I had the opportunity to try a KFC in Sweden recently and figured I’d give them a go. Gotta say for a place specialising in chicken they were really mediocre, burger king’s chicken sandwiches are better by far.
The breading was nicely crisp but if they really use “11 herbs and spices” it must be in truly minuscule amounts because it was about as bland as chicken can get. The sandwich was otherwise rather uninspired as well, just plain mayo and half a handfull of lettuce.
They were cheap though, real damn cheap and their fries were served in very large portions compared to other fast food restaurants here. The medium option rivalling a large at BK or McD.
The most over Hyped foods coming from a American are KFC & McDonald they are nothing special here and they are mostly listed low on the list for Top Fast Foods in America, Here most KFC’s are garbage overly greasy and kinda bland & with McDonalds there Breakfast is pretty good for fast food but everything else not so much.
Umm… they are not the most hyped over foods… People eat them because they are:
Cheap
Fast
For some reason americans love eating while driving, it’s so unhealthy. They drive in a drive through, order, pick up the food and continue driving. As they drive, not looking at the road, fumbling in their grease bags for the next burger, fry, chicken, whatever. Stuffing their faces and running red lights, they drip ketchup/mayo all over their cloths…
Anyway, I live here, doesn’t mean that I behave like that. We go to McDonalds every once in a while because we are lazy, nobody wants to prepare food, and it’s late at night, while the other restaurants are closed. But all in all, I think it’s not really the thing that people actively seek out. Maybe some children do, because their parents are not well-educated and all these kids think while growing up that McDonalds or Burger King is the best thing out there. I feel sorry for these children…
Talked to someone in the US once who described his family’s usual dinner time situation as one of them drove by a fast food place on the way home from work and brought that home with them for the family to share. They never cooked at home and only ate drive through fast food. He claimed they didn’t have time to cook.
Sounded like a horrible way to live to me and I can’t imagine it’s particularly financially sound either. They had children too, so I fear for what their kid’s relationship with food will look like as adults.
Not to mention this self-reported. A lot of people who are overweight and obese here think it’s normal, because they compare themselves to the next guy walking down the street…
As an American i haven’t witnessed anyone eating while driving in years (not an exaggeration). Texting is a different story; but based on my personal experience, Americans in general don’t eat while driving.
In America my favorite place to eat is at home. There’s not a single restaurant here that compels me to eat there. When i was living in Japan, my favorite place for everyday eating was either Nakau or Yoshinoya.
No, I am amazed. I watch people drive in and out of drive-thru lines and all they do is eat in their car, driving or not. I also have a local ice cream shop nearby and I love to walk there and get a cone, sit down on the bench, enjoy the outdoors and eat my ice cream. What do half of the people do? They drive in, get their ice cream, and go sit in their car to eat the ice cream…
I am just completely baffled by their actions… A lot of them drive away licking their ice cream… lol…
what i meant was those are the most talked about all over the world and seen as a cool american brand or something they considered more highly over there local fast food places, and i’m saying its kinda nonsense yes i kinda get the oddity of it but there food usually never taste that great where ever in the world they are at. so these kinda do get hyped as being these great american restaurants even tho most american’s wouldn’t consider them that great and only go to them if they need something fast or cheap.
Eating in the car makes sense because you have your own space and maybe privacy. I’m not saying no one eats while driving but i never see it. Obviously if you’re observing people leaving an ice cream shop, you’re probably very likely to see people eating while driving. Though i agree with you that it is strange. Just stop and eat so that you can both enjoy your food AND be a safe driver.
Here in Brazil KFC is also shit, which is amazing considering the quality of our chickens here.
We have great Japanese food here, though. We have a considerable Japanese population and I’ve eaten food from some fantastic chefs a few times on special occasions, like on my birthday.
Which brings me to the question: where are the restaurants you mentioned, @kovec?
In Tokyo. I lived there for 10 months. If you are in Japan for any reason and you want fast food, don’t go to McDonalds, Burger King, or KFC. Go to a beef bowl restaurant (there’s a lot more on the menu than beef bowls) like Suki-Ya, Yoshinoya, or Nakau. You get more for your money, it’s served faster, and it tastes good.
Welllllllllllll damn. I hate Brazilian Suki-ya. We have that here, for some reason and, here, it’s depressing.
There’s this AMAZING noodle shop in our Japanese neighborhood (neighborhood is called “Liberdade” [Freedom] and it has loads of immigrants). Place is small and cozy and owned by a senior Japanese couple. It’s probably older than time itself and goes by ‘Aska’. It’s so so so good and cheap that everything else is expensive AND tasteless by comparison.
I love ramen! The Japanese have some outstanding food, seriously. I bet you ate like a king/queen when you lived there.
Thanks for the suggestions! I’ll definitely check those out if I ever cross “visit Japan” off my bucket list.
It’s not that i recommend these places, it’s that i recommend them over the Western fast food when you need something quick, cheap, and easy. I’m not really a fan of Suki-ya either though i think they are the only one who offers kimchi gyudon, which is my only menu recommendation for them.
As for ramen, i never found a cheap ramen restaurant (i also didn’t look very hard). I was on a tight student budget when i was there so i was always eating cheap food like gyudon and onigiri (at home: instant curry, ramen, or cheap bento from the grocery store). I didn’t eat like a king at all.
