Jetstar Asia was my flight angel in September when they gave me a ride to Taiwan and back!

It was my second time on Jetstar but it would be my first time trying out their on in-flight cuisine on board the flight. Tiffany Yong was my partner on this flight to Taiwan. Tiffany is a lifestyle blogger and actor in local television scene and you can also see her on my blog as I often photograph her for her projects.

I had flew to Taiwan on Jetstar for a hotel review (Read my hotel review here!). It was my first overseas assignment!  She was also reviewing a hotel in Taiwan (Read her review here!).

Tiffany and I

I brought along one of my travel plush. They are absolutely fun to work with when taking photographs. Here is Orang, a little naughty Orangutan who loves airplane rides.

Orang on his trip…

Faster Check-ins using the automated kiosks at Changi Airport

Jetstar’s new kiosk check-in service, which is part of Changi’s FAST initiative; made check-in at Singapore Changi Airport a breeze. Passengers can now use these mobile kiosks to check in themselves, saving time and streamlining their travel experience.

No more long lines of queue and more time to shop in the departure hall!

Checking in to Jetstar

Jetstar flies to Taipei up to Twice daily!

I came across this nifty chart below and recalled a while back my friend having problems trying to find flight on Jetstar to Osaka (which happens to be on the same flight route as my flight Singapore – Taipei – Osaka). She mentioned that she knew that there were two flights up to Osaka everyday but she could not get the dates she wanted.

I had to explain to her that it was up to 2 flights daily and not everyday had a flight scheduled.

SIN-TPE-KIX September 2014 Schedule

This chart is found in Jetstar’s in-flight magazine. Do take note that their flight schedules changes every month. You can access every month’s edition here.

I think this chart can help everyone find a flight easier than getting frustrated with the booking system not knowing there was not a flight scheduled that day.

SIN-TPE-KIX October 2014 Schedule

Take the exit row for more leg room

Leg space is pretty important for someone like me who has long legs and short torso.

One important note though, no bags are allowed under the seat in the exit row. Although you can see my backpack in the picture below, it was later removed and stored in the cabin hold above.

Remember to abide the safety ruling on exit rows!

The exit row has to be free of obstacles in case of emergency when the emergency door beside use has to be opened for evacuation.

I’m not complaining when it is all for the sake of safety.

Exit Seat Pitch

There was not a delay in pushing off and taking off. The flight was up to standard protocols. I also must say that the take-off was smooth as silk! Compared to some domestic flights I had taken in USA, the take-off could be given a A grade.

The weather also greeted us with delight and sent us a beautiful sunrise postcard that morning.

View from the windows..

No In-flight Entertainment Console: Pack your gadgets!

There is no in-flight entertainment console on all Jetstar Flights. Like all budget airlines, removing of these little add-on brings savings to the flight fare.

Do pack your iPad which you can use it in the air using airplane mode to keep yourself entertained. I am not all that bothered as I don’t really watch movies or play games on board. I usually prefers to sleep all my way to the destination.

You can also pick up their Jetstar Magazine to read. They have pretty good insights on travel tips on the flight’s destination which you can do a little last minute travel planning.

Menu, Safety Cards and Magazines

Review on In-flight food menu

Jetstar does offer meals for purchase on board. There will usually be 4 options for one to choose and their menu changes seasonally.

Jetstar Menu (Seasonal)

Jetstar also offer combo deals — meals with drinks included.

Jetstar Menu (Combo Deal)

I ordered Udon Noodles with a drink. It came packaged with a white lid box and the package was pretty hot (temperature hot!).

Jetstar In-flight Food – White

Unlike regular flights where the meals came with some aluminum foil covering, this lid-style packaging is pretty sturdy and plus points for presentation.

In-flight Food – Udon Noodles

Udon Noodles

The smell of the stir-fried udon noodles came rushing to the nose when the lid came off. At first glance, the crystal shrimps gave the overall meal a nice colour contrast to the udon noodles and really grabs your attention.

Taste wise, sadly; the udon was soggy. There wasn’t a bite to the udon noodles and the gluten in the noodles were totally mushed up what was left were just over-cooked strips of carbo soaked in sauce and water.

The shrimps on the other hand were plump and crunchy (despite the size). I guessed that the shrimps were just boiled separated before sitting prettily on top of the noodles.

The vegetables were most capsicums, and although brought a nice refreshment to soggy udon taste, it was, however, soft and mushy too.

Udon Noodles

Tiffany ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala and it came in a box with blue lid.

Jetstar In-flight Food (Blue)

Jetstar In-flight Food — Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala

Unlike the udon noodles, I will ask for a second helping of this.

While the curry was slightly spicy to me (i have low tolerance to spicy hot foods), the dish was tasty. The briyani rice although was slightly dry, but the fragrant of the tumeric spice shines through. The cucumber archar brought a nice sour and crunchy kick to the overly soft carrot/potato mushy curry, but the savoury and saucy curry compliments well with the dry pulpy rice.

Sauce over dry rice — best combination and that definitely can convince your mind to ignore the mushy carrots.

Tikka Masala

Menu and Actual dish comparison

Well, I thought to have some fun of it to put side by side the menu picture and the actual thing. The Chicken Tikka Masala is pretty close to the original picture and definitely taste better than udon noodles too.

Comparison Pictures

Portion Sizes were too small!!

Guess what? Both of us girls were still hungry after we were done with the meal and I even offered my chocolate to Tiffany who needed it more than I was. The fact that one portion could not satisfy a girl’s tummy says a lot.

We were given an option to have all 4 dish choices but we thought it would be too much when we saw the pictures in the menu, but in actual fact, the dish was pretty small.

Tea served just before landing?!

We also requested tea to be served and we actually thought initially that it would served alongside our meals. WRONG!

The tea was only served some time before the plane was going to land. Hmm…. We later found out from the flight crew that they serve the tea before landing to help passengers freshen up before arrivals. Interesting concept.

The problem is, we had struggled to finish the extremely hot drink quickly before the plane started to land. I would have preferred to have it a while after my meal and hold that hot drink in the cold air conditioned flight.

Tea during landing

Different menu on returned flight

During our returned flight home to Singapore, our flight was delayed as the plane was supposedly flying in from Osaka and they have terrible weather there resulting in a delay of flight. Also, the menu of the Osaka – Taipei – Singapore flight was different.

There were three options, Teriyaki Beef, creamy chicken with semi-dried tomatoes and mushrooms and a vegetarian option, fried garlic rice with vegetables.

Since Tiffany and I do not eat beef and we were in no mood to have vegetarian, both of us had the chicken instead.

Jetstar In-flight Meal (Blue)

Creamy chicken with semi-dried tomatoes and mushrooms

The creamy chicken was served with a side of potatoes and broccoli. Our return flight was a evening night flight so I don’t mind having this as dinner. The meal has all my favourite food items in it, so naturally, the box was left squeaky clean after I was done.

I don’t really mind the creamy sauce but I think it would be overwhelming if this portion is going to get any bigger. All the vegetables (potatoes and broccoli) were boiled before placing into the box and so did the chicken before it was covered generously in the creamy sauce, so there was nothing much to rave about on the overall taste whatsoever.

Creamy Chicken with semi dried mushrooms and tomatoes

VERDICT 01: Udon Noodles or Chicken Tikka Masala?? => Definitely Chicken Tikka Masala!!!

I have not tried the green curry dish or the chicken rice, so I cannot judge overall which of the four is the best.

VERDICT 02: Is the food value for money?

=> Yes & No.

NO because….
for a portion that small at a price of $11, I feel that is way too expensive. However, it is the standard pricing for something purchased in-flight. I termed it as “in-flight economics” That’s the price you will have to pay for if you really want something to eat.

A smart lady who sat next to us bought tea from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, a subway sandwich and brought it up to the plane in her bag and had that during flight.

That would probably cost her about SGD$10? And way more filling for the tummy.

YES because….
if you want to compare those meal prices to restaurant prices (we Singaporeans are SO SPOILT for choices!!), then two ala-carte meals would be equivalent to one restaurant dining meal. The plus point is you get the best window seat EVER!

HOWEVER, I STILL WILL PURCHASE IT FOR THE EXPERIENCE.

I had once purchase in-flight WIFI on a domestic flight in USA (you can read it here!) just to have the experience of having WIFI on board. Similarly, I will purchase the food and experience eating on board on a budget airline (because it’s common on a full-fare flight).

Watch our Jetstar flight experience!

Do you know?

Qantas and Jetstar have been named the two leading airlines in the Australia-Pacific region in the 2014 Skytrax World Airline Awards. Jetstar Airways was voted Best Low Cost Airline Australia-Pacific for the fourth consecutive year and Jetstar Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said theairline was delighted to once again be recognised by thousands of customers across Australia-Pacific as the region’s leading low fares carrier.

Jetstar Asia (a member of Jetstar Airways) is also Singapore’s top low cost carrier in the 2014 Skytrax World Airline Awards.

Overall flight experience

Besides the one-hour delay at Taoyuan International Airport, the flight from Singapore was on time. The plane was neat and clean and the crew’s service were professional. We did had a little mis-communication with a flight crew on our return flight. I do not know if there was some language barrier or she misunderstood us, it took us awhile before everything was sorted out.
I had also noticed that the Japanese crew were particular about taking photos on board the airplane. Probably due to different national background and cultural differences, taking pictures of them does bring some discomfort.

Although we were known to the crew as bloggers on both, we were not given any special attention like what others may perceive to be. Our experiences are true to what other passengers will likely to have flying with Jetstar.

Thank you Jetstar Asia! 

Not only Tiffany and I have enjoyed ourselves, but we are also glad to have this opportunity to review the food on-board.

Jetstar Flight Crew and I

More stories soon!

*Above flight was kindly sponsored by Jetstar Asia. Please note that although the flight was sponsored, the quality of my review were not compromised.*