Departing for Home: In-flight Comfort Food

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TODAY'S READ

When I fly, it is often to fly home, my second home that is in Hong Kong, a place that renders identity and culture that is often associated with Asian food – food that Asian airlines like to replicate in lieu of home-cooked meals.

Each time I take my seat, next to the window, awaiting take-off, awaiting flight, I stare out into the cold unknown of what my journey home may entail: turbulence, delays or worse waking up to a cold packaged sandwich. But what often brings me back from thinking the worst is the amenities I receive onboard a plane, amenities that make the journey more enjoyable, more homely. For instance, the choice of in-flight entertainment that is associated with the destination in-situ, such as films and music starring Asian movie stars, the cabin crew who speak my native language, and of course the in-flight menu with dishes aptly infused with Asian flavours, drawing me closer to home…

Connecting Culture to Flight

I have often noticed how airlines plan meals related to a destination, either the airline’s locality or the place it is to arrive at.

[Singapore Airlines’ New Economy Class Meal range] | © [Singapore Airlines]

[Singapore Airlines’ Southeast Asian inspired meals] | © [Singapore Airlines]

Cup Noodle Comfort

But what I have found the most interesting is how an item of food can be synonymous with both an airline and passenger experience, for instance, the Cup Noodle.

[The Cup Noodle Illustration] | © [Cathay Pacific/Cecil Tang]

Nissin’s Cup Noodle is a household item we reach for as a snack, for lunch, or whilst watching Korean dramas back-to-back – so I guess it is apt that the snack is served to you when home is seemingly far away. Type in ‘Cup Noodles and Cathay Pacific’ into a search engine and approximately 90,500 results show up, along with thousands of images of the Cup Noodle placed on tray tables – this being on almost any review that you will come across, the SEO keyword being ‘free’. Indeed, Cathay Pacific has a dedicated article on how the Nissin Cup Noodle evokes a ‘taste of home’ on their webpage.

So what is it with airlines replicating dishes that we eat at home? Perhaps it is because a plane is not a house or a home, neither is it a building but a mode of transport, although a mode that is unlike any other for we are approximately 36,000 feet high from the ground, but to make it feel more homely, more normal, they draw us in with amenities such as home-styled food – at once evoking the schema of home, culture, and identity. Through use of nostalgia, food draws people like me back home or for those visiting as tourists to explore a destination still further. A notion that I happily fall fool for each time…

Has airline food ever made you want to discover a culture even more? Do let us know in the comments below.