Although I always try to eat primarily local when I travel abroad, I always make it a point to try some fastfood to see how it compares to American ff. (To put a fine point on it, though, even eating ff overseas is eating locally.) There is a blandish, not as flavorful quality to much of what I've tried overseas. By far, the Hong Kong McDonald's tastes the closest to the American "real thing." But then I haven't tried Japan or mainland Chinese. Also, the Cape Town KFC is not only better than American, it's also much cheaper!

Sadly I'm familiar with that location- I warned my friend that the woman who stopped us on the street was gearing us up for a tea scam, but he wanted to treat her to a burger anyway. She got bored of us soon enough.

Also, I don't eat McDonald's as a rule, but the customary exception is a taro pie. However, as mentioned up-thread, at least in China, that's where you can find a sink with soap.

McDonalds and other fast food chains modify their ingredients and menus to satisfy local preferences. North American versions are skewed towards blandness with an emphasis on sweetnesss and saltiness. In many Asian markets, one has the option of the sugary water that is ketchup or the hotter "chili" version. There is less emphasis on the sweet condiments and more flavour. The beef is different too. Much of the Asian market has Australian beef. US cattle feed relies heavily on corn. US beef relies more on various pharmaceutical additives to promote growth. The combination of additives and corn based feed give US beef a higher fat content. The end result is a greasier hamburger in the USA.

Another major factor is personnel. Look at who works in a fast food chain in North America and compare it to the Asian markets. It is as if McDonalds USA only hires the mentally challenged and/or morbidly obese who are too lazy to follow company procedures on hygiene and food preparation. In Asia, the personnel are more service oriented and are able to master the the challenges of placing/preparing an order correctly.

KFC offers far more varied menu outside of North America especially in Asia. The worst KFC operation in the world is probably in Canada, where the options are limited, and the retail outlets are decrepit and almost always filthy. A KFC outlet in Thailand is clean, modern and properly staffed. The options available fill 2 menu pages. The end result is that a KFC outlet in Thailand is an acceptable place to eat, whereas a KFC outlet in Canada is the place where trash go for a greasy piece of fried chicken skin.

You didn't got it that the comment about the white table cloth in McDonalds in Shanghai was a joke, did you?

In China (and other countries like Singapore) McDonalds often have "dessert" counters towards the street, where you'll only find dessert items (ice creams mostly) - no burgers there. Often they're connected to a "real" McDonalds, sometimes (semi) stand-alone, with a real McD around the corner.

Generally, McDonalds in China is not seen as cheap as in Europe, but it's not seen as "upper middle class". It used to be like that in the late 90s and early 00s, but those times are gone.

Pizza Hat, indeed, is quite a bit more "pricy" (compared to local alternatives) in China than in the US, they're trying to sell themselves as a "good" restaurant there. Don't like them, so tried them only once when I was really hungry and my stomach was a bit upset, it was ok but otherwise I would SO much prefer a Chinese restaurant over them.

I don't know on what level Wendys is pricing themselves in the US, but I guess at about the McDonalds level, while in Singapore, they're (relatively) expensive, with way better choices (like Caesar salad as side) and the burgers do taste great (and look like on the picture) - also the crew seems to be much nicer than what I know from fast food places in Europe/US.

So, in a nutshell: Yes, there are local differences about the fast food chains, but usually they're not THAT big. Pizza Hat is probably the "biggest" difference when comparing China to the US.

I remember eating KFC from a Canadian franchise as a child which served me a back piece... yes... the back... as in all bone no meat, battered and fried... WTH?

Is that a Chinese knockoff? :p

Part of the issue with US McDonald's is the quality of the beef. Here in the uk none of the meat is chemically washed from bits usually saved for dog food. In the US pink slime was used as a pattie filler although McDonald's has recently decided to change its recipe.

Several sizes for sale, but all the same price of $1 (in the US at least).

American mcd's has saltier meat patties than in other countries. Then again, oversalting is an issue everywhere in the US compared to other countries.

This reminded me of the Pizza Huts in China where patrons were only allowed one trip to the salad bar. As a result, salad towers were created:

Pizza Hut Salad Stacking

I must agree, as far as I am concerned, the Sausage McMuffin with Egg is the Food of the Gods.

Mr. Roboto, thanks for that link ^

If the rule is only one serving (often in Europe) then I also do some kind of stacking (after all it's salad, so it's healthy :D ) - but those guys do it in a whole new dimension ^

My two cents, and I'm only capable of comparing the US and Germany - McDonalds in the US is far superior to McDonalds in Germany. At my local MD's here in Germany the Quarter Pounders always taste stale and the breakfast sandwiches come on small croissant like things, not biscuits. It also takes simply forever to get in and out, but that's a different issue. Sounds weird, but we look forward to eating MD's stateside because we both think it tastes so much better.

The Gods must be obese.

NooOoOOOooo! give the sausage a good sniff. Smell anything? That's spoiled meat with spices added. If there is ONE thing I cannot eat- even if practically starving (and I am NO snob) is a McMuffin. The meat is always spoiled- my room mate eats those and the smell of it literally makes me nauseated. I've smelled spoiled meat before, and that is the exact same smell.

Why would anyone want to try fast food joints in another country that we have in the US? I could never understand it. Wouldn't you want to avoid the same junk you have at home? Isn't that kind of the point in traveling? I admit- I did try the McD hamburger in some Arab country and it tasted like lamb to me. I only went because my hosts thought I'd appreciate it (We have pizza hoot! see? We have Meekdoonalds!" it was also rather costly compared to US and the place did not get good business as the locals have their own home cooked foods, and their fast food joints serve better quality at a lesser price. We Americans think McD's is "cheap" but when you actually add it up, they ARE expensive after all. They are expensive in other countries too, maybe that's why it's considered "luxury" to eat there- but without the luxury taste or ingredients, ha ha. Is anyone else here old enough to remember that a pocketful of spare change used to get you a meal at McDs? I rarely if ever get anything from there- I was shocked at how much it costs for one of their "meal deals": 7 dollars or so. That's a lot to pay for what you get. I tagged along with my friend as he tried unsuccessfully to treat me to a sandwich there- and like someone else commented, the workers! Another surprise: what happened to the fresh-faced smiling teenagers that used to be their staff? Not a one! All middle aged immigrant housewives, sweating away and all spoke Spanish as they worked. I was shocked- boy times have changed.

Sometimes the promise of a clean(ish), TP stocked rest room and a usable free wifi signal when far from home is impossible to resist.

Ahem

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/dinin...fast-food.html

IMO, It doesn't suck at all taste-wise. I've had multiple meals at McDs in Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Brazil, Iceland, and the Philippines. I've had single meals in more places but I won't count those. Aside from breakfast, the core menu items taste virtually the same to me everywhere, except Japan which for some reason is consistently better than the rest. Breakfast at US McDs is light years ahead of any those other countries. (The sausage is a big part of that)

Only problem is McDonalds should not serve breakfast ! you used to be able to get fries at 8 am!

Yup, that way in India as well. The overwhelming majority of the population can't afford it.

Yeah, especially when you arrive after a loooong haul flight. Thats the time I don't want breakfast, but a real Burger instead!

I agree completely. A later poster (#34) praises the Sausage McMuffin with Egg, and I agree that it is very good, but my own favorite is the classic Egg McMuffin, which is the same but with Canadian Bacon instead of sausage.

Readers might enjoy the following: I live in New Jersey, which has a large Indian-American population, and many of them are vegetarian. I am Indian-American myself, but most assuredly a carnivore. When I order the Egg McMuffin, the worker sometimes says "And of course you don't want the bacon, right?" More tactful workers say "And you want it with the bacon, right?"

One of the best travel tip around Europe is to find a McDonald's for a clean public bathroom. In Germany, you have to pay (roughly 50-75 cents) to use the public bathroom.

Cleanish anyway. :D But yes, when I'm in big cities in Europe, we probably average one visit a day to a McDonald's to use the facilities.

Switzerland McDonalds was $60 Francs for my family of Four to eat. Unbelievably expensive and the service wasn't something to write home about either. Seems the Swiss are used to the high prices. The prices elsewhere in Europe seemed normal, even at Disneyland Paris.

Canada McDonalds is somewhat like the US counterparts nowadays. At least their new box type remodels are looking good.

We buy large drinks for takeout when returning is inconvenient.

It's more complex than that.

http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index

McDonalds uses the same flavoring in all of its restaurants worldwide. You're not getting "real" meat anywhere, you're eating barely edible meat that has usually been "cleaned" in an ammonia bath. The trick to the consistency is in the flavoring, which is mainly produced in new jersey and used in every restaurant worldwide. Same goes for the fries. Whether the fries are hot or crispy, thats just up to the management, and it varies from restaurant to restaurant, and also on the time of the day (busy or not busy).

I've eaten in McDonalds all over Europe and Asia and the US, and its all the same stuff, basically. Asian countries in general have much better service than anywhere else in the world, so you should never be surprised about them working hard to ensure that they follow the mcdonalds rule-book.

Another opinion:

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/...-around-world/

If you're referring to the "pink slime" discussions, that has largely been discontinued, as has the use of ammonia washing. On top of that, it is hardly the same stuff, and I think that's really why McDonald's has been so overwhelmingly popular abroad. Being able to eat a McArabia in Dubai or having fried chicken wings in China I imagine is the result of rigorous market research on what's popular in those environments. They use their quality as the main selling point to get people in the door, and that's definitely contributed to their image.

Thanks for the great read on Big Mac Economics. Surprising to see McDonalds might be more expensive than Switzerland, in Venezuela and Norway.

http://www.psfk.com/2013/08/mcdonald...e-burgers.html

Looks great. Price is OK. Anyone here try them? What does artificial truffle oil taste like?

i love the japan mcdonalds a lot compared to the US mcdonalds

I'm quite willing to pay for 2 sodas for the use of the facilities and the chance to sit down for 10 minutes. Sightseeing can be hard on the feet.

In Rome, the kiwi on a stick was quite good. But in general we don't eat most of what's on the menu because we can't eat gluten.

I've never been to Israel, but I refer to McDonald's chicken nuggets as Chicken McBrains. Everything else gets used elsewhere and the chicken brains are bleached and breaded for McD's :p

KFC is awful, too, though not sure why, maybe because the Colonel died?

It's not up to management, it's totally random. I gave up on McDonald's fries a couple of years ago. Sometimes the workers oversalt them, sometimes they let them sit over the vat too long (no heat lamps ==> soggy and cool fries), and sometimes they bag the fries in advance of you ordering them. Same thing -- the heat lamps can't reach the fries below the top of the box, which results in the first few bites being OK and the rest not fit for dogs. :td:

If you've been to Norway, it shouldn't be so surprising!

I love the Fanta they serve in McD's (and elsewhere in europe). Made from actual orange juice, much better than the US version:)!

Dunno why, but I never drink Orange Fanta, but I downed Orange Fanta when in Europe like water.. I guess sodas in restaurants sell for a premium in Europe. I got the Orange Fanta, when Orangina wasn't available.

Got back to Canada, and immediately didn't drink carbonated pop like I did in Europe.

I didn't know that Fanta Orange, had real orange in the soda in Europe. I couldn't tell the difference between Fanta Orange and Orangina, and I think now I know why.

Maybe it's because I grew up in the USA but I think our McDonalds is far better than overseas McDonalds.

Have you eaten at McDs in Japan? It really is noticeably better than the US every time. (except breakfast)

I have not. I've eaten at McDonalds in Chile, Austria, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, The Netherlands and South Africa but not in Japan. I do wish I had tried it while I was there but I wasn't there very long and I had to eat the real stuff first and foremost, right? :D