DutchessPDX

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. :-)

invisible

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).

Annalisa12

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.

tentseller

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.

Badenoch

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.

Jaimito Cartero

Tizzette

rickg523

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.

rankourabu

There are 6000+ KFCs in China

Badenoch

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.

StartinSanDiego

Moderator Note: I've moved the Fast Food/Chain Restaurant posts to a thread of their own. Please continue the discussion here.

Athena53

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!

wolfpacktrojan

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.

CPRich

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.

savonarola

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.