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One Singaporean man took issue with the food served on his Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight, describing it as worse than the food he ate during his National Service stint.

Anderson Soh took to Facebook to air his grievances about the meal.

Compared food to those on budget airlines

In a post that has since been deleted, Soh shared that he was on an SIA flight from Singapore to Bangkok on Apr. 30.

He described the meal of pasta he ate as "damn disgusting", and compared it to meals onboard budget airlines.

Soh said he was "very disappointed" and claimed that there was a huge difference between the meal he just had and the meals he had eaten before the pandemic.

Soh told STOMP that the meal included a "miserable" portion of pasta, which tasted "horrible", and a mini tub of Udders ice cream.

Instead of pasta, the other option was Thai vermicelli, and Soh did not get to choose the flavour of ice cream as well. He also noted that there was "no more fruit, bun, cake or dessert".

In a comment on his post, Soh also opined that "army food tasted better", STOMP reported.

In contrast, Soh felt that the meal of laksa on his return flight from Bangkok to Singapore was "delicious".

Soh shared that he later provided feedback about the first meal to SIA via a survey sent to his email.

New meal concept

In response to Mothership's queries, an SIA spokesperson shared that the meal was part of its new regional economy class meal concept for short-haul flights, which was launched in December 2020.

The meal concept includes a main dish and dessert, and "provides our customers with a greater variety of local Singaporean and international favourites using sustainable tableware".

Although the meal packaging is different, SIA maintained that the quantity of food remains the same.

"SIA did not compromise on the amount and quality of the food in the new meal concept. We have swapped the traditional casserole for a paper box that holds the same quantity of food but is much deeper."

"That way, our chefs have been able to introduce a greater variety of dishes to the menu including a wide range of Singaporean favourites such as congee, laksa, and gravy-rich mee siam that were previously not available in Economy Class," the spokesperson added.

The new meal concept also supports SIA's effort to become more sustainable — the paper used in the main course box and cup are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, and bamboo cutlery is provided.

This reduces the airline's usage of single-use plastics.

The spokesperson shared that the paperware also weighs 50 per cent less than before, lowering fuel consumption and carbon emissions.

The waste is then brought back to Singapore and fed into an eco-digester, where it is converted into alternative fuel pellets.

"We thank our customers for their feedback, and we would like to reassure them that we remain committed to providing an enhanced experience when they travel with SIA," the spokesperson said.

Top photo from STOMP