When it comes to dining, Japan Airlines First Class meals are among the best. Especially when leaving Tokyo. Yet, even at outstations I am constantly impressed by JALs dinning options. Always delicious and 100% authentic. Business class meals are great too, but JAL really outdoes themselves with first class meals. Meals are small portions, but a huge quantity. I now always opt for the Japanese option. Yet, even their First Class western meals look great. Today’s photo review is of JAL’s Japanese First class meal from Tokyo NRT to Los Angeles LAX in May 2022.
JAL First Class Japanese Meal
Japan Airlines meals are absolutely delicious and you cannot go wrong with any option. If you specifically want the Japanese meal, I highly suggest pre ordering your meal. You can do this via the manage booking area of JALs website. Passengers in all cabins can find their menu online, available 3 months in advance. Check out the menu on our flight: JAL First Menu. Once when flying JAL First from LAX, I opted for the Western menu. It was good, but not as intricate as the Japanese options.
The Seasonal delicacies melted in my mouth with every bite. From Sea urchin to salmon and abalone, the seafood centric dishes were delicious. My partner and I were both delighted with each dish. The food on my tray table shined bright! An amazing premium cabin meal and great first class catering!
The soup was good, but I did not take a photo of it. As it was just a bowl of soup and I forgot. The next dish did not disappoint. Offering seasonal crab in a vinegar broth and a side of caviar served with cream cheese, turnip and radish with yuzu. The caviar was good, but I prefer the more traditional caviar option. The picture below is the western caviar option provided JFK-NRT.
Already nearly full, we moved on to the last of the main courses. The Wagyu confit & bamboo shoot was heavenly. Melting in my mouth with each nibble. The miso soup, pickles and rice provided excellent accompaniments.
Now full, we pushed through for the light and tasty Japanese desert with a glass of port. The description did not match my expectations, and I likely could not even describe what I was eating. However it was tasty.
Meal service took about 2 hours to finish, which wasn’t bad timing given the number of courses and amount of food.
First Class Snacks
Although my partner and I were not overly hungry, we couldn’t help ordering more food. After all, everything on JAL is usually delicious and we wanted to try everything! We didn’t make it all the way through the snack menus, but we hit a good number of them.
First, the Chocolate. These cholate bars are only available on departing flights from Japan, so we could not pass up the opportunity. The Jean-Paul Hevin was rich but not too sweet. It was perfect.
Next up, Smoke Salmon tortilla roll ups. These were ok. Pretty basic and something I fell like I would whip up at home to take along a hike or something.
We also opted to order a cheese plate. Although not very Japanese, it was good. Not nearly as extensive as Cheese plates on Lufthansa First Class. Yet, it was very similar to what I had on Air France’s business class.
Finally, we ordered the assorted Japanese brochettes. More like skewers, regardless good.
First Class Arrival Meal
With strong tailwinds, just 8.5 hours after leaving Tokyo it was almost time to land. 90 minutes before landing we ordered the pre-arrival meal. Service was on demand and not offered without being ordered. Other guests slept through the pre-arrival meal. However, we wanted to try everything so we pushed through and ordered lunch.
Not being a huge red meat eater, I was wagyu beef out. I did not enjoy this as much as the first meal. Yet again, I was already full from all the other meals I had ate. So a few bites and I was done. This meal was Simmered “Kuroge Wagyu” Beef Ginger Flavor, Boiled Egg with Japanese Peppercorn, Pickled Fruit Tomato
and Green Vegetables. Served with rice, miso soup and Japanese pickles. Once again, my pallet danced with excitement as everything tasted JALtastic. Despite being phenomenal, I could not eat any more. I was beyond full.
Bottom Line
Japan Airlines First class cuisine is amazing. If I could fly just to eat, I would choose Japan Airlines every time. Even on my business class connecting flights to and from South East Asia I was impressed with the service and flavors. JAL brings traditional meals to the sky created by world renown and celebrity chefs. Japan Airlines wins all the accolades in my book and is by far among my favorite dining experiences in the clouds.
I booked this flight as part of a larger luxury trip coordinated via Scott & Thomas Travel. Please consider us for all your luxury travel needs. Just ask for Rocky.
