Intro
Four-hour flights usually get you a sandwich or a small meal tray, but China Airlines served a full meal on this short sector.
Either they haven’t got the memo about cost-cutting, or they actually care about feeding passengers properly.
Flying Singapore to Taipei, then Frankfurt, gave me two chances to test their meal service – short-haul generosity and long-haul consistency across 17 hours total.
Singapore to Taipei
Twenty minutes after takeoff, drinks service started with mixed nuts.
The crew did duty-free before meals, which kept people busy instead of getting restless.
About an hour in, meal service began. No printed menus, just two choices: chicken with rice or fish. I went with chicken.
The tray was generous for a short flight – chicken with rice, fresh salad, cut fruit, and dessert.
Most airlines would give you a sandwich at best on a 4-hour sector, but this looked like long-haul service.
The chicken was decent with flavour coming through, not the usual bland airline protein.
The salad was crisp and the fruit was actually fresh.
Crew stayed visible throughout service, offering wine, water, tea and coffee with meals.
The whole thing wrapped up by 1 hour 45 minutes after takeoff – efficient without feeling rushed.
Taipei to Frankfurt
The overnight A350 flight was lightly loaded, so I got a whole row to spread out. Service started soon after takeoff with water and juices.
The menu was displayed on the cart – simple but showed they were organised.
I picked chicken again, served with salad, cut fruit, and sweet biscuits.
Wine, tea, and coffee came with meals.
Meal service finished within 90 minutes, then the lights went down for sleep time.
They had snacks available in the galley during the flight – just crackers and nuts, nothing fancy, but better than nothing on a 13-hour flight.
Breakfast service started 3 hours before landing with two options: Western frittata or Asian chicken fried rice.
The fried rice was exceptionally good – not greasy, unlike airline rice dishes usually are, and served with yogurt and fresh fruit.
Conclusion
For what you pay on China Airlines, the meal service over-delivers.
The long-haul service was consistent with the short flight – generous portions, great presentation, and crew who seemed to care about more than just getting through the service checklist.
Worth booking? The meal portions are generous, crew service is reliable, and they haven’t joined the race to the bottom that most airlines seem obsessed with. Just don’t expect gourmet – it’s solid, honest airline food done properly.
