The menu is as interesting as anything offered in Singapore suites/first, where even bowls of noodle soup you can get at any hawker stand are frequently on offer.
Maybe, it was meant to give you a real taste of Singapore and the food in Singapore is good.
I will absolutely be the only one who digs the old-school IFE.
On First Class, I would expect the quality of food from some of my favorite Indian restaurants like the Indian Accent and Bukhara in Delhi or the Bombay Canteen or Baluchi in Bombay! While this food looks good, it is a far cry from the amazing and exotic gourmet dining that I have experienced during my work travels to India.
Similarly, I do not consider the Arabic mezzeh on EK or the Singaporean noodles on SQ particularly first class.
BTW, I recently had this amazing fish in a restaurant called Aaheli in Calcutta with mustard. Does anyone know the name of the dish and what fish is best in its preparation?
It's called Bhetki Paturi. You can use a freshwater fish like trout but need to source the whole grain kasundi mustard from an Indian supermarket 🙂
Kala jamun is spelled correctly Ben. I flew AI first class from EWR-BOM last week and they had a nicer Ferragamo amenity kit with all the pieces (toothbrush etc.). My flight was on an old Etihad 777. The seat was clean and bathroom was kept spotless. I felt a bit spoiled because they had 3 FAs with 3/8 seats occupied. The FAs were excellent. I used one seat as my bed and another as my workspace (though wifi was only available on 20% of the route). The entertainment system was barely usable.
Still better than my latest flight with them.
Incident 1: On the evening of 11th October 2026, during the boarding process for flight AI 154 at Gate G11 in Vienna Airport, a male gate agent (approximately 6’2” in height with short hair and glasses) demonstrated an absolute lack of professionalism and an antagonistic attitude. The gate area was chaotic, with no clear instructions provided. Rather than assisting passengers, this individual targeted and harassed travelers, specifically singling out Indian passengers. When I approached the desk to ask a simple question, he shouted at me in a highly unprofessional manner: “I’m looking at you. Did we call you? Go back you with the backpack.” His aggressive demeanor was completely unwarranted, and I observed him exhibiting this same hostile behavior repeatedly toward other Indian travelers.
Incident 2: Due to negligence by the ground handling staff in Vienna, the tag on my checked baggage was improperly handled. As a direct result, my bag failed to arrive during the standard offloading window (8:46 AM – 9:12 AM) and was only retrieved at 9:25 AM after I was forced to initiate a formal inquiry. This lack of attention to basic operational procedures reflects poorly on the oversight and standards maintained at overseas stations.
Incident 3: Furthermore, points were recently denied for a recent flight, and my frequent flyer status was downgraded without prior notice or justification, probably to punish me. As if I’d ever fly such a dismal airline. If this is their treatment of customers, I wonder how negligent they are concerning safety. Won’t be surprised if AI management is covering up a series of systemic failures which led to AI 171.