Food and travel go together like salt and pepper — one without the other renders any of the two useless. For foodies, travelling enables their palates to taste the many flavours of the world while for travellers, seeing the world means tasting the world with every step they take. See the resemblance? I thought so too.
Talk to anyone who is abroad, and one of the many things they will say that they miss is the food. Oftentimes, look into their bags and you’ll see a plethora of home-grown favourites ready at their disposal. So, when AirAsia launched their Santan in-flight local cuisine meals, it was like you have never left home…at all.
Unified in its promise of delivering exemplary travel service, AirAsia delivers a high altitude dining experience within a setting that is truly and magnificently one-of-a-kind – thousands of feet up in the air. Likened to be as good as restaurant food, it’s not just in-flight food anymore. Santan introduces a gourmet in-flight dining experience like no other.
Fresh and savoury with modern sensibility. No need to imagine; all you need is to pre-book your in-flight meals and you are all set. Now, that’s one high dining experience like no other. Literally and figuratively.
The recently concluded and first ever AirAsia Santan Food Festival held last 22 May 2017 at the AirAsia RedQ office at Sepang, Malaysia proved to be both about travelling and of course, food. Known as Asia’s favourite low-cost airline, AirAsia’s plethora of in-flight menu is reflective of their love for travel and food under one roof.
AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes expressed, “Food is a great unifying factor across the region. What we are doing is bringing the wonderful flavours of ASEAN into Santan to create a unique food experience, with the vision of replicating the on-ground gourmet experience onboard.”
The first ever Santan Food Festival was well-attended and well received. To say the least, it was an honour to be part of Team Philippines (and be one of two to represent Team Davao) and to be in the same room with those beautiful people.
Over 200+ social media key influencers and media practitioners flocked and convened under one red roof – one of the most awe-inspiring offices I have been to, I might add. Attendees were from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Brunei, India, China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. The diversity was beautiful; you’d love every beat of language spoken from all around.
A Santan card was handed to all attendees and served as passes in order to taste the delectable in-flight dishes on their Santan menu. Attendees basically took part in the food tasting (which was,by the way, so fulfilling), entertained by AirAsia X cabin crew and Youtube sensation, Assraf Nasir and took part in an interactive chat session with AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, AirAsia Berhad & Group Executive Chariman Datuk Kamarudin Meranun and AirAsia Group Head of Ancilliary Revenue Choudhury Hassan Peter at the RedQ Atrium.
AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes added, “We are also exploring the use of green packaging and inflight coffee trolleys to enable us to serve freshly brewed premium coffee onboard, and we will continue working with local ASEAN enterprises and farmers in developing F&B products.”
Aside from the socialization, the Santan Food Festival also had a cooking demo with AirAsia Regional Manager of Group Inflight F&B Chef Calvin Soo. Being me, I volunteered and represented the Philippines. At first, I thought I was volunteering as a Sous Chef but no, I ended up cooking the Thai Green Curry on my own (with Chef Calvin’s instructions, that is). Was it fun? Of course. My love for cooking was ignited. It was so much fun to mann the kitchen and cook again in front of a large crowd. #LakingCACS
Despite the tight schedule, I would gladly do it again. The experience alone is beyond surreal. Meeting new people and interacting with them is not an everyday occurrence. So, yes, I would gladly do it again. Thank you, AirAsia and Prworks!
Santan is coconut cream in Malaysian and is a staple in their dishes hence the name.
AirAsia RedQ is very spacious, open and has a cheerful vibe. There are cafes, a salad bar, and a local buffet available.It has been said that on the rooftop, space for yoga and Zumba classes. At RedQ, you’d enjoy working so much that you’d never want to leave.
AirAsia won the World’s Leading Inflight Service at the World Travel Awards Grand Finals last December 2016. Also, honoured with the Catering Innovation of the Year award by Onboard Hospitality (earlier last year).
For the latest on AirAsia and the AirAsia Santan journey, follow them through their social media accounts. Twitter @AirAsia and Facebook @AirAsia.
