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western food in China?
May 18, 2007 03:55
  • EVENING
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Hey friends,

I am just curious how do you foreigners think of western food in China? Is it as authentic as that in your countries??

I have tasted beefsteak and doubt if it has added some local chinese flavor and using some chinese cooking ways...........hehe :=)
May 18, 2007 11:12
#1  
  • LIONPOWER
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Beefsteak not the problem,
Problem cooking style.
May 19, 2007 13:02
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  • DAVEC
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I did try both KFC and a macdonalds when I visited, they can be roughly called food. They tasted a lot different from here in UK.
May 20, 2007 22:37
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  • MAY001
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I think less restaurants can be called authentic since they must cater Chinese's taste. Just like the Chinese restaurants all around the world. They are terrible!

May 22, 2007 09:14
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  • APAULT
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KFC and maccas are not typical western food...only fast food
May 23, 2007 23:00
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I don't like KFC or Maccas!

Just prefer healty food like green vegetables, beancurd, carrots and any kind of fruit!!

My friends call me 'Rabbit' for short!! haha............

Do you often eat KFC or Maccas in China or in your own countries???.
Jun 8, 2007 23:38
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  • ROGERINCA
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I like hamburgers and cheeseburgers a lot. However, when I am at home in California, I do not eat at McDonald’s very often, as the quality and taste is not the best available. There are many restaurants in America that prepare excellent hamburgers, nothing like those at McDonald’s. Some of these restaurants are chains like McD’s, and some are general food restaurants which also include the hamburger on the menu. The other option is to just grill some at home, with readily available authentic ingredients. When I am in China, unfortunately over time, the McDonalds hamburger becomes tasty if I have the cravings for any hamburger with the western taste. It is difficult to find a restaurant in China that can prepare a hamburger to most American’s taste. I think it is both cooking style and the ingredients, and combination thereof.

Photo is a ‘real’ cheeseburger in California made by the very popular In-N-Out Burger chain. Toasted bun, two 100% ground beef patties, cooked medium well, real American Cheese, melted on the grill, sweet yellow onion slice, iceberg lettuce, and ripe red tomato slice, with special thousand island dressing, although many use ketchup and mayonnaise and mustard too.

Anyone hungry now !!??



Jun 8, 2007 23:41
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  • ROGERINCA
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The recipes used by the McD’s in China are very close to those at home in America. I have had both the Big Mac and the double cheeseburger and they are both very close in taste to what I have at home. The overall menu is quite different for both McD’s and KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) in China vs. the USA. There are more types of beef burgers on the menu and less fish based product in the USA. The same holds true at KFC, in the USA there are more versions of the basic chicken dishes and less of the other items found in China.

Most interesting is the Mexican food which is so popular in America (Taco Bell) and the few stores in China have a very different menu than in the USA.
This is the one food item I miss greatly in Guangzhou; authentic Mexican food. Here in California, Mexican restaurants are as plentiful as the Chinese restaurants.

The biggest change in my preferences, has been that I really like [real] Chinese food now. I now like it better than the Chinese food served in American Chinese restaurants. I like true Sichuan, Hunan, and of course Cantonese cuisine very much now.

Jun 9, 2007 17:39
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  • WCTMAN
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In two years in China, I have had one McD burger and one pizza from Pizza Hut. To be fair, I should say that I never ate at McD's in Canada, so no loss. I do miss pizza a bit, that I will admit.

There are two reasons why I avoid western food: 1) Chinese food is sooooo much better and 2) the price. Western food is priced at around 4 times that of local ie a great noodle meal is around 3 - 5 rmb; McD's is about 20. Makes no sense to me to eat western.

But, I would love to own a KFC or McD's franchise. Customers are lined up all day long. The profits must be enormous.
Jun 10, 2007 01:24
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  • JCNILE123
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so funny! i was always aware that kfc and or mc donalds are just junk food, good only to pack you up with fat and calories, there are very good and tasteful western food as so is chinese food, and please don't give me wrong i eat mc donalds and kfc, but i do eat aware of the fact that i'm eaten something not so good to my health.
about Mr rogerinca statement, i have never tasted a in- n -out burger, this is the first time i heard of that burger join, but a 100%
beef maybe yes, but that so call good burger on the pict is a poolzest of pure fat, beef fat all right. about 20% good beef meat and 80% beef fat.
i think Mr apault got it right junk or fast food are not typical western food.
one of the many western poor exportations are junk food, in the holy name of capitalism, and to make my point, in average more than 60% of the american population are fat,, fat ,, fat..very fat, included my self, (no so fat) .
steak? chicken? fish?? sea food?? all good in us and so in china. i think i'm not so much interested about westen food in china, chinese food??? of course yes!!! if i'm in china, it is part of the adventure.
by the way chinese food in the west it is not so original, point is , mc donalds or kfc in china is to conquer the chinese market, i think that if chinese restaurants in the west are too chinese like for the chinese people it will be a business failure.we don't like all the chinese food, but some, and most of it are chinese food with a western touch, not very original.
Jun 10, 2007 03:00
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  • ROGERINCA
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Actually, the % composition is reversed. I don't think one could stomach a burger that was 80% fat and only 20% beef ?? Moreover, it would cook down and melt away to almost nothing on the grill !! :) :)

In most states in the USA, including California, where I live, the percent of fat content of ground beef is required by law to be on the package label and also available to customers of restaurants. The average hamburger in the USA has 20% fat and 80% actual meat. Most Americans like to buy their ground beef in the 15%-85% ratio. Health aspects aside, a fat content of at least 20 to 25% makes for a jucier and tastier buger. I eat everything in moderation and I check my blood component levels twice a year, when I visit my doctor.

As a note, the very famous IN-N-Out hamburger chain, has its own meat processing plant near Los Angeles. They do not use frozen meat and they use 100% pure beef, without any fillers such as other animal protein or soy. It is trucked fresh almost daily throughout California, from Los Angeles. Also, their french fries are not frozen. They are prepared hourly from fresh cut russet potatos, at each store. Moreover, I eat more Chinese style food, than I eat hamburgers, in any given week.

Also, It would sure help if [members] would at least put their nation/region of the world, before posting here. This would avoid a lot of confusion and mis-directed information.
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