McDonald's Food You can't get Here

            You are on vacation in Indonesia and you see the well-known golden arches. “Mm mm, the sweet taste of home.” All fired up for a number one (Big Mac) with a large order of fries and sweet tea, you find that your well known number one has been replaced with Burbur Ayam (chicken porridge). McDonald’s has more than 35,000 restaurants in more than 119 countries, and it is also the largest fast food chain in the world. Hence, they have had to revise their well-known menu to win the hearts of many other countries. For example, when my family and I went Costa Rica, we noticed that they gave my brother pineapples instead of our accustomed apples with our happy meals. We thought, maybe they made a mistake and gave him apples instead, or they might have run out of apples. But then I remembered that apples are not grown in Costa Rica- pineapples are. Upon my research, I also found that instead of fries you can get Empanadas in Chile, or Gazpacho, a tomato vegetable soup, in Spain. You don’t even have to travel far to find such food choices. When I used to live in Miami, my mom would order plantains as a side in McDonald’s. However, many restaurants have diffused around the world, and have had to reinvent their menu to match local cuisine. KFC is one of them. There, you can order Gallopinto (black beans and rice) along with a leg of not-so-greasy fried chicken. I’m actually kind of jealous that we don’t have these foods in our local McDonald's or other fast food restaurants, because most of them look really good and tasty.

Works Cited

"McDonald's Food You Can't Get Here." Chicagotribune.com. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.            <http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-mcdonalds-food-around-the-world- photogallery.html>.

When Asian and Latin Food Collide: Spicy, Tasty or Confused?

            Asian and Latin foods have more in common than you think, and are now colliding in interesting new ways. Indian-American cookbook author, Anupy Singla, and Mexican-American chef, Pati Jinich, say that Asian-Latino food combinations have a rich history. Jinich explains that Asian influence in Mexico started in the 1560’s. After the Spanish conquered Mexico, they had been looking for the ‘Spice Islands’, and found the Phillipines, which is where they also found the spice they had been looking for.  Jinich states, “In Mexico we have Chinese cafes, and Chinese coffee shops, and Chinese restaurants galore. And the funny thing is if you go into a Chinese restaurant, you will find enchiladas alongside chop suey, and you will find forks, chopsticks are optional.” Singla says to work inside the box and learn the rules, then break them. When I was little, my mom used to make Cuban fried rice. She made it with Cuban spare ribs, bean sprouts, peas, soy sauce, and many other yummy ingredients. She also made me Cuban stir fry with Cuban steak, bean sprouts, white rice, and steamed veggies. I love the way Asian-Latino food tastes and I hope to have more of it very soon. 

Green beans with peanuts and chile de arbol

Works Cited

"When Asian And Latin Food Collide: Spicy, Tasty Or Confused?" NPR. NPR. Web. 02 Nov. 2014.