One of the worst hit industries as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic is of course the airline industry. Besides charging the few people who fly nowadays an exorbitant amount of money to travel from, what is essentially one quarantine centre to another, airlines have been coming up with somewhat ingenious ways to stay afloat during the downturn.
Take the case of Singapore Airlines who were offering people an A380 dining experience on the ground, or Qantas with their care packs which include first class amenity kits, wines and even first class pyjamas!
No surprise then that other airlines are trying similar things to survive. SriLankan Catering, a subsidiary of SriLankan Airlines, has released a range of heat and eat style meals. They comes frozen in an economy class size plastic tray, and simply need to be heated up in a microwave or oven before being served. As it happens, they’ve started exporting this product to Australia and I picked one up at a nearby spice store.
I tried the so called “Devilled Fish Combo”, with helpings of traditional Sri Lankan green bean curry, a jackfruit cutlet and batter fried fish in a hot sauce, served with vegetable fried rice. I can tell you first hand that this was one of the tastiest frozen meals I had ever had! All the spices used were balanced to perfection and the battered fish was very well done. The tastes were very authentic to the point of transporting me back to Sri Lanka! (I was born there, you see).
When you like food, you get more of it, and after trying the first meal by SriLankan Catering I was eager to try another from their range. The second time I bought the “Sri Lankan Style Fish Stew with Fragrant Yellow Rice”. As with the first meal, this second one tasted awesome too! Once again, spices combined and expertly balanced, with servings of green bean curry again, but this time featuring fried eggplant and a mildly spicy Pangas fish cooked in a yellow curry served with fragrant yellow rice.
Both meals were very tasty and 100% authentic in taste. I do hope this new venture picks up for the airline. My only gripe was that the meal on its own was not enough. You see, on a airplane you get your main course along with a dinner bun, desert, a salad and crackers etc. which is sure to fill you up. Here however you’re left with only the main course, so a slight increase in quantity would be a welcome change. You also need to heat the product for a little longer than what it says on the box (at least in my microwave….. time to get a new one?).
Disclaimer: haye.sh was not compensated in any way for this review by SriLankan Airlines or any other entity.
haye.sh 