Thanks to a special Cathay Pacific collab with eat X dignity and Green Monday, there’s a new plant-based menu to look forward to. To catalyse positive change for the people and communities, the collab aims to promote children and youth development in Malaysia, while supporting sustainable eating.

Starters were Omnimeat crab cakes and Fish Fingers. Most of the media during the launch preferred the fish fingers which tasted firm and much like normal meat nugget, but I found the texture a little too dense. I preferred the crab cakes which had a play of textures, nice and crisp outside and softer inside, and to me, was more flavourful. 

Main course was a choice of Meatball Pasta or Spicy Minced Omnimeat Rice Platter. The flavours and sauce for the pasta was commendable and tasty but the ‘meatball’ not so, as it was soft, without much bite, almost tofu-like inside. The rice platter wins hands down as the redolent sauce coating the ‘meat’, salty with a touch of spiciness, balanced well against the blandness of the white rice. Suffice to say, you can fool the palate sometimes, but certainly not all the time. If it ain’t meat, it’s not the same! Reminded me of Thai beef pad krapow. Dessert was jelly with fruits. 

The team comprises members from Orang Asli and refugee communities, alumni of Dignity of Children Foundation who have graduated from their secondary education and have gone through some F&B training, as well as 11 secondary school students who are currently undergoing the training programme on weekdays. 

Tasked with putting together a sustainable menu, the young chefs-in-training took three weeks to create a selection of plant-based dishes using OMNIFoods. Kudos to them for cooking up the menu and drawing up the great flavours. As one of Cathay Pacific’s many initiatives to reduce carbon footprint, hopefully plant-based protein and recyclable packaging will inspire more people to make sustainable choices. 

This plant-based menu is available until Dec 31.

add: 25-G, Jalan 11/48a, Sentul Raya Boulevard, Kuala Lumpur