Do You Eat at Fast Food Restaurants when Traveling?
 

I know the type. Three colleagues and I had just arrived in Tokyo on a business trip and were looking for a quick lunch. As we wandered the streets near our hotel two of them were delighted to find a McDonalds. They thought we were crazy when instead of quarter pounder two of us slurped amazing ramen noodles from a sidewalk cart.

I have a personal aversion to eating at American chain restaurants while traveling overseas. To the point where my wife and I drove around in circles for 20 minutes in a foreign town because I was convinced there had to be a local restaurant open. Sadly I finally had to accept that the only three options open were KFC, Burger King or McDonalds :(

I'll do the American chain restaurant just once for to try out an item or two for the novelty of the unique items to the local area that I can't find at their American counterparts. I recently visited McD in Tokyo looking for their "lazy egg" McFlurry. One of my traveling buddies is from Ohio, so he had to visit Wendy's First Kitchen and get a few photos to show friends back home and try out their unique dishes. But we definitely didn't eat a real meal there, just a snack to say we were there.

The chain restaurants are also often useful if you're in need of a toilet in an area where they're scarce. I've bought the one euro soda at McDonalds in Paris solely for restroom access purposes.

Was this in Canada?

Could it really be Canada without a Tim Horton's option?

McDonald's in Hong Kong has bought back the widely popular Shogun Burger (sausage patty covered in sweet ginger teriyaki sauce) for a limited time, sold out of its limited edition durian-flavoured ice cream within two days, and sells mentaiko-flavoured Shake Shake fries and green tea and red bean sundaes.

So you could be missing out on some McD's food that you'll never see back home, even if it's just for the photo ops.


(Yes I realise some of this stuff has a Japanese bent, not really Hong Kong style.)

Can you be a bit more specific please?

It was somewhere in New Zealand although I don't remember the particular town. I did get the Kiwi Burger which was just a standard burger with beat slices on it but at least it was kinda different.

I've been to chains before but I'd rather try food dishes I can't get at home from a local place. But I haven't been to many Asian countries yet so maybe those offer a better variety in their US chain locations

In over 40 years of international travel I have eaten twice in American fast food outlets outside of North America. A Burger King in Davos, Switzerland, because a co-worker insisted. A McDonalds in Greater London after arriving in a dodgy neighbourhood late at night because it was the only thing open. I am still ashamed.

My definition of a truly horrible travel companion includes someone who even suggests we eat in American fast-food joints while overseas.

Starbucks seems to be about the only place in the UK where you can get a proper American-style iced tea. We've made more than one stop on one there when the craving hits.

Count me on your side. :)

I would say that too but we ate at McDonald's in Tokyo and their chicken katsu sandwich was excellent. Also, Japan loves pastries, we stopped in at Dean and Deluca's in Sinjuku station and had an excellent pastry. Not to mention, have you ever been to a 7-11 in Japan? Maybe Japan is just the exception to this rule. :-)

I've been in Tokyo dozen times and I do know that Mc and Burger King do have their own regional specialties - here in Singapore KFC was selling something called 'Cheeza' and Mc had Durian McFlurry - I don't want to near any of them, but I do know that they have their own local fans.
The thing is - with Tokyo, no matter how interesting Mc/KFC/BK local menu is, I'd rather go and eat udon at UDONつるこし (Shinjuku st on second floor) or just stop at any corner bento shop (yes, 7-11 included).

When I was a lot younger I wanted to eat at a McDonalds to see if it really tastes like our McDonalds back home! After that no way in hell would you eat McDonalds.

A few days ago I got in to a lift overseas in a yummy food country and two middle aged dudes had bags of McDonalds. I said...."McDonalds hey, when we have all this great food here". They said....I'm too tired to walk anywhere so McDonalds was close.

Let's not judge McD by western standards. In Singapore, there was a Durian McFlurry to die for. In Hong Kong, there were many special version of the Angus burger that was very good.

Among my worst travel companions was one who insisted on eating at McDonalds overseas. I felt no obligation to join him however so while he went in to get whatever the equivalent is of a quarter-pounder in Tokyo I lunched on sidewalk cart ramen.

In 40+ years of international travel I have eaten at a McD's once. Late evening arrival into a dodgy neighbourhood on the outskirts of London and it was the closest place to eat.

I know the general thought is "those damn Americans and their fast food!"
But I sure see a lot of locals scarfing it down.
Once I was in Pizza Hut near London (brought there by my English hosts) and got the side-eye from most of the other patrons for eating a slice with my hands. Don't tell me those were Americans eating that cardboard and tomato paste with knives and forks.
There's a two story (!) Five Guys on the Champs Elysee. I was just there last week. It's pretty full of French kids.
I also saw a giant KFC near the village of Mulsanne. The big racing events held near there draw a quarter of a million people, but hardly any Americans. So who's eating all that American fast food?
I've also noticed on this trip (I was with two teenagers), that the same bistro where I'm ordering foie gras pate and duck confit, the kids could have double bacon cheeseburgers. Which nicely avoids one of the commonly cited complaints about misfit traveling companions.

There are 6000+ KFCs in China :D

Locals eat fast food around the world for the same reason North Americans do. It's cheap, fast and readily available.

There is also a sense in some places that the arrival of a big global chain means that your city has moved higher on the world stage. I was in Armenia around the time the golden arches first announced their plans to set up an outlet in Yerevan and the locals were quite proud of the fact they were coming.

Well, I haven't used them in a riot but have enjoyed the bathrooms and Wi-Fi. I always make a purchase. I some places they're also the only place you can get early-AM coffee outside of the very expensive hotel restaurant. I have fond memories of morning runs in Budapest and St. Petersburg.

Before I visited our offices in India one of my colleagues told me how great the locals were about ordering in every day for lunch: Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonald's (the non-veg crowd favored Chicken McTikkas). they never did that for me. I suspect that it was because I raved about the local food from Day One, including the stuff they served in the cafeteria!

I haven't tried the durian McFlurry but that sounds delicious! Ever since stumbling into the McDonalds right outside of the Chinatown MRT station a few years ago after a long night of drinking, I've always stopped in for a McSpicy or two at some point when visiting Singapore.

When I travel to another country, I try to find local restaurants and local food, with one exception. I always hunt down a McDonalds. One time only.

MsCP and I stopped at a McD on the Champs-Élysées on our first overseas trip - sometime in the mid-1990's. Ever since it's been a bit of a a ritual.

Sometimes a fast food meal can provide comfort after many days of "exotic" flavours. I am not a much of a fast food eater at home, but I am familiar with the taste. For me, they sometimes represent a welcome pause in a long run of new flavours, spices and ingredients, which is what I am usually looking for (and chowing down) when far from home.

I've had terrible meals when actively trying to avoid fast food. Late night meals, public holidays, airports or train stations come to mind: I've had an overpriced dried panino (baguette, sandes, pierogi, hamburguesa, wurst, you name it) that's been sitting there for days. I learned my lesson; had I been more flexible, a fast food meal would have tasted better and costed less, but the quest for "local" or "authentic" can sometimes render a traveller blind.

I know it sounds ridiculous, but I also try to find "local" fast food joints. "The Good Burger" chain in Spain and Italy is pretty good. For an even more fast food style meal, I like Quick, in France.

You sound like a seasoned traveller so you must have a must eat morning after hangover cure that is easily available at McD's in every country.

Glad not to be amongst the elite. We make a point of eating at a McDonald's at least once in every country. A few days ago it was crispy shrimp in Bratislava. Then a beacon egg thingy in Vienna. A few more to go before returning home where we almost never eat there.

Local food is awesome and we enjoy all of it but good ole American junk food from McDonald's is always a welcome treat.

I don't look for American chains while traveling but I definitely eat various kinds of "fast" food while traveling. I'd say a typical day in a foreign country is hotel breakfast + some sort of quick option for lunch + more of a traditional local (slow) meal for dinner. What constitutes "fast" kind of varies a bit by country, and isn't always exotic. Sometimes streetfood, sometimes a market, and sometimes a fixed restaurant not too different from what an American fast food setup would look like.

While roadtripping in many parts of the world, you'll find service areas on toll roads that don't look too different than a turnpike oasis in the U.S. Mini-food-court + convenience store, etc. We've lunched at those before as well. The food court usually has at least one outlet serving what we'd consider a typical Western fast-food menu, plus options that are a little more local. If I've already had a few good meals of the local cuisine, I have no problem grabbing the burger or pre-packaged turkey sandwich instead of the local option.

I've never thought it makes me less of a traveler that every meal we have isn't a three-hour-long journey at a Michelin-rated restaurant. Sometimes you just want quick...and get on to whatever else you want to do that afternoon.

And they're sooooo much better than the ones in the US. I had one in the basement of my apartment building (I was on top of a department store) in Shanghai that probably got visited once a week.

Sadly yes. I do relatively well but when traveling with our kids the difference between fast food and a more formal meal is substantial over the course of the vacation. We were likely the only ones staying at the Waldorf in Rome doing so.:) When home though, fast food maybe once a month at best. We eat pretty healthy.

The Subway restaurant near our hotel in Melbourne started recognizing us after a few days and asked if we wanted our usual order.:)

I rarely eat McDonald's at home in the US (probably 1 visit in the past year) or abroad, but I think Singapore and Japan are my two exceptions. The McSpicy in Singapore, as well as all of the unique seasonal burgers served in Japan (especially the Teritama and Tsukimi burgers) are among my favorite fast food meals.

Japan is fast food heaven in my book. From "combini" convenience stores to ramen shops, kaiten-sushi, donburi rice bowls, to burger joints like MOS burger or First Kitchen, there is something quick and cheap for everyone. They might not always be the healthiest options, but they are especially useful after a long work day in Japan.

I popped into the same one, I wanted to see if the Coca-Cola in France had the same unique taste that Coke's have here in the US. Yes, it does and hot/room temp Coke, anywhere, is gross-my request of extra ice yielded two cubes D)

woah harsh

In Africa, KFC makes consistently the best fried chicken, full stop. Also Burger King in South Africa was nice not only because the food was flame broiled and tasted like real food but because they had mountain dew AND unlimited ice AND unlimited self serve refills, each of which is impossible to find there let alone ALL THREE. Was always a favorite at work when I was living there.

Taco Bell in India Japan and Korea are always fun when you're tipsy, have fun local variants like bulgogi tacos, is way fresher than in america, and they have beer.

Hooters is always fun too, and always good wings. Clients love those places.

Sometimes you just want simple US style junk, I mean eating fresh delicious local food can get banal lol. And a lot of places in the world are unable to cook a burger properly.

Generally I don't eat at American style fast food restaurants as I find the food to be quite disgusting; however, in potentially unhygienic locations, their standards of hygiene are much higher so I would make an exception. I do quite like street food if that counts as fast food, but I think the OP was being US-centric in the original question.