Brisbane to Washington DC: A Qatar Airlines Food Review

Getting from Australia to the east coast of the United States is an endeavor no matter which way you go. It’s on the other side side of the world, after all. I snagged a stellar flight from Brisbane to Dulles with a 3 1/2 layover in Doha on Qatar Airways. Here is what my journey entailed!

Part 1: Brisbane Airport

I arrived at the nearly empty Brisbane international Airport four hours before my flight, as recommended by the airline. The process was shockingly simple. I showed my negative COVID test, gave them my US entry declaration form, and made it through security without a hitch. In fact, the people at security asked me where everyone else was. I was wondering the same thing…

Part 2: Brisbane to Doha, 14 1/2 hours

My heart sunk when I realized my seat was in the middle row. That frown quickly  turned into elation as no one else took a seat next to me. Five seats in a row?! Who needs to pay for first class! The flight was departing Brisbane at 10:30pm, meaning bedtime

Before attempting to sleep, my first taste of Qatar Airways food came rolling down the aisle.

Meal One:

I opted for the butter chicken entrée, and it was surprisingly tasty! The sauce was flavorful and the chicken was tender. The side pasta salad was fairly yawn inducing. But rarely does pasta salad get me too excited. Dessert consisted of some sweet gelatin concoction. The online menu labeled it as “creamy cheesecake with mango.” Not too sure that’s what I got. A piece of warm bread in plastic accompanied the meal.

Snack:

I stirred from my slumber when snack time rolled around. A rectangular block was placed in front of me. A bite revealed a meat filling inside a pastry dough. I’ve come to rather like savory pastries since my time in Australia, and this tasted far better than it looked.

Meal Two:

I chose the wok-fried vegetable nasi goreng with tofu and spring onion. While the tofu slivers tasted more like plastic than food, the nasi goreng itself was surprisingly good for airplane food. It was chocked full of carrots, peppers, and onions and had a lovely, subtle heat. It came with a container of plain yogurt over strawberry jam, fruit, and a croissant out of plastic bag.

Part 3: Layover in Doha

It was 5:15am, and I was shocked by how bustling the Hamad International airport was. I haven’t seen that many travelers since February 2020, and the energy was exciting. The massive airport gave me ample space to stretch out my legs while marveling at designer stores I can’t afford while sipping my first Starbucks drip coffee in 13 months. (Starbucks isn’t popular in Australia. Neither is drop coffee! Click HERE for more Aussie cultural quirks I learned!)

Part 4: Doha to Dulles, 14 hours

My heart sank when I realized I was in the middle of the middle. It sank even further when I saw that two people would in fact be sandwiching me. Right before takeoff, the man on my left jumped up and moved next to his friend in another row. SCORE! I shinnied over to the aisle seat, pleased with the outcome.

Meal One:

For breakfast, I chose the scrambled eggs and chicken sausage with roasted potato and creamed spinach. The eggs tasted like they came from powder and the sausage had zero flavor. The potatoes and spinach weren’t half bad. Or maybe I was just really hungry. It came with the same yoghurt over jam and fruit cup with unripe fruit. Neither were as good as my Qatar Airways breakfast food from flight one.

Snack:

My chicken “sandwich” was rather odd. It was a roll of dough surrounding a ground chicken mince of sorts. The chicken mince was ultra dry with hardly any flavor.

Meal Two:

With the chicken being all out, I choose the vegetarian option which included saffron rice, an okra curry of sorts, and two falafel-ish balls. The balls were nice and dense without being too dry, and a highlight of my plane meals. Gazpacho was served on the side, and it was perhaps the worst culinary experience of my Qatar Airways food journey. It tasted like someone had dumped jarred pasta sauce into a cup, added a little cube of feta, and felt it wise to call it gazpacho.

Dessert was head scratching. What was meant to be a strawberry cheesecake tasted more like a bubblegum pudding.

Part 5: US Customs

With five planes getting into Dulles International Airport at the same time, customs was jammed. I slowly wove through the scansions, and made it to baggage claim 40 minutes later.

Part 6: Baggage Claim

After 33 hours of travel and hardly any sleep, my mental acuity was a bit subpar. So when my bags were no where to be seen, I panicked. My entire life was in those two suitcases! After staring hopeless at the conveyor going around and around, I did 3 laps of the belt and finally found my suitcases off to the side. Phew!

Part 7: Getting Home

My parents greeted me on the other side and I exhaled a sigh of relief. I had finally made it. 2 1/2 hours of driving later, and I was home.

(What’s it like being home? Click HERE for my thoughts and feelings on the big change)