9.268

30 (Sun) September 2018

Malabar Grouper

(with jasmine rice, bok choy, and spicy garlic sauce)

3.5

on Etihad Airways – EY 424

-Abu Dhabi en route to Manila-

solo

Mission to Jordan, Day 8 (see previously 9.267 Dukkah-Spiced Salmon) – personal deviation.

In Aqaba.  Previously in Amman to attend a Meeting of the Regional Parliamentary Working Group on Universal Health Coverage in the Eastern Mediterranean Region – Tue to Wed.  Extending my stay in country for a couple extra days to dive in the Red Sea.

On my way home.

As always, I am grateful for and respectful of the opportunity to travel, especially via business class.  Any comments here, even the negative ones, are simply relative to other business class experiences, not complaints per se.

BEST IN CLASS – an on-going ranking of dining experiences on business class flights:

1. Qatar Airlines — MNL > DOH > DME (5.279 Assorted Hot Mezzah); DME > DOH > MNL ( (5.286 Chili Mango Prawns)
2. Singapore Airlines — MNL > SIN > BNE (6.237 Coconut Panna Cotta); BNE > SIN > MNL (6.243 Ggongchi Kimchi Jjigae)
3. Turkish Airlines — MNL > IST (8.046 Grilled Seafood Selections); GVA > IST (8.051 Fresh Herb Baby Chicken); IST > MNL (8.052 Köfte + Piliç); MNL > IST > GVA (9.050 Grilled Seafood Selection); GVA > IST (9.055 Grilled Lamb Chop); MNL > IST (9.330 Parrot Fish with Sweet & Sour Sauce)
4. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines — GVA > AMS > ICN (6.311 Beef & Beetroot Meatballs)
5. Asiana Airlines — MNL > ICN (2.036 Shin Ramyeon…); ICN > MNL (6.048 Ssambap); MNL > ICN (6.305 Chicken Congee); ICN > MNL (6.321 Ssambap); ICN > MNL (8.261 Ssambap)
6. Etihad Airways — MNL > AUH > AMM (6.154 Shakshouka); AMM > AUH > MNL (6.160 Zaalou-Crusted Chicken Breast); AUH > AMM (9.261 Prawns Machboos); AMM > AUH (9.267 Dukkah-Spiced Salmon); AUH >MNL (9.268 Malabar Grouper)
7. Korean Air — ICN > NAD (5.175 Prestigious Repast); MNL > ICN (6.021 Bibimbap); MNL > ICN > NAD (6.101 Coconut Carrot Cream Soup); NAD > ICN > MNL (6.111 Asparagus Cream Soup); ICN > NAD (6.314 Bibimbap); NAD > ICN (6.319 Seared Seafood…); MNL > ICN > JFK (7.032 Manhattan); JFK > ICN (7.039 Sauteed Cod Fillet); ICN > MNL (7.041 Gom Tang)
8. Thai Airways — MNL > BKK > DEL (7.306 Fried Black Cod …); DEL > BKK > MNL (7.313 Braised Pork Balls)
9. Philippine Airlines — MNL > MEL (5.335 Chicken Tausi)
10. Deutsche Lufthansa — ICN > MUC > GVA (6.307 Chicken in Cream Sauce)
11. Cathay Pacific Airways — HKG > MNL (5.182 Har Gao)
12. Fiji Airways — NAD > HKG (5.181 Sliced Roast Lamb)

AMM = Amman / AMS = Amsterdam / AUH = Abu Dhabi / BKK = Bangkok / BNE = Brisbane / DEL = New Delhi / DOH = Doha / DME (Domodedovo) = Moscow / GVA = Geneva / HKG = Hong Kong / ICN = Incheon / IST = Istanbul / JFK (John F Kennedy) = New York / MEL = Melbourne / MUC = Munich / NAD = Nadi / SIN = Singapore

The malabar grouper was excellent.  Somehow, the deep-fried fish retained its crisp, as if just cooked.  The garlic sauce was perfectly seasoned.  First time in flight that I wanted more rice.

With this meal and the prior (see above), Etihad Airways has earned a bump up to number 6.  Korean Air, which doesn’t seem to try very hard these days, drops to number 7.