AN AIRPLANE FOOD STORY By Tram Nguyen

HELLO, VIETNAM AIRLINES WELCOMES

YOU ON BOARD. THIS IS CAPTAIN

SPEAKING. YOU ARE ON FLIGHT VN307

FROM NEW YORK TO HANOI.

WHY ARE YOU

GOING TO HANOI?

WELL, I’M NOT GOING THERE.

NOT ANYWHERE, ACTUALLY.

AS A RESTAURANT CRITIC, I’M

HERE JUST FOR THE FOOD.

THIS MONTH I’M WORKING

WITH VARIOUS AIRLINES TO

EVALUATE THEIR MEAL SERVICE.

MY JOURNEY IS A CONSTANT

TRANSIT-- I WILL BE FLYING

MOST OF THE TIME.

I CERTAINLY PREFER TO

EVALUATE RESTAURANTS

ON THE GROUND. FOOD

TASTES GOOD THERE.

EATING ABOVE THE CLOUDS

IS NEVER ENJOYABLE…

…BECAUSE ALL OF YOUR

SENSES ARE AFFECTED BY…

BY…

LAC

K O

F HU

MID

ITY

BA

CK

GR

OU

ND

NO

ISE

LOW AIR PRESSURE

I MAY NOT BE THE BEST PERSON

TO COMMENT ON AIRPLANE

FOOD. THIS IS ONLY MY SECOND

FLIGHT. I’M GOING BACK HOME

TO VIETNAM AFTER TWO YEARS

STUDYING IN THE U.S. I HAVEN’T

BEEN ABLE TO REGULARLY EAT

VIETNAMESE FOOD ON CAMPUS,

SO I’M PRETTY EXCITED TO SEE

WHAT KIND OF MEAL THIS

AIRLINE WILL SERVE US TODAY.

HOWEVER, LAST TIME WHEN I

WAS FLYING FROM HANOI TO

NEW YORK, I VOMITTED ALL THE

FOOD I HAD CONSUMED. I FELT

LIKE MY NORMAL SENSE OF TASTE

HAD BEEN LEFT BEHIND THE

AIRPORT DEPARTURE GATE.

NOT SURE IF THE

FOOD WAS

UNSAFE OR IT

WAS BECAUSE OF

MY INAPPETENCE

AFTER SAYING

GOODBYE TO MY

FAMILY.

I BELIEVE THAT INFLIGHT

MEALS ARE VERY SAFE

DESPITE THEIR BAD

REPUTATION.

THE PREPARATION,

PRESERVATION,

AND DELIVERY OF

MEALS IS AN

INCLUSIVE

PROCESS THAT

STRICTLY FOLLOWS

SAFTETY

STANDARDS.

ATTENTION PLEASE! IT’S

LUNCH TIME! PLEASE LOOK AT

OUR MENU, WHICH FEATURES

AUTHENTIC VIETNAMESE

FLAVORS DERIVED FROM

TRADITIONAL RECIPES.

I DIDN’T EXPECT THE

FOOD TO TASTE THIS

GOOD. I LOVE NEM, VERY NICE AND

CRISPY, BUT THE REST IS

JUST UNAPPETIZING. THE

VEGETABLES IN BÁNH MÌ

ARE NO LONGER FRESH, PHỞ

NEEDS BETTER SEASONING,

AND WATERMELON TASTES

BLAND.

WE WERE MASS PRODUCED,

PASTEURIZED, AND PREPARED 8-12

HOURS BEFORE BEING SERVED. THE

ORIGINAL RECIPES MUST BE MODIFIED.

WHAT EXACTLY DID HE EXPECT?

I HAVE NEVER BEEN

SATISFIED WITH INFLIGHT

DINING. IT IS MUCH MORE

CONVENIENT AND FUN TO

EAT IN A NORMAL

RESTAURANT.

IN A RESTAURANT ON THE GROUND

MEANWHILE,

ON AN

AIRPLANE…

EAT IN VERY CLOSE

PROXIMITY WITH A BUNCH

OF STRANGERS

IN CASE OF

TURBULENCE,

FOOD WILL FALL

ALL OVER

BE TOLD OF

SPECIFIC TIME

TO EAT AND

NOT TO EAT

EAT AT MY

OWN PACE

SHARE AN INTIMATE

DINING SPACE WITH

KNOWN COMPANIONS

CHOOSE FROM A WIDE

ARRAY OF FOOD OPTIONS

AS A FOOD CRITIC, YOU NOT

ONLY EVALUATE THE

QUALITY OF DIFFERENT

DISHES, BUT ALSO PAY

CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE

DINING SPACE. WHAT IF

THIS AIRPLANE HAS AN

INTERIOR DESIGN THAT

BRINGS YOU THE SAME

COMFORT THAT YOU CAN

EXPERIENCE IN A

RESTAURANT ON THE

GROUND?

THERE IS NO SUCH COMFORT.

ON THE AIRPLANE, I’M TRAPPED

INSIDE A PERPLEXING WORLD

OF BOTH STATICITY AND

CEASELESS MOVEMENT. I NO

LONGER HAVE A SENSE OF TIME

AND SPACE. MY IDENTITY IS

WITHHELD FROM ME; I’M LIKE A

DUPLICATE COPY OF MYSELF.

MY BODY IS IN THIS PLACE, BUT

MY MIND IS OUT OF PLACE.

PERHAPS I COULD CALL THE

AIRPLANE A NON-PLACE. IN A

NON-PLACE, FOOD IS MERELY A

NOURISHING SUBSTANCE THAT

SUSTAINS MY BODY, OFFERING

NOTHING BUT ITS MATERIAL

REALITY.

THE FOOD HERE ADOPTS THE

TEMPORAL, TRANSIENT

QUALITY OF A NON-PLACE. I

FEEL SO INSECURED

WHENEVER DINING ON AN

AIRPLANE, AS IF WHAT I HAVE

CONSUMED DOES NOT TRULY

BELONG TO MY BODY. A

WEIRD FEELING, INDEED! TO

EASE MY ANXIETY, I ALWAYS

BRING SOME HOMEMADE

SNACKS ON BOARD. I NEVER

DO THE SAME WHEN GOING

TO A RESTAURANT ON THE

GROUND, THOUGH.

I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU MEAN. OUR TASTE BUDS

REALLY DEPEND ON OUR OWN PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS

THE DINING SPACE. I AGREE WITH YOU THAT THE AIRPLANE

IS A NON-PLACE WHERE NEITHER IDENTITY NOR HISTORY

CAN BE RECOGNIZED, PRESERVED, OR INTERPRETED.

HOWEVER, WHILE YOU FIND YOURSELF ISOLATED FROM

THIS FLEETING SPACE, I DON’T FEEL THE SAME.

TO ME, A SENSE OF PLACE IS NOT RELATED TO

WHETHER YOU’RE DINING ON THE GROUND OR ON

THE SKY, IN A PLACE OR IN A NON-PLACE.

EVEN WHEN I ATE IN FANCY VIETNAMESE RESTAURANTS IN THE U.S., I

STILL FELT DISLOCATED. HOWEVER, SITTING INSIDE THIS PRESSURIZED

CABIN RIGHT NOW, I NO LONGER SUFFER A SENSE OF PLACELESSNESS.

DESPITE THE AMBIGUITY OF TIME

AND SPACE ON THE AIRPLANE, THE

DINING EXPERIENCE TODAY

MAKES ME FEEL AT HOME.

INFLIGHT FOOD ALLOWS

ME TO HAVE A SAMPLE

FLAVOR OF MY

HOMELAND. IT EVEN

TASTES BETTER THAN

ANYTHING I’VE EATEN IN

THE U.S.

? THE

END

IN THE REMAINING FLIGHTS OF

MY JOURNEY, I HOPE TO

DEVELOP A HIGHER

CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE

TRANSITIONAL SPACE. PERHAPS

I WILL HAVE SOME DELIGHTFUL

EXPERIENCES EVEN IN A NON-

PLACE, WHERE I CAN NO

LONGER CLING TO MY NOTIONS

OF NORMALITY. AS I

INCREASINGLY GET USED TO

INFLIGHT MEALS, I’M EAGER TO

SEE WHETHER MY CRITERIA FOR

WHAT CONSTITUTES A FINE

DINING EXPERIENCE WILL

CHANGE, TOO.

HMM, REMEMBER HOW YOU VOMMITTED

EVERYTHING DURING YOUR FIRST FLIGHT TO

THE U.S.? IT IS THE DIRECTION OF THE

AIRPLANE THAT AFFECTS YOUR APPETITE.

TODAY, YOU LIKE THE FOOD JUST BECAUSE IT

PROMISES THE ARRIVAL OF YOUR DESIRED

LOCATION.

YOU HAVE A DEEP ATTACHMENT

TO A SPECIFIC DESTINATION

CONCERNED WITH YOUR

IDENTITY, WHILE I DON’T, AT

LEAST ON THIS JOURNEY. I’ll BE

TRANSFERING FROM AIRPLANE

TO AIRPLANE, IMMERSING

MYSELF IN AN IN-BETWEEN

SPACE THAT BOTH CONNECTS

AND SEPARATES. BEING NEITHER

HERE NOR THERE, I CAN FOCUS

MORE ON EVALUATING THE

ACTUAL PRESENCE OF MY

DINING EXPERIENCE. YOUR

ATTITUDE TOWARDS INFLIGHT

FOOD, HOWEVER, IS MORE

CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH

YOUR PAST EXPERIENCES AND

AN IMPLIED FUTURE.