Flying high on a journey through Thai gastronomy

Thai food ranks among the best cuisine in the world with such dishes as tom yum goong, Massaman curry, somtam and Panang curry, which, the last dish was recently voted the world’s best curry by TasteAtlas. But while all these are delicious, the country offers many more tastes to discover.

The taste and ingredients of Thai food vary from region to region and are characterised by geographic and deep-rooted cultures and ethnicities that date back many centuries.

Given the wide range of backgrounds and the diverse history of Thai dishes, Thai Airways International (THAI) has been teasing the taste buds of its Royal First and Royal Silk passengers with its exclusive inflight menu “Taste of Thai Tales” on its flights to Europe, Australia, and Japan since July.

The menus are curated by well-known chef Duangporn “Bo” Songvisava, owner of the Food Trust BKK and Bo.Lan, voted one of the best restaurants in Asia by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy.

Inspired by Thai culinary culture, the star chef of Netflix's “Chef’s Table” season 5 and Asia’s Best Female Chef of 2013, wanted to enhance passengers’ inflight experiences through the six Ayatana senses: sight, taste, smell, hearing, touch, and feel.

Bo focuses on using local produce as the main ingredients of the meal and spices it up by adding an international touch to each dish.

All Day Dining

The Roll series:

• Thai-Northern Curry Sausage in a Sweet Potato Bun, topped with sauerkraut, pickled ginger, and crispy pork crackling

• Meatball with Spicy Tamarind Sauce in a Sweet Potato Bun, topped with pickled cucumber, shredded cabbage, and semi-dried tomatoes

• Grilled Honey Pork with Holy Basil and Chilli in a Sweet Potato Bun, topped with a soft-boiled egg and fried chilli

• Chicken Satay in a Sweet Potato Bun with shredded cabbage, pickled cucumber, and green chilli

The Pie series:

• “Hung Lay” Pork Curry Pie with a pickled garlic and ginger skewer

• “Khao Soi” Chicken Pie with pickled cabbage, lime wedge, and chilli oil

The Main dishes: (starting in 2024)

• Lamb Cutlets in Red Curry with Green Banana, served with Thai jasmine rice, five-spice braised soft-boiled egg, stir-fried green beans, and Thai grilled sweetcorn

• Prawns in Red Curry with Pineapple (Gaeng Khua), served with Thai jasmine rice, Thai turnip omelette, and stir-fried aubergines with sweet basil

The Ochazuke Breakfast series:

• Thai jasmine rice in “Tom Nok Mhor” style soup with smoked fish

• Thai jasmine rice in “Tom Klong” style soup with smoked fish and Thai herbs

• Tapioca pearls in clear soup with young coconut and Thai basil, topped with shredded chicken, poached tiger prawns, and onsen egg.

The Heritage series:

• Thai Rice Vermicelli Noodles with Prawn and Peanut Sauce (Sen-Mee Nahm Prik).

Despite the challenges in serving these dishes in the air, the taste and flavour are as authentic as possible on both inbound and outbound flights. The quality, consistency and precision are controlled by Thai Catering Chef Suchat Nanta, who takes his work so seriously that he sometimes flies to the destinations where these inflight meals are being prepared to ensure a true Thai flavour for TG passengers.