whats the percentage of Chinese that go to to mcdonalds?

[liuzhou]

McDonald´s in China has definitely better quality of food than normal Chinese food stalls

You need to get out more.

McDonald's Advertising

What McDonalds actually serve.

Sorry, the software,after screwing up the first time, is being stupid and now telling me my post is too short!

[淨土極樂]

According to Baidu Maps, Xi'an has 79 啃他鸡's and only 27 麦当劳's. Why?

The immense popularity of KFC over McDonald's can be explained by the fact that they actually try to adapt to local tastes. Chinese KFC's have 川味儿 burgers, 粥 etc. I heard they have regional food in Thailand and Indonesia as well.

[Lu]

How is the difference between picture and actual burger an indication of the quality of what you actually eat? I never eat McDonald's as I don't like the taste, but I do believe that you have a better chance of not eating gutter oil and rat meat there. The 'scandals' McDonald's gets in the newspaper for are nothing compared to what some Chinese restaurants serve.

[liuzhou]

According to Baidu Maps, Xi'an has 79 啃他鸡's and only 27 麦当劳's. Why?

Simple. KFC have been in China longer and have expanded more aggressively, although they have problems now.

I doubt their ubiquity (or popularity) has everything to do with localisation of their menu. McDonalds localise their menus, too. All over the world.

How is the difference between picture and actual burger an indication of the quality of what you actually eat?

Well, if anyone served me that pile of slop in any restaurant, I'd be concerned about their commitment to quality.

The 'scandals' McDonald's gets in the newspaper for are nothing compared to what some Chinese restaurants serve.

So you are comparing one American chain with every restaurant in China and drawing conclusions from that? Try including every American restaurant or every European restaurant and see how that changes the picture. In fact, America reports more food scandals than most - although that may be due to a better reporting system.

I'm not defending either McDs or Chinese restaurants (I have never eaten in McDs or KFC or any similar Chinese clone) - just asking that some actual, verifiable facts are employed.

[Lu]

I doubt their ubiquity (or popularity) has everything to do with localisation of their menu.

While I haven't personally researched this, everything I heard about KFC's success is about how they have localised in China. Yes, McD does this too, a little bit, but not nearly as much as KFC. It seems to be a pretty widely-held view among people who know about this kind of stuff that this is what made the difference.

So you are comparing one American chain with every restaurant in China and drawing conclusions from that? Try including every American restaurant or every European restaurant and see how that changes the picture. In fact, America reports more food scandals than most - although that may be due to a better reporting system.

Let me elaborate. As a foreign company in China, McDonald's is under more scrutiny than many other companies, and as a result it does get into 'scandals' once in a while. But these are usually pretty small stuff, I can't think of a concrete example (go on, attack me for that) but it's things like their food being more expensive than some people think it should be and such. Not rat meat and gutter oil, never things that could actually be bad for someone's health.

In addition, this is a global company that is used to oversee and streamline their process, and already has a lot of practices in place to manage quality. For that reason alone, I'd trust them over the random 成都小吃 around the corner. I would give a similar amount of trust to other big chains (Yoshinoya, Hannashan, whatever). They have more to loose from bad publicity and more practice at getting things right.

Well, if anyone served me that pile of slop in any restaurant, I'd be concerned about their commitment to quality.

I've learned long ago from eating my grandma's huzarensalade that if you judge food by its looks, you'll miss out on a lot of good food. Taste- and quality-wise, that burger probably beats most Chinese birthday cakes, even though those look a lot better.

[liuzhou]

"Loosing" fast food of any description is one of my worst nightmares.

already has a lot of practices in place to manage quality.

Do they apply those practices in all territories, or only in those territories in which they are statutory requirements?

For example, in the UK, I know they clearly display nutritional information on each of their products in every store. Because they have to.

Do they do so in China? Fat chance.

[abcdefg]

#25 --

While I haven't personally researched this, everything I heard about KFC's success is about how they have localised in China.

A staple item on KFC menus here since 2006 or 2007 has been the 老北京, a chicken wrap. I like the name and it seems to be popular all across China. At first I thought they might just be offered in Beijing, but I've had them in Kunming as well.

[anonymoose]

The 'scandals' McDonald's gets in the newspaper for are nothing compared to what some Chinese restaurants serve.

So you are comparing one American chain with every restaurant in China and drawing conclusions from that?

Did you not notice the word "some" in Lu's comment? Can't you for a change actually provide a constructive response rather than sifting through every post for a flaw (of marginal relevance) to seize upon, and when you can't find any, putting words into people's mouths just for the sake of retorting with condescending nonsense?

[Shirley_Chen]

I like KFC more than McDonald's. Maybe it is more catered for Chinese appetite.

[Guest realmayo]

I'd always thought that given the choice more Chinese people would choose fried chicken than would choose a beefburger. That, and more localisation seems to explain KFC versus those Golden Arches.

[roddy]

KFC were also in China a few years before McD's I think, and have expanded much more aggressively. Worth noting the same company (Yum) owns Pizza Hut, which must be devastated by all the mockery of inauthentic pizza and salad bar architecture, as it carries whopping great big bags of cash to the bank.

Free copy of this book to anyone who promises to come back and explain the magic.

[msittig]

I own and have read (a pirated copy of) that book. It's actually quite a good read.

The "secret" was hiring experienced Taiwanese management who were flexible and responded quickly to local needs and situations, among many other factors. Again, a short but info-packed recommended read.

A staple item on KFC menus here since 2006 or 2007 has been the 老北京, a chicken wrap. I like the name and it seems to be popular all across China. At first I thought they might just be offered in Beijing, but I've had them in Kunming as well.

In fact they used to have a Mexican wrap (chicken, lettuce and salsa) in addition to the Lao Beijing but it got dropped while the localized wrap lives on.

[roddy]

Thanks, although no more Mexican wraps? That's a blow.

[count_zero]

I’ve seen this a few times before, so apologies if you’ve all seen it too.

This is the weekly food for the Dong family, Beijing. You can see the KFC meal on the far right table.

What people eat around the world.

http://onlyfunnyjokes.com/bestoftheweb/2007/06/28/what-do-people-around-the-world-eat-brilliant-photos-plus-food-expenditure-in-a-week-and-family-recipes-from-the-world-over/

[jprater89]

And don't forget that a lot of Chinese go to McDonalds not to eat at all... plenty of students camp out there to study or just to sleep (most McDs in China are 24 hours) if they miss their dorm curfew.

[Matty]

And don't forget that a lot of Chinese go to McDonalds not to eat at all... plenty of students camp out there to study or just to sleep (most McDs in China are 24 hours) if they miss their dorm curfew.

I've done that before with a couple of Chinese girls who a little more lost than me, I helped them find it and we ate and talked until we all fell asleep. I think that's why most of the night customers of the MCD near 罗湖 station go there.