Enjoying a 'Spicy Whopper' and fries in Shanghai.


I mentioned a few weeks ago in this post that the Forbidden City in Beijing is actually home to a small Starbucks coffee shop. While there was no McDonald's or KFC along side it yet, they weren't too hard to find outside its foreboding red walls. In fact, western fast food options in China are just as good if not better than they are in Japan. Here are some of the other chains Kate and I spotted in Beijing and Shanghai:

Follow up:

Aside from a rusty old sign above an abandoned store in Aomori City, you're not likely to find any evidence of Dairy Queen in Japan. Luckily that's not the case in Shanghai!



There are no Taco Bells in Japan, but in China they've taken Taco Bell and supersized it into the high class Taco Bell Grande.




The tacos aren't bad...



but the best thing about Taco Bell Grande are the uniforms.




Like most parts of the world, Pizza Hut offered dine-in restaurants. Why they still don't in Japan is a mystery to me.



The #1 chain by far in China is KFC.




Like in Japan, Subway is a little hard to find but it's there. Never saw a Wendy's however.



Like most places, McDonald's also does well for itself. In Shanghai most locations also have small specialized icecream stands at street level.





Pretty much all the major ice cream vendors are well represented in China.





These two were across the street from one another in Beijing.




Despite ongoing animosity between the two nations, quite a few Japanese retailers and restaurant chains had outlets in China.








According to several maps, there are supposed to be a few MOS Burgers in Shanghai however we were unable to spot any of them. Anyway, these are all the foreign fast food joints in China I could find during my short visit. I know that there's also an IKEA in Shanghai with one of its famous Swedish restaurants, but I didn't get a chance to check it out. If you know of any others in China then please leave a comment and let me know!