I always eat the food of AirAsia Philippines on my flights, but since I was recently tapped to taste this airline’s inflight café menu for a global survey by Skyscanner, I made sure I tried almost all of what they have to offer for a thorough review. Read more…
Photo credit: John Creasey
First, I had one of their rice meals, the Chicken Yang Chow, which was added for their Hong Kong flights. The chicken and mixed vegetables were thankfully plenty, and the rice was well-seasoned. Put together, it was a really tasty dish.
A reminder of mom’s home cooking was the Beef Caldereta. I was pleasantly surprised that the beef was tender, and the potatoes and carrots on the side weren’t overcooked. Honestly, it was my most favorite among the their three rice meals.
Last was the AirAsia Philippines classic, Chicken Adobo ala Mariles, which has been on their menu since their first flights. Their version of the all-time Filipino favorite had a good balance of flavors from the soy, vinegar, garlic, and peppercorns.
For morning flights until 11:00 AM, they serve Pancakes with Butter and Maple Syrup. I was apprehensive that they might be tough, but they were fluffy and creamy. While I had my first with syrup, I had the next two with only butter, and they were so good that way.
I also was able to try their two Pan de Ulam or stuffed buns. I was excited to try the Pan de Ulam Bistek Tagalog, and I loved how the beef inside was a delightful contrast between tangy and salty. Meanwhile, the Pan de Ulam Tuna was simple but had a really meaty filling.
From their Sweet Landing selection, I first had the Choco Banana Pound Cake, which was hands down my favorite because it was so heavenly. The melted chocolate chips embedded into the pound cake made it way better and kept it moist.
The cute Brownie Mini Cupcakes were also moist and were just fudgy enough, which is a plus for me. They came in three varieties; I liked the one with nuts the most.
The crunchy and fragrant Cinnamon Bread Sticks were obviously a great match for coffee, which I didn’t have at the time unfortunately.
I do not like meringue, but I loved their Cashew Meringue. The egg white-based treats were not too sugary to my taste at all, and the cashew bits made them delectable.
Lastly, I had the Homemade Chocolate Chips Cookies again. I’ll just repeat what I wrote before—that they were so good that I hoped they are available to purchase elsewhere. They lived up to the “homemade” in their name, for they really taste like they were.
The food of AirAsia Philippines is priced at parity with other low cost carriers, but with them, I felt like it was more value for money. In terms of taste, meanwhile, the hot meals and bakery items were consistently very satisfying. All the food items attractively presented too—the bakery items had nice packaging, while the hot meals looked fresh and appetizing.
I’ve written a feature about the inflight food of AirAsia Malaysia, and their menu is as delicious but admittedly more varied. The food of AirAsia Philippines, I trust, will follow suit as it expands with more aircraft and hence more destinations and low fares for everyone.
AirAsia Philippines flies to red hot domestic and international destinations from Clark. Search for the cheapest AirAsia fares through Skyscanner.com.ph.