I flew Japan Airlines back from the United States and I was looking forward to the flight from Boston, USA to Narita (Tokyo), Japan. This flight was approximately 13 hours and I was quite interested to see what this flight might offer in terms of food as I was mostly used to flying Japan Airlines on shorter flight of approximately 8-10 hour flights. Would routes between the East Coast of the US and Japan be considered more premium as they are longer? So what was Japan Airlines Business Class food Boston to Tokyo like? Pretty good I have to say!
Japan Airlines Business Class food Boston to Tokyo menu
There was both a Japanese menu and International menu available on the flight for both the main meal service, snacks and second meal service. The Japan Airlines second meal service is really flexible – you can order your snacks and second meal at any time of the flight and in any order and it is called the A la Carte menu.
Main Meal Service
Prior to take off a drink of juice was offered. When asked what flavour juice it was the cabin crew described it as ‘cold pressed’. I don’t think the cabin crew quite grasped the question I was asking in terms of ‘flavour’. The juice was a light pink colour so perhaps a mix of grapefruit and something else? I couldn’t quite tell from the few sips I had. There was no offer of water or sparkling wine/champagne.
The main meal service began about an hour after take off with staff taking orders for refreshments prior to the main meal being served. Along with the drinks a small snack of olives and almonds was served.
The hors d’oeuvres listed on the international menu were listed like they came out as four small bites/dishes, but actually they all came out as one dish, like one large salad. I loved this concept as there was a great amount of mixed leaves and greens under the hors d’oeuvres and all the flavours complemented each other nicely. They individual flavours were technically separated on top of the salad. It was a beautifully presented dish, along with it tasting amazing. The hors d’oeuvres were: seared tuna; roasted vegetable and poached shrimp salad; fava bean and kale puree; and bagna claude dressing (sesame flavours). Two (barely warm) bread rolls were served with with the hors d’oeuvres, a fig bread roll and a white bread roll. For the main I chose the steak which was cooked nicely, being tender and easy to cut. The leek bread pudding had a lovely cheesy flavour on top. Unfortunately though the pudding was a bit dry after a few mouthfuls. The mushroom sauce had large pieces of mushrooms in it. There were also pieces of grilled asparagus and zucchini served with the steak. There was only one dessert on offer, a cherry panna cotta which I didn’t really like so only had a mouthful.
Nutrition comment
When the hors d’oeuvres came out my eyes lit up – the site of a beautiful, full plate of fresh salad vegetables with the dressing on the side was amazing. The vegetables were really crisp, even the roasted vegetables. The tuna slices had a really fleshy texture rather than a melt in your mouth texture, but the flavour was still delicious. The kale and fava bean paste looked like wasabi but wasn’t hot at all. Overall the salad had a couple of serves of vegetables in it which was a really nutritious start to a long 13 hour flight. The tuna and shrimp provided some protein. Overall it was a quite light and lean.
Second Meal Service
The Japan Airlines business class food service is fairly flexible after the main meal service. They have a list of A la Carte dishes which can be ordered any time in the flight, including a soups, sandwiches, cheese plates, light meals and also a larger set meal (Japanese and International choice). I chose to try JAL’s menu recommendation under light meals – the Bibimbap Rice Bowl. This was beef, rice, mushrooms, sprouts, carrots and spinach served with a poached egg on top. The beef was served with a sweet tasting sauce and the whole dish was delicious. The poached egg was cooked well – while the yolk was not runny it was not dry either.
The sandwich listed on the A la Carte menu had a cajun salmon rillete and avocado filling and was actually served on a white roll instead of being an actual sandwich. The filling was quite delicious but there was just too much bread – the sandwich just tasted like bread.
Nutrition comment
A little too much rice for me in the Bibimap bowl, so I didn’t eat it all. Just because it is placed in front of you doesn’t mean you have to finish it. So I ate about half the rice – just enough to complement the meat, vegetables and egg -and this made it delicious. It great to see there was approx. 1 serve of vegetable in the dish considering it was classified as a light meal on the menu. The sandwich was a little bit of a disappointment being on such a white fluffy bun with only a a small amount of filling. I ended up taking the top off the roll just so I could taste the filling.
Snacks
There was a small snack box in the galley during the flight which had a range of pre-packaged snacks including Japanese rice crackers, cheese and almond snacks, and sweet cakes.
Last work on Japan Airlines Business Class food Boston to Tokyo
The Japan Airlines Business Class food Boston to Tokyo was a great experience. On a fairly long flight of 13 hours there was plenty of food on offer. One thing I loved is the food service never felt rushed like on some other airlines. The cabin crew paced the service out at just the right speed, and then the availability to have the second meal at the time of your choosing is perfect for such a long flight. While I didn’t have the ‘second meal plate’ because my little 23 month old had just fallen asleep on me with only 4 hours to go on the flight and he was so tired and exhausted I didn’t want to wake him up. This is one downside of the style of business class seat I was in (the Sky Suite) I couldn’t put my meal tray out without waking him and there was no side table area to use. But the Bibimbap meal and sandwich were more than sufficient to see me through the rest of the flight and were like a second meal service. This is what is great about the Japan Airlines Business Class A la Carte menu – you can really personalise your food experience to your flight and too your appetite which is fantastic.
NOTE: All pictures of Japan Airlines Business Class Food Boston to Tokyo (Narita) 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.
For more reviews of Japan Airlines Business class food check out my review of Sydney to Tokyo (Haneda) If you are flying out of Tokyo Narita then check out my review of Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge Tokyo Narita.
