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KFC, McDonalds, BK, Pizza Hut, and Subway seem to be the most common. Popeyes shows up in weird places, like Korea. There are Taco Bells in Central America (and Korea), but I've never seen one in Mexico. Dairy Queen is also common.
I'd say my favorite was Whataburger in Guadalajara, Mexico. It's relatively expensive but those burgers are as good as fancier burger places and you can order a beer.
There is a Taco Bell in Cancun. Couldn't believe it.. .why would anyone go to fake Mexican food when the real stuff is soooo good.
There are very few CHEAP options in Israel. I am almost shocked at the prices that some of the food bloggers post on their meals in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
I'm lucky in that I have friends there that I stay with, and the wife is a fantastic cook. But falafel can be good and very cheap. Also, there are schwarma shops where one can get a good schwarma in pita bread for about $10. Beyond schwarma and falafel, it's expensive. This is why I'm happy to be able to get that decent fresh big salat at McDonalds. Wish they had it here! Then again, i wish they also had so many cheap falafel and schwarma places here, too.
When I was in India I did go to a McDonalds because I was curious about their hamburgers since the cow is a sacred animal there & they use lamb meat instead... so in a way it was regional cuisine.
Also one time in Indonesia I was sweltering in the heat & humidity & had a pounding headache &, passing a McD's, I went in to just sit in aircon in the shade for a spell & have a vanilla milkshake. No regrets...
I think a lot of these American FF places weren't opened for the American tourists, but for the locals who want to eat what the Americans are eating. I know that in places like Panama, McDonalds is very popular, especially with the kids, because it is McDonalds.
Also = wifi, air conditioning, and they aren't too aggressive with folks taking tables for really long periods of time. We've been to so many countries where the McDonalds from about 3:00 pm is the realm of kids in school uniforms taking up 80% of the tables. Sometimes they even have book bags parked to take up spots and we never even see the owners of the placeholders despite eating an entire meal.
In Korea McDonalds is an old folks hangout. Lots of senior citizens go and buy and ice cream cone or bottle of water then spend the afternoon socializing. Funny = it's 90% men, and the majority of them are wearing suit and tie.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jlawrence01
There are very few CHEAP options in Israel. I am almost shocked at the prices that some of the food bloggers post on their meals in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Yeah Israel was brutal for food costs, you can only go to the cheap falafel places so many times.
Jollibee is also in Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, among others, about 37 in the US total. They open up a location in nearly ANY city with a sizable Filipino population. In general, they try to located inside Filipino supermarkets and often pair up with Chowking and/or Red Ribbon Bakeries.
I have to say that they generally do NOT Americanize their foods at this point. So if you do not like the overly sweet spaghetti sauce, don't order it at Jollibee's.
For those who complain that the noise at Jollibee's is too loud, it serves as sort of a community center for the local Filipino community.
Jollibee do have a rather strange mixture on the menu from sweet spaghetti right through to rice and noodles with steak, corned beef and eggs.
However the fried chicken, burgers and other options are fairly good, and they seem to be doing well at Earls Court in London and have already announced further expansion plans.
I also recently read that Jollibee now own all of Smashburger, which means they now have a further international outlet, and are also buying in to a Mexican chain, so they are not putting all their eggs in one basket.
Although the Quick Service Restaurant and Fast Food market remains very competitive in both the US and in other parts of the Western world.
My experience with Jollibee is that I really liked the chicken and the burgers were not bad. I did NOT try the spaghetti as I had just polished off a kg of the Del Monte spaghetti sauce from the Philippines and could not take the coying sweetness.
I thought that Chowking was among the WORST fast food Asian restaurants that I have experienced. Everything was grossly overcooked.
American fast food is taking over the world. The locals love it. We at least should know better. Just stay away.
The worst case of food poisoning I got was after eating a chicken sandwich at a McDonald's in Shanghai (was with a client who wanted to eat there so no choice). I spent a day and night bowing down before the porcelain God after that.
You also see KFC's now everywhere. The old joke when I was in Cairo that KFC stands for "Kentucky Fried Camel".
You eat enough local food enough times and that American fast food feels more exotic.
True dat! I usually like to eat local as much as possible and even in the US I'm not a fan of fast food joints.
However, once I traveled with my wife to a place in the mountains of Taiwan that was a bamboo forest and famous for its local cuisine, almost entirely based around bamboo. For three days we ate dishes with bamboo shoots and other bamboo dishes. Even the rice was steamed in bamboo containers. After three days of eating bamboo everything, when we descended into the local town to catch the train back to Taipei, there was a McDonald's in the train station. Likely the best meal I've ever had at a McDonalds.
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