McDonalds has arrived in Saigon. When I first arrived in this country 3 years ago, fast food chains were not present in the city. Burger King had an outlet inside the International Terminal. On arrival back after my first year Burger King had expanded with an outlet outside the arrivals gate at the airport. From then on Burger King marched progressively into the city centre with outlets popping up in all the tourist, expat areas. Starbucks arrived about 12 months ago, and have now expanded to 5 outlets in the city centre.
McDonalds arrived at the beginning of February and coincidentally it's situated about 15 mins walk from my apartment. This is the first outlet in a new country for 17 years, and the first outlet to sell a pork burger. The Vietnamese don't queue, so trying to get to the drive thru or into the restaurant in those first few weeks was chaos, with everyone pushing and shoving, or trying to wheedle their bike into the smallest gap. Now there are roped off lanes all over the place, forcing people to walk back and forth like check in at the airport.
Tonight I walked down to buy an Apple Pie and was also tempted by a bag of fries. 2 apple pies, 30,000 and a bag of fries 25,000. Equivalent $3 NZ. The service very fast. 2 people taking your order as you enter the door on their palm pilots and giving you a number and a counter. Walking to the counter you confirm your order and pay and within a trice the order is there. Efficiency yes, fast food definitely.
While the initial rush and curiosity factor has gone, McDonalds and the other fast food outlets still seems a popular place to frequent. The Vietnamese have a dining out on the street culture. They don't cook a great deal in the homes but prefer to dine, on the street, eating from the numerous street vendors. Eating on the street is a very social occasion. It will be interesting to see if these fastfood chains influence the diet of a population accustomed to eating rice, noodles, spring rolls, pho and other traditional foods. I hope not, as obesity is not a problem in this country. I also hope not for the financial implications. While 55,000 wasn't a lot to pay by my Western expat standards, some people eek out a living on 20,000 a day. The cleaners at school are rumored to get about 1,500,000 a month, 75 US. Today I walked around the city, and there are still zillions of little street vendors selling food or coffee and a zillion people socialising as they eat and drink.20,000 for a drink and a baguette filled with pork. Long may this traditional way of life continue.
McDonalds arrived at the beginning of February and coincidentally it's situated about 15 mins walk from my apartment. This is the first outlet in a new country for 17 years, and the first outlet to sell a pork burger. The Vietnamese don't queue, so trying to get to the drive thru or into the restaurant in those first few weeks was chaos, with everyone pushing and shoving, or trying to wheedle their bike into the smallest gap. Now there are roped off lanes all over the place, forcing people to walk back and forth like check in at the airport.Tonight I walked down to buy an Apple Pie and was also tempted by a bag of fries. 2 apple pies, 30,000 and a bag of fries 25,000. Equivalent $3 NZ. The service very fast. 2 people taking your order as you enter the door on their palm pilots and giving you a number and a counter. Walking to the counter you confirm your order and pay and within a trice the order is there. Efficiency yes, fast food definitely.While the initial rush and curiosity factor has gone, McDonalds and the other fast food outlets still seems a popular place to frequent. The Vietnamese have a dining out on the street culture. They don't cook a great deal in the homes but prefer to dine, on the street, eating from the numerous street vendors. Eating on the street is a very social occasion. It will be interesting to see if these fastfood chains influence the diet of a population accustomed to eating rice, noodles, spring rolls, pho and other traditional foods. I hope not, as obesity is not a problem in this country. I also hope not for the financial implications. While 55,000 wasn't a lot to pay by my Western expat standards, some people eek out a living on 20,000 a day. The cleaners at school are rumored to get about 1,500,000 a month, 75 US. Today I walked around the city, and there are still zillions of little street vendors selling food or coffee and a zillion people socialising as they eat and drink.20,000 for a drink and a baguette filled with pork. Long may this traditional way of life continue.
1 comment:
Tut tut. Don't ya know that a McDonalds shop is for devil worshippers? They should be rooted out and thrown in the sea!
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