Local celebrity chef Chef Wan recently teamed up with award-winning airline Qatar Airways to launch a new Business Class menu that showcases the best of Malaysian flavours.

From July 2022 onwards, the indulgent menu of locally-inspired meals will be available for all Business Class passengers departing from Kuala Lumpur for Doha.  

Qatar Airways celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and as the winner of Skytrax World’s Best Business Class Onboard Catering 2021, the airline continues to evolve its onboard meal offerings with exciting culinary collaborations with celebrity chefs and dining establishments worldwide. 

As travel restrictions ease, the national carrier of the State of Qatar continues to rebuild its network, which currently stands at over 15 0 destinations. With more frequencies being added to key hubs, Qatar Airways offers unrivalled connectivity to passengers, making it easy for them to change their travel dates or destination if they need to.  

Qatar Airways Vice President of Catering Services, Mr Shashank Bhardwaj, said, “As the only airline in the world to have won the prestigious Skytrax Airline of the Year six times, Qatar Airways is committed to providing the best inflight experience. Ensuring our inflight meals are memorable is definitely a key focus, and it’s especially important for a country with a rich food heritage like Malaysia. We are thrilled to collaborate with Malaysia’s culinary pride and joy, Chef Wan, as having his signature dishes available onboard our Business Class is definitely another great reason to fly with Qatar Airways.”  

Chef Wan’s menu features classic Malay cooking techniques learned from his grandmother with a focus on traditional Malaysian and Peranakan flavours. 

The menu includes a trio of tantalizing starters that are sure to whet the appetite before a long flight. This includes poached prawns and mango salad with glass noodles, featuring ginger flower, spring onions, and lime cheek that add a refreshing twist to the dish.

As Chef Wan wishes to highlight Malaysian fruits and vegetables to travelers, there’s also the Duo Pomelo salad with lime and chili dressing that comes with a tasty prawn cracker, cherry tomato, and sesame. The third appetizer is a delightful seared scallop and tuna with papaya salad with cucumber noodles, pineapple, and malinja cracker.

The soup course begins with Chef Wan’s version of oxtail soup, a savoury and rich broth served with blanched vegetables and fried shallots. This is followed by a spicy and delicious nyonya curry laksa, an exclusive heritage recipe passed down through different generations of Chef Wan’s family. 

For the main course, passengers can choose between charcoal-grilled fish fillet with spicy Portuguese sauce, paired with l emuni rice, okra and chili padi, l amb kuzi served with Terengganu style rice, cashew nut and acah buah, or c hicken percik with lemon rice pilaf that comes with pajeri nenas and percik sauce. All of these main courses are testaments to the different flavours and ingredients that are frequently used in various Malaysian states. 

For the dessert of ‘Sweet Platter’, Malaysia’s favourite treat of “Goreng Pisang” is given a modern twist as Deep Fried Caramel Bananas, served with Mango Creme Brulee. 

Chef Wan said, “Working with Qatar Airways is an honour as it means working with the world’s best airline. The airline’s commitment to serving high-quality food is unparalleled, evident from the multiple awards Qatar Airways has received. We have taken great care to present Malaysian cuisine on a global platform, and I hope the dishes will give passengers a lasting memory of Malaysia. I’m also glad to have the chance to pay homage to traditional Malaysian cuisine and share the Malaysian food culture that I hold so dear to my heart with international travellers through the world’s best airline.”  

Find out more about Qatar Airways Business Class experience here.

(All images: Qatar Airways )

This story first appeared on PrestigeOnline Malaysia

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