ETH: Ethiopian Airlines [Economy, International, Short-Haul]
Velvety passion fruit cake!
"Did you go to Addis Ababa!?" was the response of one of my friends when I told her that I flew with Ethiopian Airlines. Nope, I didn't go to Africa (I'd really love to in the future!), but indeed it was my first time flying with an African carrier. Since the trip to Bangkok was quite a sudden plan (I even skipped lessons in late April), it was quite a challenge to get a flight ticket. However, I was delighted to find Ethiopian Airlines offering quite an attractive fare, and the fact that it's a member of the Star Alliance means additional KrisFlyer miles! :)
Look at Melon; she's so excited! Well, it's obvious that the food featured in this review didn't come from Ethiopia itself. In fact, all of them were prepared in Bangkok. As such, when I have the opportunity to fly out of Ethiopia in the future, I'll update this review! Okay, there wasn't any menu booklet given, so I'll just give a simple name for each dish.
ET Meal #1
Vegetable Salad with Italian Dressing - Taste: 7/10
The salad comprised lettuce, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes. The vegetables were moderately fresh, and the Italian dressing was pretty tangy.
Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Vegetables - Taste: 8/10
It was sad that they ran out of the fish dish, thus my friend and I had the same main course. Anyway, the chicken was pretty tender and juicy, having savoury brown sauce with caramelised onions ladled over it. The mashed potatoes weren't as milky as I wished it'd be, but they were smooth. The carrots were pretty sweet, but the broccoli was a bit mushy.
Cake with Blueberry Sauce - Taste: 8/10
The dessert of soft, airy cake sitting on top of moderately heavy blueberry sauce wasn't cloyingly sweet.
Others
The bread was quite nice and soft, best eaten with the slightly salted butter. The cream crackers were pretty good too as they were aromatic, and the cheese was moderately creamy without being too salty.
Beverages
I only requested for a glass of apple juice. The usual selections of fruit juice and soft drinks were available, in addition to alcoholic drinks such as beer and wine.
ET Meal #2
Bell Pepper and Cucumber Salad - Taste: 7.5/10
The 'traffic light' salad consisted of sliced red and yellow bell peppers, as well as cucumber strips on a bed of lettuce. The natural sweetness of the bell peppers was complemented by the piquant Asian vinaigrette with a nice hint of sesame oil.
Fish with Boiled Potatoes and Vegetables - Taste: 7.5/10
The dish of tender fish with somewhat milky white sauce was alright, but I felt that the sauce could be creamier. The potatoes weren't overboiled.
Green Curry Chicken with Rice - Taste: 8/10
The dish looked kinda messy, but it certainly didn't disappoint. Although it didn't look that green, the curry was delectably hot and sweet with kaffir lime leaves adding depth to the dish. The chicken was pretty juicy, and I was glad that the rice wasn't dry.
Passion Fruit Mousse - Taste: 8.5/10
It was my first time having mousse made of passion fruit. It was creamy and velvety without being too heavy. The sweetness of the sauce was nicely contrasted by the sour sensation of the bits of passion fruit embedded within the cake.
Others
The same stuff were given as on the first flight.
Beverages
The selections were the same as on the first flight. I had a glass of the common pineapple juice, as well as a cup of coffee which was moderately strong at the end of the meal.
Melon's Rating
Taste: 7.5/10
Ambience: 5.5/10
Service: 4/10
Overall: 5.5/10
The plane was a bit old, but at least it wasn't too crammed with the 2-3-2 seating configuration. The other day, one of the flight attendants spilled Coke onto my friend. Although she was very apologetic about the incident, it'd have helped if she could at least bring some tissue papers or a cloth instead of just walking away after repeatedly saying, "I'm so sorry." Besides that, I also had to wait for quite some time after pressing the call button for the flight attendant to come. In essence, service needs improvement.
Ethiopian Airlines
Economy Class Cabin
Boeing 767-300
*No separate price given as meals are included in the ticket price.
Have a nice meal,
Cliff(y)
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