Pinoy Fast Food Culture, The McDonald's Experience

One of the world’s most prominent fast food trademarks is McDonald’s, in fact, it is the largest chain of fast food restaurants. Practically, the yellow M sign has invaded all continents of the world except for Antarctica. In the Philippines, the yellow M is all over the metropolis and in some provincial capitals.

McDonald’s is an American brand but through the years, it has adjusted to the palate of the Filipinos. Nowadays, there are items on the menu list which include halo-halo sundae ice mix and longgonisa with rice, truly and uniquely Pinoy. Same is true for other McDonald’s branches spread all over Asia. McDo now offers Asian food items to answer the demands of the rice eating Asian republics.

Filipination of McDonald’s is evident in the following aspects:

Filipino food on the menu list.

In order to survive in this highly competitive fast food industry, business establishments must adopt to local tastes and, up to a large extent, culture. In Asia, the staple food is rice and this has become evident in the menu list of fast food giant McDonald’s. Although American by birth, McDonald’s now serves rice and other “indigenous” food which the locals of that place highly patronize.

The taste of food has become localized as well. In the Philippines, rice dishes and Pinoy desserts are now served in McDonald’s. One McDonald’s executive in the country was interviewed by a TV network and he admitted that there were some adjustments to the food that they serve in order to head off competition from another local fast food giant. When McDo first introduced McSpaghetti, it fared poorly with the competitor’s own concoction of spaghetti. Filipinos find it too alien and sour for their taste; far from the “sweet-ketchup” flavor that common folks are used to. Only a handful of Filipinos appreciated pasta Americana. Heeding the call of lukewarm response from the eating public, McDo made their McSpaghetti the Pinoy way. Nowadays, one can hardly distinguish two spaghetti dishes from McDo and the local competitor. I know for a fact that Taiwan McDo (and some neighboring Asian countries) has local food items on their list also.

As of May 2009, uniquely Pinoy food items that are available in McDonald’s (not offered in the US) are the following:

• Longganisa with Rice – Philippine sausage
• Corned Beef with Rice
• Big Breakfast with Rice
• Chicken McDo with Rice
• McSpaghetti Meal
• Salad with Asian Dressing
• Taro Pie
• Sundae Ice Mix (Halo-Halo or Corn)
• Garlic Rice
• Extra Mayonnaise

“Clean As You Go” policy is not observed.

Abroad, everytime one leaves his/her table, it’s mandatory that one has to clean his/her table. That means all plastic trash and leftover food must be placed on the tray. Trash must be thrown in proper bins, segregating plastic trash from leftover food.

This practice, however, is not widely adopted in the Philippines. There are busboys solely dedicated for this purpose. They clean the tables of customers leaving the fast food chain. The Filipino eating public normally leaves their trash literally on the table.

Another peculiar practice is that Filipinos, after offloading their meals on the table, put their trays on the vacant table nearest to them and just leave it there. I don’t know how this practice started but I grew up seeing people do this.

Knife: upon request and issue with the tissue.

Food servers of McDonald’s do not voluntarily serve a plastic knife unless it is requested. I know that chicken is a finger food but I do not expect people to cut their chicken into smaller pieces with a plastic fork or worse, spoon. Given the upbringing, social status and academic background of these food servers, their exposure to dining etiquette is mostly confined to spoon and fork. Thus when customers request for a plastic knife, quizzical stares are seen on the faces of the staff.

I am not aware of the policy of McDonald’s regarding distribution of tissues. Oddly enough, some food servers give a single piece of table napkin, placing it on the side of the tray. How does one expect to wipe the grease of the hamburger and fries with a single table napkin? Food servers are not sensitive to the needs of the passengers.

I don’t need to mention that advertising and marketing materials are all Philippine made. Catchy taglines are spoken by local product endorsers, food items are given Pinoy names for brand recall and other activities that associate everything to the country. This planned scheme aims to make McDo endear to all the Pinoys.

Health Issue

I haven’t seen any information on the nutritional value of Bic Mac or Quarter Pounder with cheese and the eating public does not seem to care. There is no consciousness among the Filipinos to know if the food that they are gorging is good (or bad) for their health. Calorie count of McFlurry Oreo is not known to me. I guess loyal patrons of McDonald’s also are unaware of it.

Fast food culture of the Filipinos is evolving and will continue to do so due to media influence and other factors. Fast food chains will continue to shape the minds of the eating public in order to garner sales.

But the public will react, positively or negatively, based on the dictates of their stomach and demands of their palate.

My Favorite

Quarter Pounder with cheese is my favorite in McDonald’s. It surely smells awful, perhaps due to the beef patty, but it tastes good. I like how these quarter pounders are prepared: juicy and tasty. The burger is combined with small slices of onion, tomato ketchup and pickle. The tangy taste of the pickle blends well with the beef patty. I like it hot and fresh from the kitchen.

The buns are not too thick. The bread does not sip the juice of the beef that’s why it is not soggy. It retains its softness despite being exposed to the heat.

It may (or may not) have any meat extenders, but the burger tastes the real McCoy.