Posts from the ‘International Intrigue’ Category

Chain Links: Chuck E. Queso

Subway in India serves sandwiches I would actually consider eating (and mint and eggless mayo are offered). The Chicken Seekh uses ground meat, mint and chiles.  I wonder if they have Otis Spunkmeyer cookies spiked with rose water or cardamom?

McDonald’s has never been a slouch in the localized menu department. They too, are appealing to Indians with a new Spicy Delights range.

A blogger in Peru happened to recognize the wife of the Pardo’s founder during a tai chi class and interviewed her. Pardo’s is kind of like the KFC of Peru, but the chicken is rotisseried, not fried. We briefly had one in the West Village that surprisingly kept anticuchos (grilled beef hearts) on the menu. In an informal poll, Pardo’s beat out competitors by a wide margin. I want to eat a place called Norky's, based on name alone.

Once you let in a Chili’s, the franchises will follow. Moscow now has a Pinkberry. Doesn’t $11 (even for a large) seem like a lot of money for frozen yogurt?

Nothing seems more American than Chuck E. Cheese’s, so it’s strange to see the pizza and playtime chain crossing borders. Northeastern Mexico will be receiving ten stores. Internationally, the restaurant already exists in Chile, Guatemala, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Zambia now has a KFC. I’m kind of more interested in the related post, “Lightning kills clergyman, man kills woman over chicken debt.”

Red Lobster will be arriving in Dubai and Kuwait City. No alcohol is no surprise and the bacon-wrapped scallop appetizer will have to go, as well.

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Korean Chicken Joints For Thai Palettes

We’ve come to take Korean fried chicken for granted in NYC. It’s everywhere, even Sheepshead Bay (r.i.p. Staten Island BonChon) not just in Asian enclaves. We’ve been luckier than Thailand where the spicy, extra-crunchy chicken did not exist…until now.

A couple of Thai college students who went to school here wanted to recreate the experience back home. They followed through (how do you just open a foreign chain like that?) and now Bangkok has witnessed the birth of its first BonChon Chicken franchise in the Seenspace mall (I wonder how that Goth mall is doing?) and it has a New York theme, which is so triply cross-cultural it’s almost freaking me out (just almost, because I did eat Korean fried chicken at a place called Chill Out Sports Bar in Hong Kong that had New York-based articles on the wall, so this is not the first re-import back to Asia).

From what I can see on the menu, which is only on Facebook (I love how the one white guy in their photos had to be wearing a fedora) at the moment, the only obvious Thai tweak is the presence of sticky rice and the only oddity is something they’re calling chicken joints. Pardon my poultry ignorance, but what part of the bird is this?

I only wish that my eyes had not seen the words “Thai palette” mentioned in the original post.

Photo credit: BonChon Chicken Thailand

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Chain Links: Sammy Sosa is Neither Mexican Nor Indian

You can find poutine in Mumbai and in Toronto saag poutine exists. Perhaps there is a French-Canadian Indian Connection.

Relations are more muddled between India and our neighbors to the south. It’s hard to tell if this press release (is it a press release? I can’t tell what it’s promoting) was written by a non-native English speaker or a robot of some sort or cobbled together by that AOL Seed thing, but the author, whether human or not, does spell palate correctly. From what I can glean, there’s an udupi chain in Mumbai called Shiv Sagar selling quesadillas. Also in Mumbai at a place called New Yorker and in Delhi at a restaurant named Rodeo they serve “tacos filled with mushy rajma or enchiladas which can be stuffed, topped and surrounded with cheese and ketchup.” This is not a good thing. To confuse further, there is an eatery in Mumbai called Sammy Sosa that slings “Indian meets Tex Mex, the culinary equivalent of a hombre in a Stetson.” I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing. This written work can be summed up by a theory from Solomon, an entity never introduced or given a first name or title anywhere in the text, “Indians don’t travel to Mexico much.”

I’m really getting bored by Cold Stone Creamery. All they do is open stores around the world. One just opened in Singapore (nine more are coming) Malaysia will be getting six and Cyprus, Greece and Brazil will be receiving their fair share of sweet ice cream teeming with mix-ins.

I do not know New Orleans-based Naked Pizza, but they have branched out to Dubai. If the company’s goal to open 100 stores in the Middle East over the next five years comes true it will change its name to N_K_D Pizza in more conservative countries.

Domino’s is now in Poland. Even though I never eat at Domino's or Cold Stone Creamery, I will always find pizza more interesting. What toppings will they have?

Dunkin’ Donuts will be increasing its presence in Asia and opening its first shop in Vietnam.

Sammy Sosa blackboard menu photo from Burp.com

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The Final Spicy Drumstick

The generically named BBQ Chicken (not to be confused with Dallas BBQ where I also ate this week) is the subject of my final Fast Food International column for Serious Eats. I didn’t run out of steam; the city ran out of fodder.

The outdoor food court/strip mall next to our hotel in Penang (during a vacation March of last year—I’m afraid 2010 was lucky with Bangkok, Penang, Puerto Rico, New Orleans, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Montreal. This year has been a vacation bust so far and I have unlimited vacation days at work—such a waste) had a BBQ Chicken and I wasn’t familiar with the South Korean chain at all. It doesn’t seem to get the same accolades as BonChon or Kyochon…or even Kyedong...maybe not CheoGaJip. Which reminds me, I’m completely Korean fried chickened-out.

Time to move onto something new for the rest of 2011.

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Chain Links: To Russia With Love

Russia may only have one Chili’s, but they’ll have 200 more Papa John’s by 2020. Their To Russia With Love pizza is a local invention that includes mashed potatoes, bacon, garlic sauce and onions.

Hong Kong McDonald’s weddings finally make The New York Times.

Do they sing at Johnny Rockets? I’m not sure that they do, but they should. I can see that working in Seoul when they arrive (I've been corrected in my writing at work for calling companies they, not it, but Johnny Rockets seems like a they). Maybe it’s because I just watched a K-pop segment of Monocle on Bloomberg. Monocle would be a great name for a pretentious chain restaurant, if only such a thing existed.

Wendy’s is coming back to Japan.

When KFC tried penetrating Taiwan and Hong Kong in the ‘70s it was a disaster, now Yum, KFC and Pizza Hut’s parent company, has localization down pat. We know about the egg tarts and congee, but I had no idea KFC was hosting circumcision parties for young Uyghurs.

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Chain Links: Valentine’s Egg Tarts

First, it was KFC making Japanese consumers associate fried chicken with Christmas and now it’s KFC linking egg tarts to Valentine’s Day (subscription required). I tried those Portuguese tarts in a Beijing airport and, yes, I would swap them for a box of Russell Stover (am I the last to know that Russell Stover and Whitman’s is the same chocolate?) in a heartbeat. Of course, China has its share of cynics. 27-year-old Yao Lianyi said “The only foundation behind these holidays is commercialism.” Sweet, eggy commercialism.

Apparently, last February KFC in Singapore hosted a blogger event to promote the Valentine’s/Chinese New Year egg tarts…and well, you don’t really see posts like this in NYC.

Chains expand and invade on a daily basis, but Russia’s first Chili’s has been getting more press than others. I’ve learned quite a few things: that they won’t be serving their signature black bean burger (I had no idea a veggie patty was their calling card), there’ll be vodka bottle service and toothpicks at the table and perhaps, most strangely, that Chili’s toned down the spice level in Puerto Rico.

Jubilant FoodWorks, the company that operates Domino’s in India, will be responsible for a “yet-unnamed international food chain.” What will it be?

Likely not Quiznos, which has been named to open five stores by the end of this year. New sauces, more vegetarian offerings and “Indian grains,” whatever that means exactly, will be used in the bread. I could totally see flatbread Sammies made with naan.

Tim Hortons is the latest brand to expand to the Middle East.

Latvia will receive three new McDonald’s locations this year. Their menu doesn’t appear wildly different from the US one, though I don’t think we have a CBO (Chicken Bacon Onions).

Photo: Vladimir Filonov/Moscow Times

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Chain Links: Schmaltz-and-Seltzer-Free

Bringing Jewish deli fare to an Islamic country is a little offbeat, sure. Brooklyn Diner will be opening in Dubai minus pork products and with a few naming tweaks. I survived a rib-less Malaysian Chili’s, but I must admit that calling Kosher salt Sicilian sea salt instead is a bit much. [Insatiable Critic via Eater NY]

Perhaps one should reserve such criticism in Kuwait. A Lebanese food blogger is being sued by Benihana for an unfavorable review that’s fairly mild by Yelp standards. [The National]

In more Midtown to Asia translations, Le Cirque will be expanding to New Delhi. [NYP]

It doesn’t seem odd that McDonald’s has permeated the world, but Wendy’s feels so domestic. Maybe it’s the mascot’s red pig-tails and freckles. Will Argentines embrace Wendy’s? [press release]

Carl’s Jr., on the other hand, seems perfectly suitable for an international audience. Maybe it’s just because I’ve been to the insanely popular one in Singapore twice. Now, the UK will be able to experience one-foot long burgers. [eat out]

Jamba Juice is coming to South Korea’s Incheon International Airport. [QSR]

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Scarfing Done Well

Yum! Brands may be kicking McDonald’s ass in China (as well as its own brands here in the US) but you certainly won’t find a KFC University in Shanghai. So…take that, Colonel Sanders.

Bloomberg gets a look inside of McDonald’s Hamburger University in China, a week-long program that is so selective that you may as well give up and try Harvard instead. The video is worth watching to learn about something important that Susanna Li calls the “people pipeline,” which only makes me think about burgers being people, and to see lucky attendee, Zhou Xiaobu who’s wearing a silky, yellow McDonald’s logo’d scarf that’s kind of cute. Almost cute enough to change my mind about the way certain sects of young people wear scarves with t-shirts and other warm weather attire.

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Chain Links: Catering to Local Palettes

Every few months someone creates a new McDonald’s international food round-up. Can fast food gazpacho shock us anymore? Probably not, but I’ll link to it–even though they’ve managed to engage in some serious palate abuse in their URL. [Business Insider]

With the amount of Korean fried chicken chains we’ve received (and I’ve covered) it’s only right that we bombard South Korea with burgers. McDonald’s will be doing their part by doubling their locations. [QSRweb]

Cheesecake Factory will finally be freed of its US confines. The Middle East, a favorite recipient of American chains, will be seeing 22 shops in the next five years. [Nation’s Restaurant News]

Bulgaria is not a country I ever give thought to one way or the other (the only Bulgarian I know is the coffee guy near my office who blurs the line between sexual harassment and ESL charm) but Domino’s has been thinking about it. "The people of Bulgaria will now get to experience the high level of service and quality pizza that customers worldwide enjoy,” says future franchisee, Lazgin Majid. [QSR]

Elevation Burger will be breaking ground in Bahrain. [FastCasual]

Yum! Brands is going gangbusters in China. Sales in China were up 20% year over year in Q3 2010 and down here 8%. [CNNMoney]

Image: Martine's Chocolates

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