Fast-food in foreign countries

[Chris Amirault]

In Saudi Arabia, there's a burger chain called Herfy as well as a lot of small shops selling various Middle Eastern foods. There are also dozens of US fast food shops, including Dunkin' Donuts, at which, for reasons that I could never fathom, you cannot purchase an iced coffee, even when the government shuts the city down because it's over 50C outside. (Read more here).)

[sazji]

In Istanbul we have the usual McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Bird. Some people really love them. Voldemort's (aka Starbucks) is all over now; the main pedistrian street in Beyoğlu has THREE of them. Close behind is Gloria Jean's -- it's hard to tell who's really ahead but where there's a Starbucks there's a Gloria Jean's close by. (More expensive..they seel 50 gr of whole beans for 5.25 YTL, about 4 dollars - that's about 40 dollars a pound!)

There are also some Turkish chains - one that is really uniquely Turkish is Simit Sarayı (and several imitations). Simit is a chewy sesame-coated bread ring sold all over the city. Simit Sarayı (Simit Palace) opened several years ago and in addition to regular simits, they sell (not-ring-shaped) simits stuffed with kashar cheese, olive paste, sucuk and kavurma, as well as a host of sweet pastries, some good some inedible.

Another more and more common one is "Ayvalık Tostçu," which sells variations on grilled sandwiches. The typical ones here are kashar, kashar and turkey ham, kashar and sucuk, and kavurma; Ayvalık tost has strips (weird) of "sosis" which is basically hot dogs, cheese, "American Salad" (it used to be "Russian Salad" until they decided they wouldn't eat anything communist - it's mayonnaise with vegetables in it) or just mayonnaise and ketchup. There are more variations too.

The malls have other western chains as well but my brain automatically goes into auto-delete mode after I go into a mall and I honestly can't remember anything except the colors and noisy "food court."

[Peter Green]

Here's one we found while walkabout in Shanghai.

Kung Fu Chicken

There could be a whole new Stephen Chow film in this somewhere.

[Fengyi]

That chain is actually very popular because they do 'healthier food' by doing mainly traditionally steamed food. It's pretty good and not greasy at all for a 'global chinese fast food chain' as they call themselves....

[Toliver]

I thought I would post this article link here instead of starting a new discussion:

"Fast-food chains adapt to local tastes"

This move is what people in the trade call product localization: customizing what you're selling to the people you're selling it to. It's a crucial strategy in the global fast-food business. American chains are bringing burgers and pizza and chimichangas to Asia, but they are also adapting to their new homes, coming up with hybrid foods that the folks back home don't hear about.

This is nothing new, of course. McDonald's, which has branches in more than 119 countries, has been customizing its menus for years.

I'd love to be able to try some of the localalized items.

[Kouign Aman]

I saw a Pizza hut offering at a British airport once: eggs and sausage pizza w sweet corn. Definitely adapted to the locale.

[haresfur]

Well, "foreign" depends on your frame of reference, eh?

I'd have to say for non-American-like fast food, the Aussie meat pie is worth mentioning. I don't remember them being so ubiquitous in England, either. And of course they range from pretty vile, to very good.

And if you only consider fast-food to be from chain restaurants, then Red Rooster does a decent roasted chicken. And the coffee at Macca's (McDonalds) McCafe is reasonably drinkable (and free WiFi!).

[The Food Buster]

In Argentina, especially Buenos Aires, the fast food is becoming increasingly international, with McDonald's and Burger King taking over. However, there's still a pretty vibrant domestic fast food scene, with an empanaderia (empanada stand) on every other street. Fast Food isn't quite as common, though, partially because the culture itself emphasizes speed a bit less (I mean people take more time to sit down and relax, they take full lunches, etc.).

As for Peru, I noticed a lot of individual vendors without. E.G. when you go to the temples around Cuzco, there are vendors of potatoes (though that's mostly for tourists). I didn't notice so much fast food in places like Cuzco or Arequipa, and again, I'm inclined to say it's a lot less common throughout the country. I only noticed a lot of fast food in Lima, which literally has everything. Lima has more of a business culture and is extremely international, and I was able to find everything from McDonald's to KFC (why Peruvians would eat KFC, I'm not sure, but it was there).