Revealed: I’ve finally found the airline breakfast of champions!

The Flight Detective
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The holy grail for me when flying is happening across a decent breakfast. You can usually rely on the fact that this meal will be the worst one served on board, so I was starting to believe that an actual breakfast of champions did not exist in the air.

Airlines will usually serve something including egg and it’s not usually a nice poached one either. Served ad nauseum are the gruesome twosome of breakfast in the sky, the omelette and the frittata. On the ground, something nice. In the air, the cheapest, most low budget tasteless grey and yellow blobs of doom you ever set eyes upon.

Previous Best Breakfasts

The first thing I ever wrote for Travel Update was “Top 5 Airline Breakfast Meals” all the way back in May 2016. Number one was this breakfast served by British Airways on a flight from New York to London City on the Airbus A318 back in 2015.

That sticks in my memory as it was utterly delicious. On the other hand, the more humble Aer Lingus Irish Breakfast also continues to excel, mainly because it includes no egg whatsoever.

The Breakfast of Champions

Recently I took an overnight flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney on Malaysia Airlines. For breakfast, everyone received a smoothie, fruit, danish and yogurt to start. However, it is the main course I selected that truly wowed me. When I asked for it, the crew member asked me to repeat myself and then smiled with pleasure when she realised she’d heard me correctly.

Malaysian Nasi Lemak, billed as “fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaves, served with chicken randang (chicken stewed in coconut and spices), prawn sambal (spicy chilli paste) and other traditional accompaniments”, sounded good to me and it was! Utterly stunning, a real treat for my taste buds which were dancing with happiness. New number one, I think!

Overall Thoughts

Get yourself on board Malaysia Airlines in business class. Select the Nasi Lemak for breakfast. Thank me later! Easily the nicest and most delicious breakfast I have had on a flight in a long time.

Is it the GOAT of airline breakfasts? Quite probably. I know it’s a meal that can be had at any time of the day, but it’s certainly a stand out for breakfast.

Have you had the Nasi Lemak on Malaysia Airlines? What, in your opinion, is the best airline breakfast you’ve ever had? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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5 comments
  1. Now you have a reason to return to KL and Malaysia: to find the best Nasi Lemak on the ground itself! It is a national dish besides Satay and Bak Kut Teh.

  2. I hadn’t really thought about this but it’s a good idea. My wife really doesn’t like eggs so having this or similar dishes as a viable breakfast option sounds like a great idea.

    1. I don’t mind eggs – I’ve found poached eggs are really quite nice for breakfast when flying – but otherwise all the rest are pretty bad. It was a nice surprise this one!

  3. I ordered the Nasi Lemak on Singapore Airlines. I think you should warn readers who are not accustomed to the level of spices in dishes from the region that trying them for the first time while stuck on a plane might not be the best idea. My palate is on the more heat-sensitive side, and my mouth and lips were on fire for the rest of the flight.

    1. I tend to be able to tolerate quite a bit of spice, so I found this to be really pleasant and not too much at all. However, I have friends who can’t deal with even the slightest bit of spice, so they probably would find Nasi Lemak a bit of a challenge. Thanks for making the point, I appreciate it!

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