IT'S NOW OFFICIAL
China has just eclipsed Taiwan in yet another key barometer of globalization:
Yum's latest effort is a Chinese iteration of Taco Bell in Shanghai, where the company is trying to repeat its KFC and Pizza Hut success with Mexican fare. Little of the Taco Bell formula has been imported from the U.S. The Shanghai outlet, which opened last May, is called Taco Bell Grande.
Actually, the whole article is interesting and explains many of the Bizzaro versions of popular US fast food chains in China, e.g. sit down Pizza Hut with no home delivery.
Note: Article is from 2003 - maybe it's closed by now?
3 comments:
Didn't we use to have sit down Pizza Hut with no home delivery in Taichung? With a crappy salad bar? Tai Ping Rd. or thereabouts.
In the Lai Lai...and the Mormons ate there a lot.
Dairy Queen in Indonesia is also like that...waiters with bow ties.
Now, did you see this Taco Bell they speak of?
I've been to one in Singapore (that was merged with a KFC and Pizza Hut.)
I hope I don't make any enemies by saying this, but from a purely food standpoint, the mainland blows Taiwan away. Beijing especially, is like some promised land full of everything you could possibly want to eat and at a lower price than you'd pay in Taiwan or the west.
You know how Sichuan restaurants are heavily "Taiwanified" here? Well, in Beijing, the Sichuan restaurant laoban is actually from Sichuan. The Xinjiang restaurant laoban is from Xinjiang. The Shandong restaurant laoban... well, you get the idea. And there are also a LOT more selections as far as western food. There's a good Tex-mex sit-down restaurant. There's greek food. There are weird Chinese-Russian fusion places. Oh, and as for chains, forget Taco Bell. They've got Papa John's! For Chinese and western food both, Beijing rocks!
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