Emirates has unveiled a new Japanese menu for First Class and Business Class customers on flights between Dubai and Haneda, Narita, and Kansai airports in Japan. Emirates’ catering team in Dubai conceptualised the new menu options and created them in collaboration with a local caterer in Japan, utilising the freshest ingredients possible.

Complementing its gourmet international menu, First Class customers on Emirates flights to and from Japan can now experience traditional Kaiseki (multi-course meal) cuisine and Business Class customers have the option of a newly designed bento box. Emirates, which was named World’s Best Airline 2016 at the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards 2016, is the first Middle Eastern Airline to serve Kaiseki-inspired meals on board.

Emirates collaborated with Gate Gourmet Japan to develop and produce the new menu items. Gate Gourmet Japan, which is located in Narita City, Chiba Prefecture, offers a farm-to-table experience. This means the freshest locally-grown ingredients are used to prepare Emirates’ onboard meals.

A light bites sushi option is offered to first and business class customers

The First Class Kaiseki cuisine features five courses, including cold appetisers, a hot dish, flavoured rice, pickled vegetables, miso soup, and is finished with a serving of wagashi, which are traditional Japanese sweets typically enjoyed with a cup of green tea.  Wagashi sweets are prepared using a variety of ingredients and methods and come in different shapes, sizes and textures.

Kaiseki is traditional Japanese multi-course haute cuisine. Its origins date back centuries ago in the simple meals served at tea ceremonies. Today, Kaiseki is enjoyed on special and celebratory occasions and served in specialised restaurants and at Ryokans (Japanese-style inn). The ingredients are natural, of high quality and change seasonally. Each course is served soon after it is prepared so as to maintain the freshness of the ingredients.

Kaiseki is traditional, Japanese multi-course haute cuisine that dates back centuries ago

Business Class offers a specially-arranged bento box in a high-end Japanese catering style, perfect for eating onboard. Bento is the art of arranging one’s lunch in Japan, and has a history of over a thousand years. Although commonly known to be a take-out meal, bento boxes can also be enjoyed as celebratory meals that are elaborately prepared.

To create a truly authentic Japanese dining experience onboard, Emirates also collaborated with re­nowned Japanese tableware maker Noritake to develop exclusive tableware designs for the new menus based on the concept of miyabi, meaning elegance or refinement.

Japanese Tea

Noritake experts worked closely with the Emirates product and catering teams on the tableware designs, paying attention to the finest details to ensure that the tableware complements the food and enhances its presentation.  With tableware that reflects Japanese traditional design, Emirates seeks to further enrich the customer on board experience. Japanese customers will feel at home when they are served the food trays, while our non-Japanese customers are able to enjoy an authentic Japanese meal experience.

The menus are served with a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages including Asahi beer, which are only available on Japan routes.

Emirates flights to and from Japan cater to the needs of Japanese travellers with Japanese-speaking cabin crew on board.

Emirates operates daily scheduled flights between Malta and Dubai. Emirates flies twice weekly to Malta, on Mondays and Wednesdays, via Larnaca in Cyprus, and on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays the airline operates the Dubai - Malta route on a circular routing via Tunis in Tunisia. The return flight flies direct from Malta to Dubai.