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Friday, April 16, 2010

American Fast Food Abroad

One of the things I found interesting about traveling last year are the differences in American fast food chains when they are opened in other countries. Consider this bit of dialog from the 90's movie Pulp Fiction:

Jules: You know what they call a Quarter Pounder with cheese in France?
Brett: No.
Jules: Tell 'em, Vincent.
Vincent: A Royale with cheese.
Jules: A Royale with cheese! You know why they call it that?
Brett: Because of the metric system?
Jules: Check out the big brain on Brett!



McDonald's

As I travel from now on, I shall take photos of the various McDonald's restaurants I encounter. To my knowledge, none of the McDonald's in India serve any beef. One item I did find which I enjoyed were the Shake Shake Fries. You get a bag of french fries and some spices to sprinkle over them, shake them in a bag for a decent coating and consume. For my taste, nothing else I tried in the India McDonald's was good, but the McDonald's in Egypt was a different story. I entered a McDonald's in Luxor one afternoon to use their free WiFi and was told that I had to be a customer. So I ordered a shake and it was quite nice; not as thick as shakes I have had in the US. In fact, you aren't given those huge, fire hose straws there like you are in America. The sweetness of the shake did little against the bitterness I held toward the entire country of Egypt, since I NEVER got connected to the Internet via any WiFi, paid or otherwise! Actually, I am not bitter toward Egypt for their crummy Internet. I am doubly bitter about my cab ride experiences! As for England, well, I never went into one to see if menu item number one was fish and chips.

McDonald's
McDonald's in Luxor, Egypt

McDonald's in Windsor
Windsor, England

McDonald's in Bangalore, India
Bangalore, India

McDonald's in Worli, Mumbai, India
Mumbai, India

Shake shake fries at McDonald's
Shake Shake Fries - they were pretty good


Here is the Shake Shake Fries commercial

A McDonalds on the way to Mysore
Mysore, India - well, at least just outside Mysore

McDonald's in Bangalore, India
Another in Bangalore, India, over by the Shiva temple on Old Airport Road

Delhi Airport McDonald's
Inside the Delhi airport

Pizza in India

"Welcome to Pizza Hut. How many are in your party? Please have a seat here and our servers will join you momentarily." Yeah, that's Pizza Hut in India. It is a restaurant, with bone China plates and linen napkins. Each slice of pizza is served to you from your pie. Many Indians top their pizza slices with ketchup. I opted for cheese pizza when I went to Pizza Hut, and it was pretty good, especially with the dry Italian seasonings they provided in a shaker on the table. As for pizza delivery, you have Domino's strewn about, and they deliver via motorcycle.

Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut in Karnataka, India

Domino's Pizza Motorcycle Club
Domino's Pizza delivery vehicles in Mumbai, India

Other American Fast Food

Perhaps because it was a small stand, there were not thirty-one flavors available at the Baskin-Robbins in ITPL. I only saw the same ten (or so) flavors there, and I only ate there a couple times. Nothing says "keep away" better than a place serving uncooked food without any running water. They would start the day with a bucket of water kept on the floor, in which they left the scoop. After watching that scoop come out of a bucket of water and ice cream mixture at the end of the day, I lost my appetite.

Baskin Robbins
Baskin-Robbins in Bangalore, India

Subway served great sandwiches in India. Like McDonald's, no beef. Pepperoni was lamb meat; not my favorite. I usually enjoyed a tuna salad or chicken tikka sandwich.

Subway
Subway in India

KFC was in India, and they served spicy chicken, much spicier than in America. They don't have original recipe-style, so no "eleven herbs and spices", but they will make your taste buds happy. Since I don't have a photo of an India KFC, here is a photo of some Indian chickens. Who knows, one or a few of these birds may have later ended up at a local KFC.

Chickens at the Electronics Store
Chickens being delivered in Bangalore

Not long before I moved from Bangalore, an Au Bon Pain opened. I was impressed with their service level, food quality and overall cleanliness. I wish them success in future store openings in India.

Au Bon Pain in ITPL
The first Au Bon Pain in India

Back to McDonald's

Not everyone that loves McDonald's will enjoy them outside America. Here, Steve tries a chicken burger in Bangalore, which he ate just that one bite of.

Steve not liking his Indian "burger"
Steve is not impressed with chicken burgers

Cheer up, Steve. Even if you don't like the food, McDonald's can be a cool place to hang out.

Hanging out with Ronald
Hanging out with Ronald McDonald in Bangalore

1 comment:

  1. I like PIZZA from Pizza Hut and it is a big brand in fast food restaurants and working successfully here in India. It is the the best place to give treat for family and friend on any special occasion.

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