Tale of the Tape: KFC vs. McDonalds in China

As my travels through China continue I decided to tackle a problem that faces many food-challenged travelers in China: where to eat? Should I eat at one of the 1000 KFC's that inhabit this country or one of the 600 McDonald's (side note, KFC is opening about 200 KFC's per year now in China!)? In all honesty I'm not a big fan of either fast food chain in the States. When I do go to McDonald's it's typically in an airport (O'Hare since I never feel like waiting in the line for Chili's) and I get the grilled chicken sandwich. If I'm going to get fried chicken I choose Popeye's 10 times out of 10, but that's another story. I'm in China, and I'm tired of eating Chinese food (I like it in the States, but it's different here). To be fair I like the Chinese food here too (sometimes), but It's the weekend and I've been eating nothing but Chinese food all week.

I went to KFC yesterday at the request of my co-work from Beijing. I ordered two original recipe chicken breasts, mashed potatoes and popcorn chicken along with a large Pepsi (sounds like a lot of food -- it wasn't). It was easily the worst meal I've had on this trip. Possibly the worst mean I've ever had. KFC here is NOTHING like it is in the US. For starters the chicken breasts were tiny. What meat was on them was gross. The "original recipe" tasted nothing like the original recipe you'd get back home. It was greasier, and the fried part wasn't even fried properly. The mashed potatoes came in a container the size of a bottle cap (ok, a little bigger, but not much). At least those tasted ok, though it was one part potato one part gravy. The popcorn chicken was all dark meat chicken with a lots of random pieces of fat and ligaments still there. I didn't eat them at all. Oh, and the Pepsi was ice-less (this KFC had no ice according to their store manager).

Today I went to McDonald's for lunch on my way to the Forbidden City. I got three hamburgers and Coke for the equivalent of $3! To my absolute delight the hamburgers were identical to those you'd get in the States (I didn't try the fries, sorry). So was the Coke (I've always really liked Coke @ McDonald's because I think they water it down more than the Coke you buy in bottles. In any event, the Coke tasted just like it does @ every other McDonald's). As a frequent World Traveler (who, by his own admission is not an adventurous eater) I've eaten at my share of McDonald's throughout the World. From Cairo (and Luxor), to London, Istanbul, Pilsen, Berlin, Paris (yes, I was in a hurry), Tel Aviv and now Beijing I have patronized McDonald's across the globe. It's remarkable how consistent a McDonald's hamburger really is. It really makes no difference where you purchase one, it tastes exactly the same. How many things can you say that about? In the US, with many other options available to me, I never order them any more (why would you when In-n-Out is across the street?). However it's nice to know when I'm traveling abroad I can count on an old friend to deliver in the clutch.