My recent trip to the –stans included a 189-mile flight on Uzbekistan Airways from Tashkent to Dushanbe. Though only 45 minutes, a full breakfast was served and is the subject of this week’s Meal of the Week.
The flight departed at 7:30a, prime time for breakfast, but I was skeptical about what kind of meal would be served. First, Uzbekistan Airways is not your typical “Asian” carrier. Not that ex-Soviet carriers necessarily skimp on food, but I was skeptical.
Second, the ground experience in Tashkent is superb, with the VIP terminal providing a great selection of food and drink prior to the flight. I thought Uzbekistan Airways might reason that business class passengers have access to a meal on the ground so there is no reason to provide anything more than a light snack in the air.
But I guessed wrong: a four-course breakfast with bread was presented after takeoff. The tray included two crêpes: one with beef and mushroom inside and the other with ricotta cheese. A salad of cucumbers and tomatoes, chocolate dessert, and whole nectarine were also included with a bread roll, cheese spread, and butter.
I thought the crepes were very tasty and it was nice to have fresh raw fruits and vegetables with breakfast. The only disappointment was the bread, which was stale and cold. And the “processed cheese”…
That’s a hearty breakfast for such a short flight. In fact, I barely had time to finish it before trays were collected for landing.
The even more remarkable thing? It appears the same breakfast was served to economy class passengers, except on plastic.
Not bad.
Looks pretty good, but it seems kind of odd for breakfast with the beef/mushroom crepe, salad and chocolate cake. I would expect this more for lunch or dinner. I’m curious, is it common in Uzbekistan to have beef with breakfast, or to have cake and salad?
Is beef for breakfast really that unusual, though? Steak and eggs is still a staple in many parts of the USA.
Why can’t airlines in “America First” have this kind of service? I am sick and tired of the cr@p service on US carriers !