McDonalds vs. Taco Bell vs Starbucks: Koreanized Fast Food.
Ok, so this is a bit different than our other FAPFAPS. This isn’t really fully Korean food, or even a cute Korean spot. It’s just something we were inspired to do when we were in Singapore. Namely, we were surprised to see different kinds of food at the Starbucks in Singapore. Much different than what we have in Korea, which is also much different than what we have in Canada (Oh Ginger Molasses cookies how I miss you!). We also remember when we were in Japan they had some different stuff at McDonalds. So, we figured, maybe some of you are interested in what Korea has to offer. Maybe? I don’t know.
Another thing that really fascinates us is going to supermarkets in other countries. Seeing all the different name brands, some of which are extremely popular and all over the store yet whose names we are totally unfamiliar with. That’s really fun to see, in our opinions. I remember being in Poland a long time ago and seeing a chocolate brand that’s as popular as Nestle in North America, yet I never heard of that brand, and it really intrigued me how some people have giant companies that are parts of their everyday lives, yet those brands are meaningless elsewhere. Then that made me think of fame and relevance, how some people are mega stars in one country yet are utterly nameless in another.
Sorry…I’m getting too deep and philosophical here. Here’s some gortdamned Korean Fast food. It’s different and special. My advice: stay away from any fast food that has Bulgogi in it. Not…that…good. We like Bulgogi otherwise, but this…this is some weird bastardization. I think fast food bulgogi just translates to “meat with sweet sauce.”
Also, we got to play with the magic stick again. YAY! MAAAAGIIIIC STIIIICK. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, we got it in our Last Day in Singapore and have loved it ever since. We put our iPhones on it and can walk around with it and get decent footage. Small problem, though: our audio kind of malfunctioned today (BARGH!) so our mics were useless after all. Totally sucks! So, that’s why we cut out the Starbucks footage and left it in the blooper reel, because the audio there is totally different and noticeably worse, but you still get to see something different. More importantly, you get to see turtle sex. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH. FYI, if you don’t know what I’m referring to by Turtle sex, Google a video of it. It’s hilarious.
Anyhow, if there’s anything from your country that you notice is different, please share, because these kinds of things fascinate us to no end, because we’re nerds who are very easily amused…
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Best burger I had in Korea was Ms Kim or Mr Wan burgers. They were fried in front of you from a cart and you could get kimchi and fried egg as extras. Also the would have runners send them to you if you were going some place with in two blocks
The one big difference at McDonald’s sells beer in Germany
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hmmm let’s see, here in Costa Rica they change the names of things quite a lot, like in Germany a chicken burger is a chicken burger and not a Hühnchen Burger but in CR it’s called McPollo (pollo=chicken)
also, you can get gallo pinto in every fast food chain, which is like the national food of Costa Rica, it’s basically just rice mixed with beans but hey who said national foods must be creative or inventive
I very rarely eat fast food, too expensive, so I can’t think of anything else atm but I think I will be visiting those establishments in the near future for research purposes
oh one more thing I remember, those hot apple pie (?) thingies you get at McDonalds? they have them filled with pineapple here, makes totally sense
Ahahah! Only food to make the portuguese nasties to come out!!!
In Portugal there is only one Starbucks that I know of, and it’s basically just for tourists. The coffee from Starbucks is like a bucket of water where someone washed potatoes, and in every other café it is a tiny super tasty cup, so, portuguese are not fans of Starbucks, plus it’s too expensive. No Taco Bell, reasonable amount of Pizza Hut, Burguer King, KFC in the shopping centers and MacDonald’s is pretty much everywhere. Never tried the soup, but that made me laugh when they started with it. Soup is very traditional in Portugal, and lots of people just have soup and a sandwich for lunch. Now, if anyone ever gets to go to Portugal, specifically Madeira Island, ask for a “prego” in any café, that’s a juicy beef steak, lettuce, tomato, cheese, ham, fried egg, sauce, in a trational bread “bolo do caco” and you will love it. Sigh, now i’m hungry.
We recently got oatmeal porridge on the McDonalds breakfast menu, I don’t think they have it anywhere else?
http://www.mcdonalds.se/se/maten/produkter/frukost/mcgrot.html
THE COOL RANCH TACO IS SO GOOD.
I boast…but I only got to eat one when I was visiting home in march. Sad face.
But you know what’s easier and just as good? make taco salad with cool ranch Doritos. Have some north American nasties send you a packet of taco bell meat seasoning and cool ranch doritos and you’re set. just go out and buy the veggies and meat. BOOM. deliciousness.
I think in Belgium people who yearn for some fastfood are more likely to go to a ‘frietkot’ to get some real Belgian fries rather than to go to McDonalds (we don’t have Burger King or KFC here). There isn’t one single village without any ‘frietkot’. I feel a lot of people dislike mayonaise but it’s really good (maybe they make it differently elsewhere?) add a ‘curryworst’ and there you have it: a real Belgian meal, there’s no one who dislikes that here in Belgium!
Well I’m from Mexico and tacos here are different, Taco bell is not famous like the tacos in the corner of everywhere ^^
We have “Tacos de guisado”, “Tacos de canasta”…etc.
Of course I love Carl’s Junior Hamburguer is yummy for me
Hawaii!!! Taro pie, haupia (I’d describe it as coconut pudding) pie, spam and Portuguese sausage breakfast platters! yummm
oops i just realized somebody already posted hawaii!
I know you don’t want any American commenters but did you know that at McDonalds they have something called a McGangBang It’s a sandwich made from a double cheeseburger and a McChicken sandwich — where you put an entire McChicken sandwich inside a double cheeseburger.
I liked the mcdonald’s bulgogi burger.
But maybe that’s because I haven’t been away from fast food as long as you guys have.
IN hermosillo sonora Mexico we have HERMOSILLO SONORA STYLE HOTDOGS here is a video of cbs about them https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXBSzHm8Qxw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Why didn’t you guise try the McSpicy in Singapore!!! It’s a super spicy deep fried chicken thigh. It’s as delish as it is sinful. Sooooooooo glorious, I tell you. Seriously.
I’m from America, but our fast food restaurants in my state (New Mexico) actually have a few regional variations. Specifically, you can get green chile on anything anywhere. (This even applies in places you wouldn’t expect, like Vietnamese restaurants having green chile pastries) McDonalds has green chile double cheeseburgers and because I worked at the one in my home town last summer I can tell you that it was definitely in the top 5 menu items in terms of popularity (I never once ate there though). We also kept a box full of green chile to give out as a condiment and had to refill it multiple times a day. We’re obsessed!
The BEST burger ever. No BS.
Yeah It never looks as good as the picture (as with all fast food) but supposedly it’s pretty good… I don’t eat fast food, so I’m not sure. Well that’s a lie. I have eaten at IKEA (Swedish Meatballs!) which is technically crappy fast food.
You can get green tea fraps in North America too, it just doesn’t have red bean paste on top…they don’t even put them on the menu…you gotta ask lol.
McDonald’s in the UK has the banana milkshake.
I don’t know exactly how many states are doing this – if it’s all across the country, or what – but in California, they’re adding the Egg White Delight to the breakfast menu at McDonald’s. And now you can exchange the regular fried egg and cheddar cheese on any breakfast sandwich for egg whites and swiss cheese.
I’m sure it’s not that much healthier, but to me the egg whites and swiss taste better and less greasy, so I’m pretty happy with the change. It’s useful on those rare occasions when I egg McDonald’s breakfast. ^^
I have to say, the egg white delight does look quite a bit less gross than the regular ham, egg, and cheese. =P
I don’t know if this is in just in California, or some states, or all across the country, but McDonald’s is doing a new thing for breakfast the egg white delight. You can also exchange the regular eggs and cheddar cheese on any breakfast sandwich for egg whites and swiss cheese.
I’m sure it’s not that much healthier, but it tastes better and less greasy to me, so I like it on the rare occasion I eat McDonald’s breakfast =P
Compared to the old ham and cheese sandwich, it looks slightly less gross. ^^
Oh how I wish I lived closer to poutine….me live in Wisconsin where there is no poutine! :(
Well, here in Mexico we don’t have Taco Bell, which i think is freaking amazing! but we do have McDonald’s, and for breakfast they have these McMolletes (mollete is made with bread, spread with beans, and topped with chihuahua cheese. Then it’s grilled in an oven until the cheese melts.) So i think they only sell McMolletes here in mexico.
Till recently in Townsville, Australia you could get the Taste of America: the Texas, the Cali and the NY burgers! the Texas has smokey BBQ sauce, the Cali has a chicken patty…. but I have no idea how you portrait New York as a burger…? pizza flavored?
being from Oregon I’m just waiting for the Hemp burger…
ps. tried that AU Lamb burger mentioned on here…. it looked like your Bulgoli burger – drowned in greasy sauce after being slapped together by a 2yr old.
We get the Crunchy McFlurry here in NZ too
I don’t know if its just me, but I’m European and I have no idea what European fresco burgers are supposed to be.
In New Zealand McDonald’s has the Kiwi Burger and Georgie Pie
And why must it have corn? I’m a corn fan, but not on my pizza.
I remember in the Middle East, they had a McFalafel. Did not taste like a Falafel XD
as an American I actually think that American fast food chains in other countries are better than they are here -_- It’s the same gross stuff all the time and they are all dirty!(or maybe that’s only because I’m from NY) I went to a McDonald’s in Colombia once and the meat tasted more “real” than it did here!! They also had an arequipe (kinda like caramel) mcflurry that I have never seen here =(
Italy XD pasta salad
since when?? how come I never noticed?? (I’m milanese btw)
I’ve started seeing it everywhere now, so I bought some expecting it to be amazing. It tasted the same as Ceaser salad dressing to me!
It’s BUL-go-gi guys :) Accent on the first syllable. Do they have the regular menu stuff too, like the usual cheeseburgers, and do they taste similarly to the ones in North America? What about breakfast items like the Egg McMuffin?
Here in LA, Korean/Mexican fusion is all the rage. People look out for and follow the Calbi Food Truck. Calbi tacos, kimchi quesadillas are just a few menu items. Korean’s own the trucks and a lot of times Mexican’s serve and/or cook the food.
http://www.calbicatering.com/
wow… kimchi quesadillas… that doesn’t sound good to me. P.S. I’m mexican!
I’m not alone :D Portuguese Nasties!
I never tried the mcbifanas or the soup, but the apple and cinnamon sundae is really good.
while in australia…
Also, I forgot to mention, “mici” or “mic” in Romanian means “little”. Here’s some photos of “mici” so you can have a better idea.
Here is a mexican sushi with beef meat and chorizo
Whut the?! Where is this from?
Unbelievable right? LOL it’s from Mexico, we do have the normal sushi, but as always we had to mexicanize things.
My teory is that because boyfriends/girlfriends don’t like regular sushi the restaurants create this new versions in order to not lose costumers, at list tha’s what I’ve seen in my city, every time I go to a japanese restaurant the ones that order a meat sushi are people who don’t like the original sushi.
“You’re embarrassing me!” Pretty sure that’s just marriage. Hehe. :)