Tag: Fast Food Travel

View All Tags

/ / / / /

Starbucks Begins Its Invasion of Italy This Month

Where: Italy
June 4, 2012 at 11:09 AM | by | Comment (1)

UPDATE: So apparently this ad is an elaborate fake. See the background on it here, though it's all in Italian. To summarize, the ad was created by a young student, who is likely about to get his pants sued off.

Italy has plenty of fine cafes and places to grab a quick—or long—espresso, but there’s soon to be a new option that most of the world already recognizes. We knew that Starbucks had their eyes on everywhere from Finland to the Disney World, but it looks like this month will bring the scheduled arrival of overpriced lattes and coffee milkshakes to the citizens of Italy.

We were flipping through some Italian magazine—just looking at the pictures due to our minimum of Italian language skills—when we noticed a pretty familiar lady in her signature shade of green. The ad announced the planned arrival of the coffee giant to spots like Milan, Venice, Naples, and Rome as soon as June of 2012. During our recent adventures to and through the country, we didn’t see any "coming soon" signs to specifically pinpoint locations, but that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a frappuccino assembly line hiding behind some vacant storefront.

more ›

/ / / / /

Tasting Burger King's Elusive Tempura Whopper...in Hong Kong

May 29, 2012 at 2:04 PM | by | Comments (0)

Just when you thought that fast food chains couldn't muck up a proper burger any more than Costa Rica's Queso Fundido Whopper or Singapore's Prosperity McRib, along comes a worth challengers: Burger King's Tempura Whopper Jr.

Tempura...whopper?! Yep, although those two simple words on the menu board are deceiving; it's not the patty of meat that's been tempura-cooked, but instead the regular Whopper gets added to it a patty of tempura'd vegetables, atop the meat. Throw in a drizzle of sweet tempura sauce, and it's all ready to be bitten into at a BK in HK.

Although we're not big fans of Burger King and can't remember the last time we had a Whopper, the tempura version proved too tempting. It's all about the novelty, you see! And we weren't the only visitors taken in by the promise of a unique and cheap lunch; the Burger King we visited in Mong Kok was packed with a mix of locals and ballcap-wearing Brit tour-takers.

more ›

/ / / / / / /

OMG. McDonalds Has Wine on the Menu in South America

February 21, 2012 at 1:26 PM | by | Comments (0)

Never thought we'd ever, ever say this, but McDonalds serves wine...good wine. Don't rush out to the drive-thru just yet, however; the bottle is only available as part of a value meal in the Argentine wine capital of Mendoza.

Billed as the "Sabores Mendocinos" menu, the meal includes a double-patty burger of Angus beef, two meat empanadas, and a 187mL (glass!) bottle of local Malbec produced by Bodega Santa Julia. Want to sample it? "Sabores Mendocinos" will cost you 47.00 Argentinean pesos, or $10.80 USD.

It's definitely not the most expensive McDonalds item we've ever seen—the $17 "1955 burger" meal of Norway holds that honor—but it definitely ranks up there in both priciness and weirdness.

So, what does it taste like? We did the dirty work of drinking the McDonalds wine to find out...

more ›

/ / / / / /

Going to The Great Wall of China and Resisting the Urge to Get a Subway Footlong

Where: China
February 9, 2012 at 6:03 PM | by | Comments (0)

There may no longer be a Starbucks at The Forbidden City in China but there is a Subway sandwich shop at The Great Wall. Seriously.

You can find the footlong mecca at the entrance to the impressive 2.5-kilometer stretch of the Great Wall in Mutianyu. From here you can walk in, out and around several of the 22 watchtowers that were built during the early Ming dynasty.

Some of the steps are steep and tiny and, as to be expected, you need to watch where you're going.There are no handrails and very few informational signs. It's just you, the wall and silence (well, when the other tourists aren't chattering that is. We managed to grab a quick little video on our iPhone of the Mutianyu section. Enjoy!

more ›

/ / / / /

McDonald's Contribution to Chinese New Year: The 'Prosperity Burger'

Where: Singapore
January 26, 2012 at 11:58 AM | by | Comments (2)

Singapore may be like 22 hours of travel away from the US, but that doesn't mean they haven't got 24-hour McDonalds here and there. One we passed today—just off the Esplanade near the Fullerton Bay Hotel—was sporting some flashy banners for limited-time-only eats. Curious, we got closer. Holy shnickeys, they're trying to make a buck off of Chinese New Year with the introduction of four special items: Beef Prosperity Burger, Chicken Prosperity Burger, Twister fries and a Prosperity McFizz.

According to the banners, these babies are only around until January 31. According to the internet, this isn't the first McDs has been cooking "Prosperity Burgers." And just exactly how prosperous are these sammies? Well, the patties are dipped in black pepper sauce, topped with onions and finished with a sesame seed bun. Sounds okay, but none of those ingredients were in the traditional Prosperity Salad. The only thing we can tell is that the twister fries can resemble 8, an auspicious number.

more ›

/ / / / / /

Foreign Grocery Friday: The Fried Ice Cream of Taos, New Mexico

Where: 822 Paseo del Norte [map], Taos, NM, United States, 87571
January 6, 2012 at 3:30 PM | by | Comments (0)

Fried ice cream was something we’d never considered until two weeks ago. In fact, it wasn’t something we were even aware of existing, what with being British. And then we were in the supercheap-but-superfabulous Guadalajara Grill in Taos, New Mexico, when we saw this huge thing looking like a deep fried brain, saying Fried Ice Cream $5.50. And we had to have it.

It didn’t look as brainy as it did in the display case, when it came. It was still huge, though – in a sweet taco shell, covered with a layer of cream, chocolate sauce and a cherry which we promptly scraped off. It looked a bit more brain-lumpy underneath.

more ›

/ / / / /

Foreign Grocery Friday: The French Fry-Encrusted Corn Dogs of Seoul, South Korea

Where: Seoul, Korea
December 9, 2011 at 12:10 PM | by | Comment (1)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

American amusement parks and state fairs could learn a thing or two from the way South Korea has mastered hot dogs. They're available in every way, including spiral cut, wrapped in bacon, stewed in a curryish chili paste, and nearly tempura-ed with vegetables. Even some rice cakes, like Ddeokbooki, imitate hot dogs. Still, our personal favorite remains the infamous french fry-coated corn dog.

These deep-fried snacks usually figure into visitor's breathless descriptions of Seoul, a little like this: "The palaces! The shopping! And the ice cream cones...they were this tall. And and and the corn dogs were covered in french fries!!"

more ›

/ / / /

Mindblowing: Costa Rica's Burger Kings Have a Queso Fundido Whopper

December 8, 2011 at 1:23 PM | by | Comments (0)

We probably don't need to tell you that Costa Rica has a crazy long list of things going for it. Among them: surf spots, hot springs, eco tourism, canyoneering/ziplining, beaches, and now even a new $40 million airport. But what we bet you didn't expect us to say is that Costa Rica also hits home on the fast food front, as evidenced by our discovery of the Burger King Queso Fundido Whopper.

Drive through the town of Liberia, CR and, at the single stoplight, you'll hit upon a few options: McDonald's, Papa John's, Subway...and a brand new Burger King with this banner out front.

Sadly we didn't stop to try it (hindsight is always 20/20), because we figured we were surrounded with enough better, more local food options than Burger King. But then...when will ever get to try a Whopper that features a deep-fried patty of melty cheese? Guess we'll just have to go back.

Disclosure: We zipped down to Costa Rica as guests of JetBlue and the Costa Rica Tourism Board, but rest assured that all opinions and all photos are completely our own.

[Photo: Jaunted]

/ / / /

Foreign Grocery Friday: The Vegemite-Flavor Potato Chips of Australia

Where: Australia
December 2, 2011 at 11:46 AM | by | Comments (2)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

If you have ever been lucky enough to visit the "Lucky Country," you know how Aussies love their Vegemite. We have talked about it before, but allow us to explain it again: Vegemite is a yeast extract spread fortified with vitamins and designed to put on toast for breakfast. Now, however, the salty deliciousness isn't limited to breakfast.

Every year, Smith's potato chips asks customers to create four new limited edition flavors , and this year Australia voted for Happy Little Vegemite. It only makes sense to extend Vegemite's salty and sweet goodness to chips, but yes—the Smith's flavor will stay limited to Aussie shores.

more ›

/ / /

KFC Won't Even Let John Travolta Book a Private Table

October 20, 2011 at 2:53 PM | by | Comments (0)

Apparently even A-Listers can have trouble getting good service at fast food restaurants.

Despite the fact that there were a number of 4-star London restaurants, like The Ledbury, Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, and Hix just an hour away, John Travolta decided KFC was the way to go while visiting West Sussex last weekend.

Travolta was in the area to attend an annual Scientology event in East Grinstead Friday when one of his reps called a local KFC and asked if they could book a table for the star and his guests.

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

Munching McDonald's Exotic 'Samurai Pork Burger' in Phuket

October 18, 2011 at 1:52 PM | by | Comments (0)

As dedicated as we are to trying out the most local and unique foods for our Foreign Grocery Friday series, we also have a definite thing for investigating the fast food preferences of destinations. This usually involves stalking the pastry cases of Starbucks in Switzerland or snacking as the world's fanciest Taco Bell, but more likely we're around the corner squinting up at the menu boards of a McDonald's.

Hoping for some rice patties or other exotic offerings, we wandered into the Golden Arches in the Central Festival Mall in Phuket Town, Thailand. Instead we came face-to-face with the Samurai Pork Burger, a standard item on Thai McD's menus, and something that sounded safe to try.

more ›

/ / / / / / /

McDonald's Has a Monopoly on Airport Food in the BKK Domestic Terminal

October 4, 2011 at 2:15 PM | by | Comments (2)

Flying domestic in Thailand through Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport? You've got one choice for grabbing some food in the terminal, and we're not kidding. It's McDonald's.

We spotted this airport food nook after stepping off a Bangkok Airways flight into BKK from HKT (Phuket) last week, and were shocked by their less than appetizing catchphrase: "The Only Restaurant in Domestic." Well, that may be right but the threat of it doesn't mean that we're going to give into a burger and McDs sundae when we're supposedly in the capital of awesome food. Where's the Pad Thai to go, at the very least?!

[Photo: Jaunted]

Previous
Use of this Site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (effective 3/21/12) and Privacy Policy (effective 3/21/12). © Condé Nast. Your California Privacy Rights. All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.
Ad Choices