By Misa Murohashi
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has been flying direct flights between Seattle and Tokyo (Narita) since 2012. ANA has been awarded the 5-Star rating under the World Airline Star Rating by the UK-based rating organization SKYTRAX for six straight years. Top chefs and sommeliers collaborate on its inflight cuisine. A local Seattle vendor Flying Food Group catering for the flight leaving Seattle, regularly receives awards from ANA’s catering quality control program.
Flying Food Group’s Yoshinori Nishizawa has handled Japanese menus for the Seattle-Tokyo flights since the first flight. He is joined by David Pisegna, who is in charge of the Western menus. Recipes come from ANA’s headquarters in Japan, and the local chefs add a little Seattle essence to them. Veteran Chef Nishizawa has worked in restaurants in Japan as well as Nikko Restaurant, Nishino and Syun locally. His skill puts the Japanese dishes for Seattle-departing flights on par with ones for Tokyo departing flights. You will feel the Japanese “omotenashi – Japanese hospitality” before you land in Japan.
Business class Western cuisine
The appetizer is lobster salad and German pork ham with corn soup. For the main dish, choose from three selections: a surprisingly tender fillet of beef steak with mushroom sauce (above photo), a delicate sautéed Chilean seabass with lemon butter sauce, and vegetarian quiche with broccoli sauce. Desserts are cheese, fruits, and mille-feuille.
Business class Japanese cuisine
The appetizers include a grilled channel rockfish with miso sauce, simmered lobster, grilled leek roll with beef and marinated garland chrysanthemum. Deep fried tofu fishcake is served with Northwest mushroom sauce. Seared bonito sashimi is from Japan.
The main dish features a deliciously fatty Saikyostyle miso grilled sablefish. Try pairing the dish with a wide selection of sake served in flight.
Chef Nishizawa’s favorite grilled saba mackerel with plum sauce is served before landing.
ANA’s Seattle-Tokyo direct flights leave daily. From March 31 through May 31, the NH177-178 planes offer double miles through the ANA Mileage Club (AMC). To join and find out more details about the campaign, check out the ANA website.
