I refuse to go to a Starbucks or McDonald's when I'm abroad. I also refuse when I'm in my home country, but especially abroad. Parasitic franchisees.
As much as I want to avoid McDonald's, they are (were?) often the only fair-priced food place when you're in a large, touristic area.
I'm going to bring up Taiwan again, specifically Taipei. Food there is amazing and cheap and I'm honestly shocked that the couple McDonald's I saw can stay in business. There are restaurants and food stalls every 10 feet. You can get a full meal in a couple minutes (or seconds depending on the stall) for like $2usd even in the touristy areas
It depends on the location. I admit I've been to McDonald's in Asia, just because my stomach couldn't take the pain anymore. The price of a small menu was the same as a full meal elsewhere, but they treat you like you're in a fancy place.
Huh. When I’ve been to Asia, my stomach was healthier than never before, despite only eating local kitchen. I’ve been to McDonald’s too, but only to test their food.
I got food poisoning at least 4 times in the couple of months I was in Asia. I even found a place where they stored their "fresh" ingredients next to the toilet. I still have stomach issues >10 years later and I think my Asia trip may be related to that.
Really? Wow… maybe it could have been related to me only travelling around the suthern tropical regions of Asia?
For me Indonesia was the worst, I had constant stomach problems. Vietnam just some light issues, other countries were mostly fine actually.
Interesting! I had absolutely no problem in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand or the Philippines. Maybe I should just move there lol
It's kind of hard sometimes. They've basically cornered the market on fast food. Local fast food places do exist, but they are rare.
Maybe in the US. Go to London and you'll get some really good takeaway from Indian, Pakistani, West Indies, and many other nationalities that are so much better than Mc Donalds. Same goes for pretty much any place outside of the US. Walk into pretty much any bakery in France, Croatia, Lithuania, Finland or Poland and they'll have better stuff.
Doner kebaps!
For health reasons I stopped eating fast food more than 10 years ago. I'm still amazed so many people do. It feels like something you do when you're a kid to me. I know it's not that way for many. It is very unhealthy food though. I highly recommend not going. Best of luck.
Fast food is very definitely unhealthy, but eating it in the rare instance when you have 20 minutes to find food and eat isn't that bad.
I low-key find it more expensive and slower than just going to a random grocery store and buying the first thing I see
That's how the tide pode thing got started.
McDonald's hasn't even cornered the market in the USA.
I have yet to travel somewhere that didn't have a local fast food chain.
Rule of traveling: never eat anywhere you can back home (which is pretty much any chain restaurant)
I dunno, I got a kick out of visiting Tim Hortons in Saudi Arabia. My Canadian friends on facebook were amused by it.
I ate at the first ever Carl's Jr in Japan right after it opened because it'd been 3 weeks since I'd been home and was dying for some home food
Walk in and it's themed after LA and SACRAMENTO (home) of all places, and there was a California expat family eating there so we sat next to them and raced about how the food tasted just like home but s little better
Then the news can say and interviewed the lady and her son
Sometimes it's worth visiting those places lol
Can confirm food in Japan is just better even at the same fast food restaurants.
McDonald’s is the one restaurant that I will eat at internationally because they have different menu items. It is interesting to see what is popular in that country and the local interpretation of American culture. But even then it’s one and done and only if I absolutely have to eat a quick meal to make a reservation or something
it's just funny how america known for its fast food has the worst mcdonalds menu in the world. Even the one special thing they had of having cheap items is gone.
I moved to London in 2011. When Five Guys opened here in 2013, I think I ate there at least once a week for 2 months.
Also, what the fuck. It was expensive back then, and it's just absurdly priced now. Also I don't eat hamburgers as often which is definitely a good thing...
Tbf, I want to go to Kuwait just for the Taco Bell (and then maybe swing by the Afghan/Pakistan border to check out the market and buy some cool hand engraved shit, but,) Kuwait is the only country that has Volcano Tacos still. I want to bring home, portion out, and freeze an entire bag of that fucking sauce and then I can turn taco bell here into Volcano Tacos (without the red shell but who cares, the secret's in the sauce.)
Kuwait is not near Afghanistan or Pakistan. You're mixing up two different US wars ;)
It has borders with Iraq, Saudi Arabia and almost Iran.
I assume it's closer together than the US is to either, so "while I'm in the neighborhood" I may as well pop over. Flight has to be cheaper and I could probably get away with making Kuwait a 14hr layover.
it is interesting to see what they do differently though.
I’ve been traveling for a long time. Easily one of the worst a things I’ve seen happening culturally is globalization of brands that “dumb down” local foods and crafts. Doesn’t matter where you go, particularly the westernized world, it’s the same shit everywhere. The same brands. Even some of the food is moving towards sameness. Want to find a local gift to bring home? Good luck. It’s all the same stuff made in China, each store has the same stuff on the shelves.
You’ll have better luck outside the metro areas, but usually if you’re traveling to see the sights they are often in more metro/touristy areas.
Corporate colonialism turning the world into shit
The first night my wife and I visited Tokyo, we went to a Burger King. Still ashamed of myself 14 years later.
China's home grown Starbucks is called Luckin and their logo is a buck backlit by the moon.
I find that hilarious.
McDonald's owned the WcDonald's title a few months back. They printed manga on every takeout bag.
I'm not a fan of huge chain restaurants but that was pretty funny.
In Russia, after the war started and McDonald's left, it was renamed Vkusno i Tochka (Tasty and Dot)
I landed at Domodedovo in Moscow in 2013. Ready to see this incredible new place I've never experienced before, I walked out into the main arrivals area, and right there was a Cinnabon.
I believe my exact words were "We did it. We beat communism..."
I landed at Domodedovo in Moscow in 2013. Ready to see this incredible new place I’ve never experienced before, I walked out into the main arrivals area, and right there was a Cinnabon.
Reminds me of the penultimate verse of the Complete History Of The Soviet Union, Arranged To The Melody Of Tetris (2010) by Pig With The Face Of A Boy.
And now the wall is down, the Marxists frown
There’s foreign shops all over town
When in Red Square, well don’t despair
There’s Levi’s and McDonald’s there
The US gave us crystal meth
And Yeltsin drank himself to death
But now that Putin’s put the boot in,
Who’ll get in our way?
When I've visited Lisbon last year, within five days we've eaten lunch or dinner at least once per day at McDonald's. Why? It was early May and it was one of the only places accommodating to our accessibility needs in an air conditioned environment, free of cigarette smoke. Because that's what you need when you have two children and a stroller, and McDonald's is consistent.
Plus some of the localized menu items were pretty amazing and the staff was super friendly.
TIL smoking indoors in public is still allowed in Portugal
I'm not sure about that. But most restaurants downtown were semi-open, with some seating indoors, some outdoors along the streets. There doesn't seem to be a law against smoking at the table outdoors, and the smoke just goes everywhere. If it's not the people at the table, it's the passersby or the staff on their break. Really bad experience in multiple places.
Some people when they travel: go to a new place to eat the same shit as at home, and if that isn't possible, complain about "how everything is different here". If you wanted more of the same, why did you travel?
I would just so I can try their localized menu. I take joy in how their system works there vs. at home.
Remember the WcDonalds campaign from earlier this year? Now I’m hungry. I got marketeered.
That sauce was actually good though. The WcNuggets may have been your regular ol' McNuggets, but damn that sauce was good
I wouldn't know, I tried to get it 3 separate times and they were consistently out. Guess that does say something about how good it is or it says something about false scarcity being good advertising.
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