The Prodigal Son Returns to Be a Father to His Sons, a Grandson to His Grandparents, Day 5 (see previously 6.020 Jesa Spread).

In town for a few days, arrived Thursday evening, flying back tonight.

3 tasks on the agenda : (1) attend Z’s daycare pageant–done; (2) ski with D–done; (3) engage in shamanistic ritual for the grandparents–done.

In-flight bibimbap, a great idea.

Most important, it’s reliably tasty, never disappointing.  In fact, according to various internet sources, it’s widely regarded as one of the best meals available in the sky anywhere in the world.

And healthful.

Noteworthy from a service perspective, it’s constructed and presented as a bonafide representation of the dish, pretty much exactly how it would be in a restaurant or home, each serving individually prepared by hand, no sense of factory mass production.

It’s a fine ambassador for Korean cuisine and Korean culture.

Developed by Korean Air in 1997, it’s now available on Asiana Airlines and other Korean carriers, as well as foreign carriers flying out from Incheon (e.g., I’ve seen bibimbap offered on KLM and Lufthansa).

Regrettably, they haven’t come up with anything new in all the time since, at least nothing that has stuck.

Notwithstanding all of the above, I never once ordered the bibimbap on any of my trips abroad while living in Korea for the past decade.  Even though I would very likely not enjoy the other option, I always wanted something new, something surprising, for better or for worse, something different, anything but Korean food.

But now that I’m based in the Philippines, where I’m no longer forced to eat Korean food on a daily basis, I try to get it whenever I can (see for example 6.010 Jeonju Bibimbap), even on the plane, both coming and going.