Ratatouille and scrambled egg popover, served with Grilled chicken, pastrami, prawn terrine and fresh salad side – which was another confusing dish. The scrambled egg popover sounded really nice on the menu which I was looking forward to especially since it came with ratatouille however it just ended up being a soggy bread mess (see below). It was served with a hashbrown and sausage, and a side salad which had pastrami, chicken and a prawn and vegetable terrine. The terrine was certainly not my thing as it was vegetables and prawn in a clear jelly. The chicken also looked processed.

Japan Airlines Business Class Food - Tokyo (Haneda) to Sydney, Australia - Japan Airlines Business
Ratatouille and scrambled egg popover

Nutrition comments

The ‘light meal’ of fried chicken was half white rice and half protein (chicken and egg), and while it was great to see half the plate with protein, it would be better if the white rice was reduced to 1-2 of the rice rolls and fill the rest of the plate with the pickled greens. This is because the flight was an evening flight and so the A La Carte menu was being served overnight (very late in evening or early morning). Eating highly refined carbohydrates in the night (after about 8pm) is good for the body metabolically as blood sugars levels climb higher and don’t go down as much after eating. So while travelling it is good to try and avoid eating refined carbohydrates at night.

Final word on Japan Airlines Business Class Food – Tokyo (Haneda) to Sydney, Australia

Overall Japan Airlines business class is a pretty decent food offering. The A La Carte menu is a standout from a travel wellbeing perspective, allowing people to tailor their food experience to their appetites and time zones. It is great to see such a fairly diverse food offering within the A La Carte menu ranging from small snacks such as salad, fruit and cheese, through to light meals and also a two course ‘second meal’ – there is no way I felt like I was being cheated out of food on the flight even though there was no designated second service. There were nutritious elements to the menu and it was possible to eat well on this flight.

NOTE: All pictures of Japan Airlines Business Class Food Tokyo (Haneda) to Sydney are my own and I review the food from the menu I was given, the menu on the website at the time and the food I ordered on my flight. There may be different options available at other times.

To complement your food experiences on Japan Airlines business class flights, check out my food and nutrition reviews of the Japan Airlines First Class Lounge at Tokyo Haneda.

Plane Food Reviews

Plane Food Rating:
8/10
Airline:
Japan Airlines
Alliance:
Oneworld
Flight Number:
JL051
Domestic / international:
International
When:
7.20pm, 3 June 2024
Flight Duration:
Approx. 10 hours
Class:
Business
Type(s) of Food Served:
Japanese menu and Western menu
Ordered On Board / Pre-Ordered:
Ordered on board
Food Allergy, Intolerance or Dietary Requirement Information:

Some meals had a little carrot symbol next to meals to indicate a vegetarian meal. There was also a note at the bottom of the menu which mentioned that passengers can order special meals in advance (not particularly helpful when already on the plane). There was also a line which mentioned that while JAL does take care in preparing meals, there is no guarantee cross contamination has not occured.

Meal and Menu information:

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