Book-The-Cook meal reviews

One of my favourite parts of flying Singapore Airlines premium cabins is their Book-The-Cook (BTC) service – getting to select a restaurant class meal before you fly, entirely separate to the standard options available on-board. As *that* person who scrutinises the menu weeks (months?) before visiting any restaurant or cafe, I’m a big fan of the BTC service but the meals can be a bit hit and miss.

Different routes have different options, so do check before you fly but typically the selection spans Western, Singaporean, Indian, Malaysian, vegetarian, and a healthy / wholesome category. The hardest part is choosing – and wanting to make sure it’s a good choice otherwise you’ve wasted a fine dining experience in the sky! Follow along for a growing list of BTC reviews…

(NB: Singapore Airlines seems to be changing up its BTC options more often lately, so you may see meals below no longer offered on that route).

Jump to ⬇️

1. Grilled Beef with Green Peppercorn Sauce
2. Singapore style fried carrot cake
3. Lobster thermidor
4. Roasted Lamb Chop with Herb Crust
5. Nasi Lemak

Grilled Beef with Green Peppercorn Sauce

Melbourne – Singapore (MEL-SIN)

Grilled beef in green peppercorn sauce with seasonal vegetables and roasted potatoes.

⭐⭐/5 stars

A well cooked steak seems to be incredibly hard for airlines to nail (comment and let me know of any good ones you’ve had) – and unfortunately, this was no exception. It was overcooked and dry, and could have done with a thicker gravy to mitigate the resultant chewiness. Taste wise, however, the steak was “steaky” enough and held up well to the accompanying Teusner Shiraz!

The broccolini was also a little floppy, as were the roasted potatoes but it’s hard to go wrong with anything potato.

Overall, I probably wouldn’t choose this again (given how many delicious BTC options there are to choose from), unless you’re really craving a steak.

See also: entire flight review

Singapore style fried carrot cake

Singapore – Da Nang (SIN-DAD)

Soft and starchy radish cake, balanced with the rich, hearty flavor of eggs, the savory hint of prawns, all contrasted by the distinctive salty-sweet tang of pickled turnip. Whether served for breakfast or as a snack throughout the day, Singapore Style Fried Carrot Cake is a testament to Singapore’s rich, multicultural culinary heritage.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars

This was a real treat, indulging in such a substantial meal on the short 2.5 hour hop from Singapore to Da Nang (after filling up on laksa, fries, and dumplings in the SilverKris Changi lounge…). For the short flight, meals were served with entree, main and dessert all on the one tray – which is why you’ll see the smoked salmon salad and cake above.

This dish of fried carrot cake, known as “chye tow kueh”, has actually nothing to do with carrots at all – it is a savory dish made of steamed radish/turnip cake cubes and stir-fried with eggs and seasonings. It’s one of my favourite local Singaporean dishes you can find in almost any hawker centre.

The BTC rendition of this was fantastic – the radish cakes were soft and bouncy, and there was a generous amount of prawns and egg stirred through. It had a decent amount of “hei” for a mass produced airline meal, although it could have been a bit more saucy and ideally accompanied by some chilli sauce on the side. Small details! I did appreciate the fresh spring onion on top – a touch that would have been easy to forgo for an airline meal service.

Overall, I would definitely choose this again…and maybe BYO chilli sauce!

Lobster thermidor

Melbourne – Singapore (MEL-SIN)

A classic French dish, where the lobster meat is cooked in a rich cream sauce, enhanced with Cognac and Dijon mustard, with the addition of button mushrooms and herbs fine, the Lobster is returned to the shell, topped off with grated cheddar cheese, and finished off to create an oven-browned cheese crust.

(Only available on flights with flight time of more than 3.5 hours)

⭐/5 stars

I really, really wanted to like this. I mean, how often do you get to have a lobster meal on the plane, prepared, plated and served to your seat? (Yes I qualified this just in case any of you out there like to BYO lobster).

Where to begin. As with any lobster thermidor, the lobster meat is cooked in a cream sauce, popped back in the shell, covered with cheese and grilled in the oven to create a cheesy crust. This rendition was also supposedly “enhanced with Cognac and Dijon mustard, with the addition of button mushrooms and herbs”. Amidst all of that circus, the lobster lost all of its naturally delicious lobstery flavour and ended up with BOTH the taste and mouth feel of mouldy parmesan cheese (not real parmesan cheese, the powdered one that comes in a green canister and smells like the sticky floor of a pokies pub. You know the one.) It was actually quite inedible and I ended up just eating all the vegetables – which were tasty and once again, you can’t really go wrong with potato.

Very disappointing – had to order it for novelty factor but won’t be ordering that one again!

Roasted Lamb Chop with Herb Crust

Singapore – Melbourne (SIN-MEL)

Tender lamb chops are seared and covered with an aromatic herb crust. Baked to perfection, the lamb chops are then served with a light and fragrant rosemary flavored lamb gravy, selected seasonal vegetables and mashed potatoes infused with garlic confit.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars

This is the second lamb chop/rack I’ve had on Singapore Airlines and they seem to be able to nail the cooking of their lamb (but not their steak). The lamb was very tasty and juicy, with a delicious herb crust that somehow retained its crunch. The gravy was thick and very “lamby”, pairing perfectly with scoops of the garlicky mash. There were also pieces of pumpkin and squash on the side which helped (somewhat) to cut through the richness of the lamb and mash. I would have opted for something more crunchy – like green beans – for a more textural element but these have probably not held up well in the plane steamer!

Side note: think about your flight times and when you might be having your meal when considering your BTC selection…this was on the Singapore to Melbourne overnight sleeper service and I opted to have my meal for breakfast before landing. In retrospect, having a huge meal of fatty lamb and rich creamy mash first thing in the morning was not a good idea and I’m guilty to say I didn’t get through too much of it before waving the white flag. Out of respect to the lamby I did eat as much of it as I could but couldn’t finish everything – if only airlines gave you a doggy bag.

Would definitely order this again – but for a day time flight, which would also mean I’d feel more inclined to pair it with a tasty red for the full experience!

Nasi Lemak

Singapore – Melbourne (SIN-MEL)

Fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk, accompanied by spicy sambal prawns, fried chicken, fried anchovies with peanuts, an omelette wedge, and grilled fish cakes (otah).

⭐⭐⭐/5 stars

Ah Nasi Lemak…is there a more iconic Malaysian dish? The core components are the coconut rice, sambal, ikan bilis (fried anchovies), cucumber slices and an egg (usually hard boiled, but you’ll find many iterations of this). More beefed up (pun intended) versions will then add different meat options such as beef rendang, curry chicken, fried chicken, squid etc.

On Singapore Airlines BTC, you’ll find the nasi lemak variation involves a fried omelette square (presumably as it’s far easier for commercial catering), a fried chicken drumstick and otah (a grilled fish cake). The thin omelette and otah were tasty enough, and the sambal a nice level of spicy. The fried chicken didn’t really work – I don’t know how Singapore Airlines thinks they’re able to pull of a crispy fried chicken piece in the air but brave of them for trying! Perhaps a nice juicy chicken curry would be a better option…same goes for the ikan bilis – although this is a must have so slightly chewy and not optimally crisp it is. The coconut rice was ok, not dry but could have been more coconutty.

Overall, an ok choice – particularly if you’re on a Sleeper Service flight and want something hot and familiar for breakfast. But temper your expectations if you’re dreaming of a hawker style nasi lemak you’d find on the ground in Malaysia or Singapore!