I love trying new airlines and their food and so when I needed to head to Singapore I was thinking of some different ways to get there from Australia. When the option of trying Malaysia Airlines business class food came up I thought this was a great opportunity since I had the time in my schedule for a brief stopover in Kuala Lumpur (KL). I flew Melbourne to Singapore via KL on a daytime flight and it was a very comfortable flight.
Malaysia Airlines Business Class Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur menu
The flight from Melbourne to Kuala-Lumpur was a morning flight departing at 8.45am. The main meal service was served just after takeoff and was a breakfast service. There were three main meals to choose from. There was a small variety of lighter meals available during the flight which could be ordered at anytime and then Malaysia Airlines signature satay service was served just prior to landing.
Main Meal Service
Drinks were served prior to takeoff with cabin crew offering water, orange juice or a hibiscus drink (which I believe is their signature drink). The menu was provided before take off but meal order was taken after takeoff. Cabin crew set the table promptly after takeoff and when placing the table cloth cabin crew asked if wanted “the eggs, nasi or pancakes”. Just after the table was set the cabin crew came down the aisle with a cart and offered tea or coffee to passengers. Shortly after this the first course for breakfast was served which was a fruit salad, yogurt and bakery products. The bakery products were brought around separately about 5 minutes later with croissants, sliced white bread and chocolate pastry offered. I chose a croissant to try and it was cold. I don’t think they had been warmed up at all as it was quite cold, not lukewarm/cool. The bowl of plain yogurt had a sprinkle of granola/muesli and a spoonful of blueberries. The granola had a slight taste of coconut but overall didn’t have much taste. The Nasi lemak chicken rendang was delicious – a really enjoyable meal for onboard catering. The chicken was really fragrant.
Nutrition comment
The Nasi lemak chicken rendang was a fairly balanced meal with approx. a third the plate vegetables, a third chicken and a third rice. The rice portion was about 1/2 cup which was an appropriate portion since the first course already served white bread/pastries. The plain yogurt was a nutritious choice as it was great to not have a really sweet yogurt with a lot of added sugar. The cooked blueberry compote added a hint of sweetness which went really nicely with the tartness of the yogurt.
Second Meal Service
The Dine Anytime menu was fairly standard – nothing imaginative here. From the Dine Anytime menu I tried both the chicken sandwich and the pie. Both were underwhelming unfortunately. The chicken sandwich was really cold and had a thick/cakey white bread that had no flavour. Without much filling there was nothing to carry any flavour – there was just too much bread to filling. The pie was served hot which was good. The pastry on the top of the pie was crunchy while the bottom was soggy. The flavour of the pie was nice, however it was described as beef and mushroom but I couldn’t taste much of a mushroom flavour and couldn’t see any large pieces of mushrooms in the pie (there might have been a small black piece which might have been some mushroom but I couldn’t quite tell). The pie didn’t have large chunks of beef, but had smallish pieces – kind of half between mince and small chunks. There wasn’t a lot of meat no matter the size.
About 2.5hours before landing the cabin crew came down the aisle and set tables for the signature satay skewer service. First a drink trolley came around offering drinks and a small dish of peanuts. Then the signature satay service was served from a trolley with crew offering beef, chicken or mushroom skewers with satay sauce. I chose beef and chicken (as I don’t like mushrooms) and I was given 2 skewers each along with a cucumber and onion skewer. The satay sauce was delicious – it had a tiny bit of heat (spiciness). The chicken and the beef were tender.
Nutrition comment
Great to see cheese board on the Dine Anytime menu. Cheese is high protein making it a good snack for sedentary long flights. The sandwich didn’t have much filling meaning it was predominantly white bread which after the breakfast service which had both white bread and white rice (or pancakes) this was a bit much, again especially since it was an 8 hour flight.
Snacks
In addition to the snacks on the Dine Anytime menu there was a snack basket at the front of the plane which offered a range of prepackaged snacks including egg chips (crisps), chocolates and some nut snacks.
Last word Malaysia Airlines Business Class Food – Melbourne to Kuala Lumpa
Overall the Malaysian Airlines Business Class food was pleasing. The main meal service and the satay service were fairly good quality and taste, yet the light bites mid flight left a bit to be desired. Having the main meal service at breakfast always makes me groan as airlines rarely serve great breakfasts in my mind. However I found the Nasi Lemak Chicken Rendang delicious and it really lifted the food experience for me on this flight.
NOTE: All pictures of Malaysia Airlines Business Class food were taken while flying and are my own and I review the food from the menu I was given and the food I ordered on my flight. There may be different options available at other times.
On check-in I was directed to the Marhaba Lounge Melbourne- see here for the review of their breakfast.
