How To Conquer China (Hint, It's Through The Stomach)

Jason Walsh via Flickr

In Search of Mickey Li's -- Paul French, Foreign Policy

Why doesn't China have its own fast-food mega-chain?

SHANGHAI — Under the arches of the Zhongshan Park elevated railway station, there's a joint where I've been catching quick lunches for years. I first went in, nearly a dozen years ago, because the sign over the door caught my attention: Zhen Gong Fu ("Real Kung Fu"), next to a cartoon picture of Hong Kong martial arts legend Bruce Lee in full flight, about to deal a lethal blow.

It was modern Chinese kitsch, something novel for Shanghai at a time when most lunch places here were undecorated mom-and-pop eateries, and I remember thinking: The owner must be a genius. Surely, Real Kung Fu with its cheap chicken-and-rice staples and globalized gloss would soon be everywhere, the answer to the question I often heard from businesspeople, tourists, and students in China: Where is the Middle Kingdom's answer to McDonald's?

Read more ....

My Comment: Being a regular visitor to China since the mid 1980s .... the search and enjoyment of a good restaurant has always been one of my priorities. When I first arrived in China .... because I was a guest of the Central government .... I was served the best. Shark Fin soup, jumbo shrimps that are the size of JUMBO SHRIMPS, seafood and delicacies from every corner of China .... and all of the food .... recipes that have obviously been passed down through the centuries (if not more) .... was fantastic. It was such a good thing that in my first summer there I ended gaining 20 lbs and developing a craving (at the end) for simple Western food like bread, salami, mashed potatoes, and a decent cup of coffee. And while my favorite haunts and restautrans are still there, the Westernization of China's eating habits has certainly exploded in the past decade .... and the Chinese .... or at least those who can afford it .... love it .... and so do I. But as good as China is .... my favorite Chinese restaurants are still in Hong Kong .... and the Sunday buffet in the Kowloon Hotel .... after 25 years it is still the best that I have ever had in the world.