Intro
Tired of airline meals where chicken and beef taste the same?
Royal Brunei’s beef rendang actually has flavour – slow-cooked until the meat absorbs every bit of coconut milk and spice.
Hong Kong to Brunei
The 2-hour 45-minute flight began with rendang or chicken offered just 20 minutes after takeoff.
The beef fell apart without being mushy, and the sauce had layers of flavour that built as you ate – coconut milk, lemongrass, chilli, all slow-cooked until the meat absorbed every bit of spice.
Beef rendang originated in Sumatra but has become beloved across Malaysia, Brunei, and parts of Thailand.
This is what happens when airlines actually know their own cuisine instead of serving watered-down versions for international palates.
The crew kept offering drinks without being asked, and everyone seemed genuinely happy rather than just doing their job.
Even the bathrooms stayed spotless throughout the flight – complete with Glade air fresheners. When was the last time you saw that on any airline?
Brunei to Melbourne
Six hours and 45 minutes to Melbourne, with beef and chicken on offer again.
The beef came in a lighter sauce that let the meat flavour shine through, with pasta salad that was fresh and dressed with just the right amount of mayonnaise.
Portion was perfect – filling without making you feel stuffed for hours.
The red velvet cake for dessert was moist with cream cheese flavour, not the usual airline sponge cake that tastes like cardboard.
No additional meal service was offered on this leg, but the crew came around frequently with juice, Coke, and water.
Hot noodles, nuts, and biscuits were available in the galley if you wanted more.
Both flights served consistent, high quality meals that exceeded my expectations.
Conclusion
Instead of trying to please everyone with bland international food, they focus on what they know – Southeast Asian cooking.
Sometimes the best discoveries come from airlines you’d never think to book.
They’ve figured out that being authentic beats being generic, especially when most airlines serve the same boring chicken-or-beef choices worldwide.
