Meal service was one banana—CGK-NRT in J

Old Feb 21, 2023, 1:36 am
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Meal service was one banana—CGK-NRT in J

Before takeoff today my flight attendant confirmed that I ordered VGML and that my breakfast was a banana, by which I mistakenly assumed she meant that breakfast included a banana. When she served the banana after takeoff I thought it was just an underwhelming appetizer, but it was in fact the entire meal service! It was a really good banana—one of the best I've had recently—but it still seems more appropriate as a snack. Is catering out of CGK typically this underwhelming?


business class breakfast on JAL

Lunch was barely seasoned spaghetti and my meals on other JL flights (part of this itinerary) were also bad, but nothing was quite as insubstantial this. It was cute of the crew to serve the banana with chopsticks, though!
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Old Feb 21, 2023, 1:52 am
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I presume you were on JL720, the 6:35am departure out of CGK, as you mention breakfast and lunch. Looking at the J menu for that flight on JL's website, there isn't really a formal breakfast service after takeoff. Instead, there are some light snacks, such as a cheese plate or noodles, which I suspect you could have requested from the general menu in addition to your VGML banana. The main meal service is lunch, probably served 2-3 hours out of NRT, which it appears you got.
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Old Feb 21, 2023, 11:04 am
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Originally Posted by Kris_Chari
Before takeoff today my flight attendant confirmed that I ordered VGML and that my breakfast was a banana, by which I mistakenly assumed she meant that breakfast included a banana. When she served the banana after takeoff I thought it was just an underwhelming appetizer, but it was in fact the entire meal service! It was a really good banana—one of the best I've had recently—but it still seems more appropriate as a snack. Is catering out of CGK typically this underwhelming?


business class breakfast on JAL

Lunch was barely seasoned spaghetti and my meals on other JL flights (part of this itinerary) were also bad, but nothing was quite as insubstantial this. It was cute of the crew to serve the banana with chopsticks, though!
I really like the understated presentation of your meal. Very delicate and very Japanese!.

Some years ago I skipped the lounge in KUL thinking I would eat the meal served on my JL overnight flight to NRT in business. An announcement was that they would be serving dinner and tonight's options are SNACK. On a plate no larger than a saucer I got two pieces of rolled sushi and a small package of sembei served with a napkin and chopsticks. I asked the FA what the other option was and she said SKIP. As in I could decline and skip the snack. Later tea or coffee only before arrival.
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Old Feb 21, 2023, 11:08 am
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Makes me glad I don’t order vegetarian meals! I’ve always been pretty happy with JAL J and F meals.
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Old Feb 21, 2023, 11:12 am
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Originally Posted by Jaimito Cartero
Makes me glad I don’t order vegetarian meals! I’ve always been pretty happy with JAL J and F meals.
Not that I ever would either, but, in my view, those who order a vegetarian meal should be accorded more than just a banana, an albeit a very appetizing and high quality one.
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Old Feb 21, 2023, 1:03 pm
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Originally Posted by dkc192
Looking at the J menu for that flight on JL's website, there isn't really a formal breakfast service after takeoff. Instead, there are some light snacks, such as a cheese plate or noodles, which I suspect you could have requested from the general menu in addition to your VGML banana. The main meal service is lunch, probably served 2-3 hours out of NRT, which it appears you got.
Ah thanks for checking, and I guess a banana isn’t quite as surprising for a snack service. The spaghetti was served before landing, but I’m still confused about why they wouldn’t serve the main meal after take off.

(And yes, when I asked they offered me almonds and a couple watermelon cubes, both of which were great.)
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Old Feb 21, 2023, 1:05 pm
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Originally Posted by uanj
On a plate no larger than a saucer I got two pieces of rolled sushi and a small package of sembei served with a napkin and chopsticks. I asked the FA what the other option was and she said SKIP. As in I could decline and skip the snack. Later tea or coffee only before arrival.
Hah, maybe they were very serious about maximizing sleep on both our flights!
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Old Feb 21, 2023, 10:01 pm
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It is just one banana, but that's like... $10!
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Old Feb 22, 2023, 2:16 am
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Jakarta is seemingly not seeing a lot of catering love from JAL. This is the standard menu after take off, for both 720 and 726.


And the anytime menu is just the three kinds of JAL instant noodles. Not impressive.
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Old Feb 22, 2023, 9:56 am
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Wow, I'm on JL726 in a few weeks... guess I'll have to load up at the lounge!
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Old Feb 22, 2023, 11:07 am
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Originally Posted by izzik
Wow, I'm on JL726 in a few weeks... guess I'll have to load up at the lounge!
(If you’re vegan) I wasn’t a fan of the options at the garuda or plaza premium lounges at CGK, or the JAL F/J lounges at HND and NRT. Made me miss AA FL (!) and QF F LAX/SYD food so much!
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Old Feb 22, 2023, 11:51 am
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Originally Posted by Kris_Chari
Before takeoff today my flight attendant confirmed that I ordered VGML and that my breakfast was a banana, by which I mistakenly assumed she meant that breakfast included a banana. When she served the banana after takeoff I thought it was just an underwhelming appetizer, but it was in fact the entire meal service! It was a really good banana—one of the best I've had recently—but it still seems more appropriate as a snack. Is catering out of CGK typically this underwhelming?


business class breakfast on JAL

Lunch was barely seasoned spaghetti and my meals on other JL flights (part of this itinerary) were also bad, but nothing was quite as insubstantial this. It was cute of the crew to serve the banana with chopsticks, though!
Look what you might have gotten if you ordered a kosher meal on a long-haul BA flight: four bananas!

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/35007651-post29.html
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Old Feb 23, 2023, 11:21 am
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Airlines need to get their s--t together! I would request some sort of compensation for the lack of effort. If you paid for business class product, they should go out of their way to have a quality offering since they knew WELL IN ADVANCE what your meal selection was.
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Old Feb 23, 2023, 3:40 pm
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Question 🙋‍♀️

Out of curiosity, what’s the chopsticks for? My family’s origin is Chinese and Vietnamese, and I don’t ever recall eating banana using chopsticks. 🤪
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Old Feb 23, 2023, 3:47 pm
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Originally Posted by PDX2K
Out of curiosity, what’s the chopsticks for? My family’s origin is Chinese and Vietnamese, and I don’t ever recall eating banana using chopsticks. 🤪
It came in a sealed bag with cutlery and napkin. One size fits all....
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