With many people travelling back and forth to Canberra for work I thought it was time I reviewed Virgin Australia business class food on this route. I used to live in Canberra many years ago and commuted back and forth to Melbourne often and so was quite familiar with all the different airlines flying this route. But I haven’t flown it since covid so it was nice to be back flying to Australia’s capital. It is a fairly short flight from Melbourne to Canberra so I was interested to see what emphasis would be placed on food.
Main Meal Service
Drinks were offered pre-take off with the cabin manager coming around with a smile asking if we would like water or sparkling wine. A couple of people asked for sparkling water pre-takeoff but they were told there was none available until after takeoff.
This was a lunchtime flight and two cold meal choices were offered: Cauliflower and cous cous salad, or a Reuben sandwich. I chose the Cauliflower and cous cous salad. The cabin crew were explaining to passengers that there was no hot meal choice because it was a short flight. One passenger wasn’t too enthusiastic about the choices and asked for a bag of chips (crisps) instead which the cabin crew were happy to provide. The salad was served with cheese and crackers as a side, and a small chocolate heart. The salad was mainly cous cous and rocket, with 4 pieces of cauliflower and very small chopped up pieces of roasted vegetables. There was no dressing served with the salad, however there was some dukkah sprinkled on the cauliflower pieces. (Check out the main meal service provided on Virgin Business Class in my other blog.)
Nutrition Comment
When the salad arrived I was impressed – it looked so fresh! There was approximately 2 serves of vegetables in the salad which was a decent amount for a lunch meal on a domestic flight. The pieces of roasted vegetables mixed through the cous cous were great to see but it would have been good if they were larger to impart more flavour (and of course nutrients). The salad overall was fairly bland and tasteless which is the main reason why I wished there was more roasted vegetables throughout the cous cous. While I don’t like salads drowned in dressing, I did feel this salad did need a little more sprucing up with some extra flavour. When you got under the rocket it really was mostly cous cous. I liked the rocket on top as I like to try and have 1 serve of dark green leafy vegetables a day (for a good source of folate and beta carotene). Getting dark green leafy vegetables can be difficult while travelling and so I was happy to see such a generous helping on the salad.
Final thoughts on Virgin Australia Business Class Food – Melbourne – Canberra
Virgin Australia business class food was a decent food offering on the short flight from Melbourne to Canberra. While some people may be disappointed by the lack of hot meal on offer, it was good to see there were still two choices. It is great to see some emphasis by Virgin on the quality of their food. While there was still some room for improvement regarding the salad there was still a lot to like.
If you are interested in seeing more of Virgin Australia’s business class food offerings then check out my review of Virgin Australia Melbourne-Brisbane return.
NOTE: All pictures of Virgin Australia Business Class food flying on the 737 from Melbourne to Canberra, 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.
