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On a recent Qantas flight from Sydney to Brisbane, one woman (whose identity shall remain unnamed) was greeted by a simultaneously amusing and horrifying sight when she opened her in-flight meal.
When asked, the woman asked for the “dumplings” option for her afternoon snack – but she wasn’t at all prepared for the side that accompanied the dumplings.
The side in question was long, charred, limp, and admittedly looked a little sexual.
The woman called back the server to ask what it was, who immediately looked embarrassed upon seeing the meal for himself.
He explained that it was “a root vegetable,” but was unable to further explain its distinctly non-vegetable appearance.
“He blushed and was very apologetic, I don’t think he had ever seen anything quite like it ... the lady next to me was cracking up,” the first woman recalled.
She found it so amusing that she even admitted, “I asked him to pass me my phone so I could take a photo ... I never take photos of food but this was too funny to pass up.”
She didn’t provide any feedback on how the “root vegetable” tasted; she said that she didn’t actually try it. The dumplings on the other hand, were “delicious.”
The woman shared the photo of her food on Facebook, where she and friends ultimately determined that the vegetable in question was originally an eggplant.
Chef Neil Perry, who works with Qantas to develop the airline’s meals, confirmed, “The dish pictured is Steamed Vegetarian Dumplings with Chilli Black Vinegar and Soy Dressing. The dumplings are accompanied with steamed Japanese Eggplant, which is used commonly in Asian meals. Based on this picture, we may look at renaming it Dumpling Surprise.”
