Saturday, June 13, 2009

Trader Vic's on United

Shredded Chicken in Thai Green Curry Sauce, Jasmine Rice, and Roasted Mushroom and Vegetable Medley

Crap. Had I known ahead of time that United would be serving something that I actually wanted to eat, I might not have eaten that bowl of rice earlier at the airport. Today United was serving a couple of dishes from Trader Vic's, a pseudo-Polynesian place from California that I had never eaten at before. Granted, I never really had any huge desire to go to the restaurant in the first place, but if they were serving in on the plane then I figured that I might as well taste it.

My choice was this shredded chicken in a Thai green curry sauce. Living so close to Thailand, I hesitated in getting this from a "Polynesian" place that I suspected would butcher its authenticity. But I ended up really liking this, precisely because they altered it a bit. It was far more rich and creamy than I was expecting...in a good way, and I shoveled the entire thing immediately into my belly, even though I wasn't the slightest bit hungry.

So yeah, that was a pleasant surprise. Between this and Charlie Trotter, it was great to see United mixing their menu up a bit, and I hope they continue to do more. But I was also surprised to find them still using the old business class seats all the way through this run to the US. I guess the 777's that they use on the Japan routes are generally not high on their priority list for refurbishments?

2 comments:

Mike said...

United's 777 refurb was delayed b/c they are also putting in new coach seats with a Video-on-Demand system.

Supposedly they'll start installing the new biz seats in August/Sept.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for educating sir, but the one big hold out I have is Tai food. espessially green suace. The few times I have eaten it, it is overbearingly hot ( and I am ok with hot ( spicy) food. When the insides of my ears burn, that is too hot for me.) Have I just been to the wrong places?
Tom