Restaurants strap on wings

Bangkok Airways has teamed up with The Pavilions, Phuket to introduce a special onboard menu created exclusively for Blue Ribbon Class (Business Class) fliers. "Exclusive Chef in the Sky by Bangkok Airways" features four special menus by Pavilions chef Alec Lomas - minced chicken and aubergine in Japanese-inspired curry over udon noodles, kai ping with smoky eggplant salad, khao phad kung tom yum, and grilled chicken in gochujang barbecue sauce "bento" style.

"Service is what we always emphasise as we are a full-service airline," says ML Nandhika Varavarn, Bangkok Airways' VP for Corporate Communications. "We look at all details for every customer's touch points, from reservation, check-in, departure lounge for all cabin classes and onboard catering. To add some flavours and to further highlight our passengers' 'boutique' experience, we created a special menu of the month to be served onboard in our Blue Ribbon class. From September to October, the menu is from The Pavilions, Phuket, specially selected by chef Alec Lomas. This is to be served on Bangkok-Samui, Bangkok-Phnom Penh, Bangkok-Maldives and Bangkok-Mumbai routes."

Chef Lomas is relishing the partnership.

"Both our companies are small, boutique-style operations and we are thrilled to be associated with Bangkok Airways, with whom we share a similar philosophy, nurturing our customers and providing a personalised service to help guests discover a taste of Thailand," said Lomas, of The Pavilions, Phuket, a member of Relais & Chateaux.

"Dishes like kai ping with smoky eggplant really represent the taste of Thailand. It is also one of my personal favourites because you can eat kai ping on the street in Thailand. Our guests at the hotel also recommended this dish, so I decided to add it to the menu."

Creating new menus for the boutique airline has also been a bit challenging for the chef. Thai food is well known for its colourful looks and fiery flavours, but not all passengers can handle the heat.

"When we think of Bangkok Airways, we think of a colourful airline, so I have created colourful dishes. But I had to tone down the spices a bit," said Lomas. "I also had to think of the ingredients and the textures of the food in these menus because they have to be reheated in the plane. I have to think of ingredients that will not change when they are reheated."

The six-month campaign is split into three periods of two months and features dishes from the Greyhound Caf? from July to August, followed by The Pavilions, Phuket from September to October and ending with Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai hotel from November to December.