Airline Meal Review: Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian

Last week I went to Lima, Peru.

It was a 36-hour flight from Jakarta, with 5 hours transit in Amsterdam.

We flew with KLM, and what I am always concerned with when having intercontinental flights is the meal.

All standard airline meals might have pork. Some slices could line up nicely beside your omelette. Or maybe chopped and stuffed inside with the mushrooms.

Pork is strictly prohibited in Muslim dietary rules. Airlines, thoughtfully, do have a solution to various kinds of religious preference. They have Muslim, Kosher, and Hindu meal. Sadly enough, Muslim meals are mostly (if not always) Indian curry.

For me, the taste and aroma are just too strong. I'm not saying they're bad. In fact, the world's famous rendang I'm crazy about is a variation-slash-derivative of Indian meat curry. But the original Indian curry is just too strong.

Airlines from the Arabians have all their foods halal (of course!) so I don't have to worry. I like Emirates. That's the only one I've ever flown with and I liked their meals. Never tried Qatar or Etihad or Saudi Arabian yet. I wish Emirates could open many new routes.

Garuda Indonesia and Malaysia Airlines also serve all-halal meals. Garuda is always my first preference. Food and service is always exceptional. Better price, too.

If you want halal meals, Vegetarian Lacto-Ovo can be an option.

I've had quite a process before finally took the VLML. I searched all special meals they have on board. Here's what I found:

- Children meals: no.

- Vegetarian meals: okay. As I said before, this can be an option. I'm not a veg, but this clearly won't have pork or any other meat. So I don't have to worry if it's halal or not, and zabihah or not. Let's save this one.

Oh. Zabihah means properly slaughtered according to Islamic rules. Very much the same as schechitah in Jewish rules. The only difference? Well, the person must be a Muslim, and he must pronounce "Bismillahi Allahu akbar" (In the name of Allah, Allah is the Greatest) while performing it.

- Medical diets: Diabetic; Low-calorie; Low-salt; Gluten intolerant; Lactose intolerant. Hmm, nope. I need high calories for this super long journey  xD  And, they might still contain pork, too.

- Religious: Halal; Kosher; Hindu.

Okay this is it.

Halal must be Indian curry. So that's a no :)

Kosher, I'd love to try them. Jewish meal rules are very similar to Muslim's, and theirs should be more traditional (=restricted) than us, so it should be fine.

But I'm afraid the meat are not zabihah. I wouldn't know if they pronounced "Bismillahi Allahu akbar" in Hebrew or not. (Hey, we have the same God. It's just the language.)

And they don't eat shellfish, shrimp, clams, oysters, so my options will be even more limited. I guess I'll try it next time when I'm on the ground. I want a nice first experience :)

Hindu leaves out beef or pork. This sould be fine, too, but I guess it will taste like Indian curry as well. So, I'll skip :)

- Peanuts and nut allergies. Why, no! I love them!

Okay that's all, so we have only Vegetarian left.

We have three choices:

1.  Lacto-ovo vegetarian meal: no meat, meat products or seafood. Contains dairy products, eggs, vegetables --> Sounds great. I don't have to be worried about halal/not, or zabihah/not. And I love eggs and milk.

2.  Asian vegetarian meal: spicy vegetarian combinations with limited use of dairy products. --> Hmm I guess not. They might use sake or wine or any other alcoholics, which are also not halal. And I don't think their "spicy" standard is the same as mine. It might turned out weird, or a bit sweet, which I will regret for the next 36 hours. I guess not this time. Besides, I want the milk.

3.  Vegetarian vegan meal: no animal products, eggs or dairy products. --> Aw, no. Too dry. I need some energy!

So finally I chose the Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian Meal (VLML).

I ordered the meal 5 days before flight. If you want to have special meals, make sure you order them at least 2 days before, because orders are closed 24 hours before departure.

So here's what they look like.


Jakarta to Amsterdam (Garuda Indonesia)

All foods in Garuda Indonesia is halal, so actually you don't need to order a special Muslim meal.

We had lasagna with omelette inside. Mushroom, tomato, green peas, carrots, and corns. There's bread, but no salads. Yoghurt on top right.

The lasagna and omelette was fluffy big and very fulfilling  xD

Fruit selection is modest. Watermelon, pineapple, and green melon.

This yoghurt Bio Kul is my favourite. So glad they served it on board. It's not too sour and tastes good.

My husband's got a yogurt, too. He didn't order special meals and went for the standard one. They gave him a red Yummy Yoghurt. I thought, what's the difference?

So I looked at the ingredients and found out his yoghurt has been added with extra strawberry sauce, cow's gelatin (halal), two types of stabilisers, milk protein, and natural food colouring. Wow. Seems like mine is healthier, lol :)))

There's this one lecture in Child Nutrition and Cooking at Coursera that I always remember. (it's such a great course that changes the way we see our food today)

The longer the ingredients list, and the more words you can't understand, the less healthier it would be.

Never have I been the same consumer as I was before. Those words has become the number one thing I always remember when picking anything off the shelves! Thanks, Maya!

Okay back to meals.

In the morning they served sandwiches. All veggies.

No second meal because we departed at 9pm, and arrived at 6 am. Everyone was asleep.

Okay so that's VLML from Garuda Indonesia. Fulfilling as always.


Amsterdam to Lima (KLM)

There were two mealtimes on board. This is the second meal.

Ravioli verdura salsa, mixed salad, fruits, and bread.

Here's a close-up of the ravioli.

Bread and butter.

The ravioli tastes surprisingly good. Especially because it's still warm. I was always the first to get the meal, and that makes me feel like a priority :)))

But the bread got as hard as a piece of wood when it comes in contact with air. I tried biting it off. Couldn't eat it. I knocked it against the tray table, and it sounded... like a piece wood :))) oh well...

Then comes the salad. Just a normal mixed salad. The dressing is very very sour.

Fruit selection is great. There's sweet orange, green apples, pineaples. All tastes really really nice.

I love the tiny size of the mineral water. I took some of them with me. They'll keep me hydrated while exploring around the city.

For snacks, there's an ice cream. Tastes good.

And bread with cheese and honey-mustard sauce. Tastes good, too.

For the airline standard meal they have bread with chicken and onion mayo.

But... But the bread was there! I swear!



Lima to Amsterdam (KLM)

There were 2 meals on board.

At the first mealtime, they served rice. With mushrooms and green peas and, oh God it's like a miracle that they have rice! I ate them right away I didn't take photos! My Asian tummy has been severely deprived of our primary staple for 5 days. :)))

The next part will be full of photos, I promise, so don't worry :)

The second mealtime. Here it is.

I don't know what it is, but it tastes like lontong (rice cake). Vegetables are represented by 3 slices of cucumber and one slice of tomato.

Orange, pineapple, and green apples. Fruit selection is always very nice in KLM  :)

Strawberry yoghurt. Tastes really nice.

Bread and butter.

Mineral water. Smaller than the bottle we had.

Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur (KLM)

This is where my husband found a thin slice of pork ham under his omelette.

That's what I meant when I don't want a standard airline meal.

The wife's always right, yeah?

Okay, mine was:

It's another ravioli verdura salsa :D

Mixed salad.

Fruits.

Mineral water.

Butter and sour dressing.

Now here's the second meal :

Scrambled eggs with parsley, lyonnaise potato and baked beans. Thank God they're fulfilling enough :D

Here's the nice fruits. Love them!

Yoghurt, tastes very very good.

Butter (nevermind the bread).

Mineral water in my favourite bottle.

Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta (KLM)

Only a long sandwich. Airline standard meal also gets the same.

~~

So that will be all.

That's VLML Vegetarian Lacto-Ovo Airline Meal review of KLM (and Garuda Indonesia) during my 36-hour flight from Jakarta to Lima and back.

For Muslims who are not really fans of Indian curry, this option is worth trying. (Besides, what else have you got? :))) )

Asuransi Bismillah

BihaDesign

Postingan kali ini terinspirasi dari pertanyaan Mbak Rahmi Kareem di review asuransi saya.

Her question sparked so many things in my mind, yang ga bakal muat kalo ditulis di kotak komen doang.

Anyway, postingan ini akan ngeliat asuransi pake lensa agama saya, dan pada akhirnya, semua yang saya tulis di sini hanyalah pendapat pribadi saya. Orang lain bisa saja berbeda.

Ok here they are.


rahmikareem said...
Halo mba widya, seneng banget bisa nemu blog ini sangaaatt bermanfaat karna saya sedang cari2 asuransi kesehatan utk keluarga kecil saya. Pernah denger juga ttg asuransi yg hukumnya haram, tapi bagaimana dengan asuransi syariah seperti takaful??
Saya juga pernah baca di salah satu blog praktisi keuangan kalo asuransi syariah justru lebih menguntungkan. Mohon tanggapannya ya mbak :)
Syukron. Terimakasih :D
--November 10, 2015 at 1:27 PM



Dear Mbak Rahmi Kareem, maaf ya lama baru balas :) Alhamdulillah seneng kalo bermanfaat dan bisa bantu2 comparing :D

Tentang asuransi syariah, hmm menurut saya label syariah di Indonesia tuh cuma kosmetik aja, Mbak. Ya bank, ya asuransi, apapun.

Banyak yang bilang syariah beda dengan konvensional, karena prinsipnya seperti patungan untuk saling tolong-menolong. Menurut saya sih, praktiknya sama. Uang sama-sama di-pool di mereka, dimanage sama mereka, trus baru dibagiin nanti kalo ada klaim. Apa dong bedanya? Niatnya? Aaah :) Penalti sama. Fee dan charge sama. Semua cuma diganti istilah arab doang. Cuma dipakein sorban :p

Kalo asuransi jiwa, menurut saya (pribadi, orang laen silakan boleh beda lho) itu gak sejalan sih sama agama kita. Udah banyak banget sumber yang bilang. Silakan cari sendiri.

Aneh juga lagian. Masa bayar sejuta, tapi yang didapet nilainya 1M. Berasa aneh gak sik. Mana ada dagangan kayak gitu :) Di mana-mana harga 100 dijual 120, itu wajar. Lha ini harga 100 dijual 0,01. Aneh kan! Udah gitu yang didagangin nyawa lagi  xD

Para financial planner dan asuransi pasti akan bilang, asuransi jiwa berguna untuk melindungi keluarga kita dari risiko finansial seperti kehilangan sumber pendapatan keluarga, atau bayar hutang.

But then again, menurut saya (pribadiii, orang laen silakaaaan boleh beda) solusinya adalah ya nabung aja. Berapa pun dapetnya, insyaallah lebih berkah.

Trus jangan ngutang. Syukurin aja apa yang ada. Apalagi mostly yang namanya ngutang/nyicil, pasti ada riba. Ngutang 400 bayar 900. Bunganya doang 125%. Yang boneng aje.

Itu tadi contoh ngambil KPR 400 jt. Pasti bayar totalnya jadi 900 jt. Udah gitu, pasti disuruh ambil asuransi jiwanya sekalian. (Preminya pun lebih mahal pula dari asuransi jiwa biasa.)

See? Liat polanya gak sik? Semua ke-riba-an ini bikin sistem dan jaringannya sendiri yang bikin kita makin kelilit, dan mau ga mau harus diambil :’)

Kalo mau baca kegamangan saya antara mau beli rumah KPR atau cash ada di postingan ini.

Trus solusi gak KPR apa? Menurut saya sih, kontrak aja. Lebih berkah. Lebih bisa hidup tenang. Kalopun kepaksanya harus cicilan, ambil masa cicilan sependek mungkin. Jangan berlama-lama berenang di kolam riba.

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1 month later.....

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"Anda sadar kan kalo ada surcharge untuk 'Terkapar di Pinggir Jalan sambil Berdarah-darah'?"

Okeh, sori jadi kemana-mana. Balik lagi ke asuransi jiwa.

Misalnya kita meninggal, nih. Cair lah asuransi. Dapet 1M.

Yang dapet kan keluarga kita.

KITA SENDIRI mau jawab apa nanti sama dua malaikat itu?

Itu uang 1M dapet dari mana?
Ah nggg.. ga tau... ya dari itu lah...
Kamu sadar gak kalo uang itu hasil dari Vegas, Amsterdam, ke Smithfield, sama dari Ph*llip M*rris?
Wh.. what..??!!
Knapa? Kaget? Kamu tau kan perusahaan asuransi kamu itu WORLDWIDE? TAU KAN?
F... fa...k...
Kamu tau gak kalo ada orang lain di seberang sana yang RUGI puluhan ratusan juta karena salah langkah ambil investasi? Tuh duitnya di tangan kamu! Kamu kira adil kayak gitu? Hah!!! Gak jijik kamu ngambil duit dari kerugian orang lain??!! Heh!!! Jawab!!! *Keluarin cambuk

JDEEERRR...!!!!!

...

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... dan kamu mewariskan uang (dan dosa) itu ke anak-anak kamu...

...

..

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Tenang. Ambil napas dulu :)

Udah tenang? Alhamdulillah. Mending kita warisin iman, taqwa, hati yang baik, sama ilmu yang bermanfaat aja, yuk :)

Oke. Lanjut ya.

Itu tadi asuransi jiwa. Sekarang asuransi kesehatan :)

Saya ga tau hukum selanjutnya gimana, apakah ngambil asuransi kesehatan termasuk keterpaksaan atau nggak. Soalnya, (lagi-lagi menurut saya) kenapa orang masih pake asuransi, karena kita ga punya opsi lain.

Biaya pengobatan amat mahal, banyak yang ngerasa berat, sementara money distribution gak rata, ples banyak mafia pula lah katanya... Ah panjang deh hehe :) Jadi saya gak tau ini masih haram, atau udah halal karena terpaksa xD

Oh ya, mumpung lagi ngomongin riba. Menurut saya, mestinya baitul mal dan masjid-masjid bisa jadi solusi versus riba-ribaan ini.

Misalnya, nyediain subsidi kesehatan secara nasional sebagai pelengkap BPJS, jadi orang gak perlu lagi asuransi. Biaya bisa berkurang drastis, bahkan bisa aja gratis.

Semua layanan. Semua obat. Semua penyakit.

Terus, bisa ngasih modal usaha. Sekarang kan pengusaha kalo minjem pasti dikenai riba, padahal bisa banget baitul mal/masjid kasih dana pinjaman non-riba. (Ide ini nyabut dari komik “5 Pesan Damai” karya vbi_djenggotten. Buku-buku doski kerennn semua. Apalagi yang "99 Pesan Nabi".. wajib fardhu 'ain banget dibaca ♥♥)

Dan setelah saya riset kecil-kecilan, mereka tuh fundraiser yang sukses lho. Sebulan bisa narik 2M dari masyarakat. Yes, dua milyar. Itu baru yang kecil-kecil. Yang baru-baru. Kalo yang gede-gede kayak D*mpet D****a itu saldo bisa ada DUA PULUH MILIAR nganggur TIAP BULAN. Itu duit semua. Cek aja laporan keuangannya.

(Update: di Web ga ada. Tapi saya dapet laporannya tiap bulan. Cobain aja tes nyumbang 10ribu di beberapa baitul mal, ntar juga dikasih majalah bulanannya. Biasanya laporan keuangan di halaman belakang. Angkanya fantastis banget. Dan itu tanggung jawab yang amat, amat besar. Taruhannya dijilat api neraka. Saya berdoa semoga baitul mal bisa tetap amanah sidiq fathanah dan tabligh. Amin.)

Eh tunggu, ternyata saya ada fotonya.

Kalo dijumlahin semua yang judulnya "Penerimaan", baitul mal DD bulan Juli ini dapet 47,5M.
Kepake 26M, sisa 21,3M. Kalo ditambahin sama sisa kas bulan kemaren, bulan ini duit nganggur 42,7M.

Glo*** Qu***, total donasi non-qurban saja.
Yang qurban saja juga ada. Ya kira-kira segini juga. Jadi total 4M lah.

Hey, hey. Jangan suudzon dulu :) Saya yakin mereka udah berusaha keras mensejahterakan rakyat. Tapi mungkin mereka terganjal masalah-masalah lain, ya. Kekuatan mafia, misalnya :) Itu kan udah susah. Ngeriiii… :p  Jangankan 20 miliar. Satu triliun pun tak ada artinya :')

Yak kita doakan saja, semoga mereka sidiq, amanah, fathanah, dan tabligh, dikasih kekuatan sama Allah untuk mensejahterakan rakyat, dan terhindar dari siksa api neraka. Amiiiin.

Ok balik lagi ke asuransi. Kalo asuransi jiwa, saya pribadi sih nggak. Saya pingin yang berkah. Punya saya juga mau di-stop, gak perpanjang lagi.

Kalo asuransi kesehatan, saya belom mutusin. Saya belom tau itu gimana jatohnya. Saya masih ikut BPJS dulu aja. Istilahnya, itu udah kewajiban pemerintah kepada warga negaranya.

Konvensional maupun syariah, sama saja :)

Saya megang banget hadits ini:

Sesungguhnya jika engkau meninggalkan sesuatu karena Allah, niscaya Allah akan memberi ganti padamu dengan yang lebih baik.” (HR. Ahmad)

Udah berkali-kali Allah ngasih saya bukti. Iya, ke saya yang gak saleh-saleh amat dan gak ada apa-apanya ini... Dan jujur, saya suka ngerasa belom layak :'(

Tapi, ya itulah Allah. Baiknya gila-gilaan. Dan gak tanggung-tanggung. Beyond your wildest imagination. Gak disangka-sangka, dan gak nyangka.

Gak usah takut. Gak usah ragu. Allah udah janji. Allah pasti akan tepatin :')

Oya fyi. Dulu saya dan temen pernah ngetawain pekerja kampung yang bersih-bersih tembok rumah komplek belakang kantor. Itu komplek tajir-slash-ningrat banget. Temboknya doang bisa 9 meter. Dan si pekerja itu duduk di atasnya. Tanpa tali dan pengaman apapun.

“Itu asuransinya pake apa, coba?” kata temen saya. “Hahahaha! Tau apaan, asuransi bismillah paling,” jawab saya sekenanya, separuh mengejek. Hari gini gak pake asuransi!

Ckckck, sombongnya.

Kini, tiga tahun kemudian, saya menyadari, bahwa justru asuransi bismillah itu adalah perlindungan terbaik di dunia. Dan di akhirat :’)

Bismillah dirajinin shalatnya. Bismillah dibanyakin sedekahnya. Bismillah dikuatin doa dan rasa yakinnya.

Emang siapa lagi yang bisa jagain kita dari sakit dan kecelakaan?

Tck, jadi nangis deh. Dasar Widya cengeng :’)

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