American Airlines introduces enhanced menus for premium class travellers to Japan.

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2006 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

American Airlines has said that, in celebration of almost 20 years of service to Japan, it is introducing enhanced premium class menus for flights between the United States and Japan.

The airline's redesigned

First and Business Class menus offer both traditional Japanese-style dishes as well as Western fusion cuisine. Japanese American Airlines employees in the United States and Japan reportedly teamed up with chefs from Gate Gourmet International to design new menus that would appeal to travellers from both parts of the world.

New menu items were first introduced on flights originating in Japan and travelling to the United States on 1 September 2006 and will be available to passengers flying from the United States to Japan starting on 1 November.

The new menus feature a kobachi dish of rice wine-marinated calamari accented by wasabi mayonnaise, presented with flying fish roe on a bed of radish sprouts, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, and leaf lettuce. In addition the airline will offer a hassun dish of grilled chicken topped with carrot paste, accompanied by cauliflower with seared dengaku miso, sweet-simmered herring, cod roe egg cake, and grilled shishito pepper filled with cream cheese. The menu will also feature traditional Japanese soups such as miso soup with wakame seaweed and tofu. Menus will be updated seasonally, beginning with the current autumn menu.

The Western-style menus feature cilantro chicken served with a summer noodle salad; fillet of beef with mango-chili demi-glace and blue cheese potatoes; seafood risotto including shrimp and scallops served with roasted tomato risotto and a creamy goat cheese sauce; as well as a pork and shrimp noodle bowl with sauteed peppers and shitake mushrooms served on a bed of noodles with oyster sauce.

A full copy of the menu can be found at http://www.aa.com/dining.

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