Malaysian Airlines (MAS) has explained that it was a festive season error that led it to serve an incomplete nasi lemak to a disgusted celebrity passenger.

MAS Food and Beverage manager Zahiddin Dris was quoted by the Star online saying that while ikan bilis and kacang (fried anchovies and roasted peanuts) were also transported to the flight, they were not put together with the iconic Malaysian breakfast as the packets had rotted in a flight to Bangkok earlier this month.

The absence of these key ingredients had on Feb 3 led renowned Chef Wan to call MAS' nasi lemak "telanjang" (naked), a complaint which went viral on the internet and sparked an advertisement war with rival airline AirAsia.

"What happened was that we found small stones, while the peanuts tasted rancid. To avoid food safety issues, we suspended all anchovies and peanuts from being served on all flights that day," said MAS Food and Beverage manager and executive chef Zahiddin Dris was quoted saying.

"We could not replace the condiments because our suppliers had closed their business to celebrate Chinese New Year."

As for the missing cucumber, Zahiddin told reporters that only first and business class passengers got it.

"Flight attendants can only manage to prepare this for first and business class passengers because they are not many compared to the economy class," he said.

In his Instagram post, Chef Wan bemoaned the “sad-looking nasi lemak”, saying he uploaded the picture as he felt the need for MAS to realise how serious a matter it was.

Later, budget airlines AirAsia cashed in on the complain with a cheeky advertisement to promote its own "complete" version of the highly popular and famous Malaysian meal.

MAS retaliated last week, saying in an advertisement that its flights to Maldives were "complete" as AirAsia stops flights to the island from March 1.