Qantas Business Class meals & menus

[RickyT84]

Last flight of the NZ SC run was QF559 from BNE to SYD.

Choice of three refreshment which were chicken and mushroom pie, cream of pumpkin soup or the cheese plate.

Decided to try the pie to see what the fuss is about and was delighted with the generous and delicious filling. We were offered optional onion relish to go with the pie which was welcomed. The mushy peas on the side were pretty good.



Seems like they only had about 4 pies loaded for the flight as it ran out quickly granted three of us decided on the pie on row 1 and my seat mate declined the meal but requested two slices of bread plus butter instead (go figure). The soup also seemed popular as it ran out by the time 2F ordered his meal.

Wine was a very drinkable Shiraz Cabernet blend (but I did not manage to catch the name).

CSM Terry adopted a causal approach to service which is a bit different yet friendly.

 

[Lynda2475]

QF120 AKL-BNE 7am departure.

PDB of sparkling wine, sparkling water or still water offered.

Choice of Corn Fritters with Chorizo & spinach or feta & spinach Quiche or Quinoa pudding.

Had the Corn Fritters, was ok the chorizo was quite spicy ignored the spinach. I didn't eat the yoghurt or museli bar but the cinnamon scroll was tasty.

 

[Berlin]

Had the Corn Fritters, was ok the chorizo was quite spicy ignored the spinach. I didn't eat the yoghurt or museli bar but the cinnamon scroll was tasty.

Those fritters look tasty! And spinach indeed is best ignored

 

[justinbrett]

I was on the same flight and I was given 7 minutes with a cheese plate (or soup). It was then taken from me as we were landing.

Complaint filed.

I got an apology and 10K points.

Sounds like the pesto pizza wasn't worth 10K points so I might have come out ahead.

 

[Lynda2475]

QF641 BNE-MEL 11:20 departure. Choice of scones with jam & cream OR hashbrowns with beef OR chicken salad with Japanese style sesame dressing.

Went for the salad, quite nice (except for the celery pieces). The warm blueberry pastry was also nice. Apparently there was sourdough but catering neglected to load any butter.

 

[Lynda2475]

I was on the same flight and I was given 7 minutes with a cheese plate (or soup). It was then taken from me as we were landing.

Complaint filed.

For first time ever I'm going to lodge a complain about tonight's flight service as similar situation. Too much chatter with row 1 and then a further delay caused by whinging kids in J not liking any options so a need for FA to go and grab pies from whY meant row 3 got about 5 mins to eat. Trays confiscated so quickly I only just managed to rescue the cake.

One positive and I will give a shout out in my complaint was that CSM asked me for my preference first and reserved it so i wouldnt miss out on my first choice as I was bumped back to row 3 (unfortunately wasn't served first).

Options were salmon salad (yuck) or curry chicken. The curry wasn't as nice as others served recently, but they did remember to load the butter this flight.




Landing was then subsequently delayed and we have been stuck in a very bumpy holding pattern for ages.

 

[flyingfan]

For first time ever I'm going to lodge a complain about tonight's flight service as similar situation. Too much chatter with row 1 and then a further delay caused by whinging kids in J not liking any options so a need for FA to go and grab pies from whY meant row 3 got about 5 mins to eat. Trays confiscated so quickly I only just managed to rescue the cake.

Interested how they'll respond and whether it's the pro forma 'Sorry we didn't meet your expectations, we'll provide feedback to staff...' The personable chats are nice but not at the expense of mismanaging the rest of the small cabin.

I was the victim of an FA having an overly friendly and prolonged yarn a row or two ahead in J. I had and finished my meal but was getting increasingly annoyed the tray still hadn't been cleared whilst everyone else's had. I'm not the type to yell "Hey, ex-cuse me" but I finally pressed the bell and a different FA appeared to clear it away. Meanwhile the yarn still went on.

 

[dairyfloss]

QF81 SYD-SIN 24-Jan menu and a couple of pics. Menu is the same that has been doing the rounds lately. Traveled with SWMBO (also WP) and 8YO master (SG).



I had the chicken & mushroom dumplings to start, but forgot to take a pic of these. Very tasty, but could be a little too spicy for some (or at least, the sauce was very spicy - as I like it!).

Wasn’t feeling lucky on beef or chicken options after multiple hockey-puck-dry fails on QF J flights in the last 12-18 months, so opted for the Vegetable Rendang instead. The flavours were good, but sauce lacked a little punch and seasoning. Unfortunately it was nearly all pumpkin, as well, which was ok at the start, but became more off putting, the further I went.



Our excellent CSM then talked me into the pana cotta with olive oil dessert, which I was a little hesitant about, but ended up really enjoying. One of the best desserts I’ve had at altitude, in fact. Highly recommend you give it a shot, if you get the chance.



Overall it was a friendly, yet efficient service, and we quite enjoyed this journey up to the equator.

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[I love to travel]

QF81 SYD-SIN 24-Jan menu and a couple of pics. Menu is the same that has been doing the rounds lately. Traveled with SWMBO (also WP) and 8YO master (SG).

View attachment 428875

I had the chicken & mushroom dumplings to start, but forgot to take a pic of these. Very tasty, but could be a little too spicy for some (or at least, the sauce was very spicy - as I like it!).

Wasn’t feeling lucky on beef or chicken options after multiple hockey-puck-dry fails on QF J flights in the last 12-18 months, so opted for the Vegetable Rendang instead. The flavours were good, but sauce lacked a little punch and seasoning. Unfortunately it was nearly all pumpkin, as well, which was ok at the start, but became more off putting, the further I went.

View attachment 428876

Our excellent CSM then talked me into the pana cotta with olive oil dessert, which I was a little hesitant about, but ended up really enjoying. One of the best desserts I’ve had at altitude, in fact. Highly recommend you give it a shot, if you get the chance.

View attachment 428877

Overall it was a friendly, yet efficient service, and we quite enjoyed this journey up to the equator.

Cheers,
Matt.

Do you recall whether the rendang had mushrooms in it.

 

[sudoer]

Do you recall whether the rendang had mushrooms in it.

It didn't when I had it in late 2024

 

[Cognac]

So, I recently had a chat with a Business/First attendent based or of London and we got to chatting about work things. She happened to mention that there are quite a few BFAs who are unhappy because they think the meal service is too "faffy". Customers are unhappy that it's taking so long, but there isn't much they can do about it because Qantas' processes dictate exactly how they prepare the meals. So they cop the flak from the front end, and then when they pass on the feedback head office simply says "well do it better". The recent change in the service (including the switch to putting it all on a tray) apparently hasn't helped in the slightest.

 

[scopedope]

Domestic J QF478 Melbourne to Sydney last week, evening flight. Had the salmon and potato salad. Bread was delivered after I took the photo.



Sadly the salmon was hiding some very sharp bones which caused me quite a lot of pain when I swallowed one of them. Coughing and spitting up a bone in the J cabin was embarrassing. Sadly a filled in complaints form delivered nothing more than 5000 points. Dissapointing as it was delicious until this bone issue.

 

[sudoer]

there isn't much they can do about it because Qantas' processes dictate exactly how they prepare the meals.

Ironically, serving the same menu on (nearly) all Asia routes for several months makes it easy to see how inconsistently the meals are plated. So whatever processes are in place - they are not being followed exactly.

Anyway I'm not sure I buy the excuse. Qantas long haul J meals nearly always have 3 or sometimes 4 elements, and maybe some garnish. Unsure how that's "faffy", it's about as basic as you can get short of pre-plating everything...

Take the veggie rendang above as an example. A bag of precooked rice, a bag of rendang, and a bag of bok choy and some pickled veg. Nuke it all except the pickles, empty it all on a plate, serve. If they're doing anything more complex than that I would be shocked, and they get months to practice...

 

[dairyfloss]

Do you recall whether the rendang had mushrooms in it.

Hmmm… not that I recall

 

[justinbrett]

So, I recently had a chat with a Business/First attendent based or of London and we got to chatting about work things. She happened to mention that there are quite a few BFAs who are unhappy because they think the meal service is too "faffy". Customers are unhappy that it's taking so long, but there isn't much they can do about it because Qantas' processes dictate exactly how they prepare the meals. So they cop the flak from the front end, and then when they pass on the feedback head office simply says "well do it better". The recent change in the service (including the switch to putting it all on a tray) apparently hasn't helped in the slightest.

It's not hard. Take the orders on the ground, at least for drinks. Hand the drinks out, then hand the food out. Quit wasting valuable air time reading the menu to pax and letting them ponder.

Although AA doesn't serve meals on these short flights, it can still do all of the above for a cabin of 20, with a single FA much quicker than QF is doing for a cabin of 12.

At very least an alcoholic PDB would add some value.

I don't have a problem with the long haul / international services.