American food in a foreign land. Taste's the same?Italy and Egypt

[cruisecruisecruise2011]

We will primarily be in Rome and Egypt and I during some of my research I see there are American food chains.

I see that there is a Pizza hut real close to the Pyramids of Giza,actualy it overlooks them.I also know the there is a Micky Ds near the Vatican.

 

Do they taste same as in America?

[eh2zed]

Amazingly so but why would you.

[Globaliser]

I had a couple of my boys do some research for me:

Vincent: And you know what they call a … a … a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?

Jules: They don’t call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese?

Vincent: No man, they got the metric system. They wouldn’t know what the **** a Quarter Pounder is.

Jules: Then what do they call it?

Vincent: They call it a Royale with Cheese.

Jules: A Royale with Cheese. What do they call a Big Mac?

Vincent: Well, a Big Mac’s a Big Mac, but they call it le Big-Mac.

Jules: Le Big-Mac. Ha ha ha ha. What do they call a Whopper?

Vincent: I dunno, I didn’t go into Burger King.

[greatam]

We will primarily be in Rome and Egypt and I during some of my research I see there are American food chains.

I see that there is a Pizza hut real close to the Pyramids of Giza,actualy it overlooks them.I also know the there is a Micky Ds near the Vatican.

 

Do they taste same as in America?

 

Not particularly.

 

Micky D's in Japan (Kyoto) has these little tiny hamburgers they pass off as a quarter pounder. Outback in the Beijing Hotel (now Raffles Beijing Hotel) has better meat (from Australia) than any Outback I have eaten in in the USA. The Bloomin Onion was soggy and loaded with oil-not crisp and delicious like in the USA. Olive Garden in Kuwait City drenches everything in vegetable oil, not olive oil (which I thought was very, very weird considering olive oil is a BIG staple in the Middle East). Starbucks in the Green Zone in Iraq tastes EXACTLY like the USA. Starbucks outside the Green Zone has Middle Eastern coffee (strong, black with sugar) and is quite different than the one in the Green Zone.

 

I'm with you about American food. Probably one of the few who travel a lot and rarely eat local food. Give me a big steak any day.

[right trip]

I don't think the food tastes the same. Remember they use different oils and ingredients, Even Burger King hamburgers on European military bases taste differently.

[cruisemom42]

McDonalds tries to keep some consistency with certain menu items (i.e., fries), but they are bound to taste different in different locations.

 

Many McDonald's outlets have items tailored to the individual country. You might enjoy seeing a few:

 

http://photowebs.blogspot.com/2008/02/different-countries-different-mcdonalds.html

[jocap]

MacDonald's in Southampton serve real back bacon in their bacon rolls- what some call English bacon- The cafe is a useful substitute for anyone wanting a small breakfast before embarking on a cruise.

Jo.

[alidor]

Although I think when in Rome...., I have this theory about visiting McDonald's and make it a point to visit them wherever we are! I find them to give an insight into the local tastes and preferences. It's a fascinating place to just people watch as you see families, students, business people, older people, etc. - in short, a snapshot of the local population.

 

Have visited them everywhere from Estonia to Mexico to Sweden to Hong Kong to Thailand and everywhere inbetween.

 

The basic menu is still there and they all the taste the same, but you'll see soup and pork burgers in Hong Kong, sweet chile sauce in Thailand, etc. - again, just an insight into local tastes and customs.

 

And, as much as we love to eat locally and not at tourist places, every so often you just get this hankering....!

[havcamwiltravel]

Although I think when in Rome...., I have this theory about visiting McDonald's and make it a point to visit them wherever we are! I find them to give an insight into the local tastes and preferences. It's a fascinating place to just people watch as you see families, students, business people, older people, etc. - in short, a snapshot of the local population.

 

Have visited them everywhere from Estonia to Mexico to Sweden to Hong Kong to Thailand and everywhere inbetween.

 

The basic menu is still there and they all the taste the same, but you'll see soup and pork burgers in Hong Kong, sweet chile sauce in Thailand, etc. - again, just an insight into local tastes and customs.

 

And, as much as we love to eat locally and not at tourist places, every so often you just get this hankering....!

People, people ... really???? Eat at McDonalds in Italy and France? Eat a Big Mac in the lands of Pizza Napoletana, Penne all'arrabbiata and Truffles and Cassoulet? Scarf down a Quarter Pounder with cheese when one can have Sashimi or Chuchi pla kaphong? I'm going to have to pretend I didn't read that.;)

[alidor]

No, no, no!! Oh good grief - we are certainly not that kind of traveler! I just like to stop in and get a taste of the local culture. Like I said it's a great place to people watch! I love to see how the local people live and visiting a McDonalds gives just a little more glimpse how the average person lives.

[Keith1010]

We have traveled much of the world and this is one question that thankfully I can't answer.

 

Keith

[maryann ns]

We have traveled much of the world and this is one question that thankfully I can't answer.

 

Yeah that! But we have fixed our coffee addiction at McD's or Starbucks in Hong Kong and China.

 

Many years ago we noticed beer for sale in a McD's in Belgium.

 

As Cruisemom42 says, they do cater to local tastes somewhat. Here in Nova Scotia in the summers they serve McLobster Rolls.

[cruisecruisecruise2011]

Although I think when in Rome...., I have this theory about visiting McDonald's and make it a point to visit them wherever we are! I find them to give an insight into the local tastes and preferences. It's a fascinating place to just people watch as you see families, students, business people, older people, etc. - in short, a snapshot of the local population.

 

Have visited them everywhere from Estonia to Mexico to Sweden to Hong Kong to Thailand and everywhere inbetween.

 

The basic menu is still there and they all the taste the same, but you'll see soup and pork burgers in Hong Kong, sweet chile sauce in Thailand, etc. - again, just an insight into local tastes and customs.

 

And, as much as we love to eat locally and not at tourist places, every so often you just get this hankering....!

 

 

Thanks eveyone:)

[browneyes7]

We have traveled much of the world and this is one question that thankfully I can't answer.

 

Keith

 

I agree, Keith! I rarely eat at a McDonalds in the U.S. much less in anywhere else in the world!:)

[Karennella]

Yeah that! But we have fixed our coffee addiction at McD's or Starbucks in Hong Kong and China.

 

Many years ago we noticed beer for sale in a McD's in Belgium.

 

As Cruisemom42 says, they do cater to local tastes somewhat. Here in Nova Scotia in the summers they serve McLobster Rolls.

 

Well we go occasionally to McDonalds when travelling manily when we need restrooms!

The last reason would be for the coffee, but then it is a matter of taste!

[mytime53]

Well we go occasionally to McDonalds when travelling manily when we need restrooms!

The last reason would be for the coffee, but then it is a matter of taste!

 

Ditto on both points. We have, however, eaten dinner at a McDonalds in China. Arriving late at our hotel, our tour guide advised us to eat at the hotel or the nearby Pizza Hut or McDonalds. We were disappointed in all 3 suggestions, but chose McDonalds because we wanted to see the Chinese version of "undesirable" people that we had been warned "hang out there". For us it seemed pretty tame (spiky hair, goth look, typical teenage individualism) but I have to admit that in 17 days, it was the only place I saw it. Anyway, the quarter pounders had a really strange taste...strange enough that I was leary of eating it. I was disappointed we hadn't tried a local place, until the next morning when we found that our tour guide had of course gone to a local restaurant, and ended up visiting the hospital in the middle of the night with a severe gastrointestinal problem.

[Celandine]

The American chains taste the same in Egypt for sure.

 

In China - not so much.... especially McDonalds - the 'beef' they used is really odd and kind of gross (Hong Kong is okay though)

 

No pork in Egypt... so anything with bacon is beef bacon.

 

 

(I lived in China last year, and am currently living in Egypt...so sometimes I enjoy 'tastes' of North America)

[icat2000]

Only think McDonalds and KFC is good for when travelling is they have clean restrooms.

 

I prefer to eat what the locals eat when I travel overseas. I haven't been sick yet after 20 years of travelling

[slidergirl]

I'll pop into a McDs if I need to use the restroom. I'll buy a soda or a coffee as "payment" for using the facilities. Won't necessarily drink what I bought, though...

I pity the poor Sphinx - it looks right at that Pizza Hut all day long. Along the banks of the Nile in Aswan, you'll find a McDs. Next to the Grand Hyatt in Cairo you will find a Hard Rock Cafe (the one good thing about it is free wifi).

In Italy, I will stop in at an Autogrill when I'm traveling the Autostrada. I will admit that I stopped in at the McDs in Konigsee, Germany not for the restroom - I went for the beer :-)

[Karennella]

McD's here in Australia has a fair share of the market partly as it is very cheap. Starbucks does not do as well and they have just closed the Crispy Creme at our local mall; they are not cheap and we prefer our local places. But McD's is very expensive in many of the developing countries and I do not think you see much of a cross-section of locals eating there then.

[cruisemom42]

I pity the poor Sphinx - it looks right at that Pizza Hut all day long. Along the banks of the Nile in Aswan, you'll find a McDs. Next to the Grand Hyatt in Cairo you will find a Hard Rock Cafe (the one good thing about it is free wifi).

In Italy, I will stop in at an Autogrill when I'm traveling the Autostrada. I will admit that I stopped in at the McDs in Konigsee, Germany not for the restroom - I went for the beer :-)

 

Hey, I'm just happy they closed the McD's that faced the Pantheon in Rome. Talk about an eyesore (to me, anyway). Funny thing is that a lot of locals did eat there; most tourists only seemed to go in to use the bathroom.

 

In Cairo I remember our guide telling us that his young son (7 or 8 years old) would choose to eat at KFC over any local food, given the choice. What are we doing to the rest of the world?!?!?!?

[slidergirl]

Hey, I'm just happy they closed the McD's that faced the Pantheon in Rome. Talk about an eyesore (to me, anyway). Funny thing is that a lot of locals did eat there; most tourists only seemed to go in to use the bathroom.

 

In Cairo I remember our guide telling us that his young son (7 or 8 years old) would choose to eat at KFC over any local food, given the choice. What are we doing to the rest of the world?!?!?!?

 

It's the American Corporate Junk Food monster, spreading it's mediocrity across the world. It's sad. Locals will eat there because of the "American food" deal. Why are there no giant Italian or French or Greek or Spanish chains that show up in the US? How would we feel if there was a McDs at the foot of the Washington Monument? There are places where our fast food outlets should NOT be located...

Oh, that McDs in Konigsee: I was there with some 18-25 yr old kids. They really wanted to go to that McDs and have their Big Mac with a beer. It was definitely a novelty. But, I didn't understand why they would want to do that instead of going 1 block further and having a nice brat with a stein of beer from the brat vendor at the lakeside...

[Ontariotrekker]

I once had a tour guide tell me that they eat in the fast food chains because the local restuarants are too expensive during tourist season.

 

Sodas like Coke or Sprite etc are often a lot sweeter too but I think Coke etc changes the formula for different countries. - Shar

[Karennella]

It's the American Corporate Junk Food monster, spreading it's mediocrity across the world. It's sad. Locals will eat there because of the "American food" deal. Why are there no giant Italian or French or Greek or Spanish chains that show up in the US? How would we feel if there was a McDs at the foot of the Washington Monument? There are places where our fast food outlets should NOT be located...

Oh, that McDs in Konigsee: I was there with some 18-25 yr old kids. They really wanted to go to that McDs and have their Big Mac with a beer. It was definitely a novelty. But, I didn't understand why they would want to do that instead of going 1 block further and having a nice brat with a stein of beer from the brat vendor at the lakeside...

The tragic offspin of the Junk Food monster is increasing obesity; and we in the English speaking world (I am Aussie) are the most obese. My husband is Australian-Italian, and we have spent quite a few weeks in Italy these past couple of years. What I really noticed is how thin the people are these days (second least obese women in Europe); how they have food outlets in the new malls but not in the same concentration as we do, and how they do not snack anything as much as we do. Apparently many local councils do not allow non-Italian food outlets to open and there are no giant Italian chains in the US or here, because the businesses are much more likely to be small and local.

[AmoMondo]

The tragic offspin of the Junk Food monster is increasing obesity; and we in the English speaking world (I am Aussie) are the most obese. My husband is Australian-Italian, and we have spent quite a few weeks in Italy these past couple of years. What I really noticed is how thin the people are these days (second least obese women in Europe); how they have food outlets in the new malls but not in the same concentration as we do, and how they do not snack anything as much as we do. Apparently many local councils do not allow non-Italian food outlets to open and there are no giant Italian chains in the US or here, because the businesses are much more likely to be small and local.

 

I agree with this sentiment. Britain also has a growing obesity problem and Scotland even more so, with seriously high number of associated cardiac issues. I'm a great lover of the Italian and Mediterranean way of eating, with the emphasis on slow rather than fast food and individual local restaurants using fresh locally sourced produce rather than food chains.

 

I've only cruised on Italian ships and set eating 3 times a day suits me. Lots of my fellow (mainly English-speaking ones) complain about the lack of 24/7 buffets and there being a few hours during the day and most of the night when food is not available. Italians are a significant percentage of overall passengers and they don't seem to want to graze all day and night. The dining room also seem far more popular with them for dinner, rather than piling it high and eating it quick in the buffet. I had noticed that they tend to be a lot slimmer than us English speaking passengers.