FEER : Look Who's Going Native
Yap Yok Foo
Issue 1st February 2001
Look Who's Going Native
'Fusion' cuisine is gaining ground in Asia, thanks to the fast-food
influence of Colonel Sanders and the Golden Arches
By Suh-Kyung Yoon/HONG KONG
TATSUTA CHICKEN marinated in sake and fried in soy sauce, topped with
a lightly-toasted bun on a bed of pommes frites. Tangy spiced samosas
stuffed with grilled vegetables, slightly-melted cheese and Italian
pizza sauce.
They may sound oh-so-fusion chic, but you won't find them on the menu
at the hottest new five-star restaurant in town. No, they're available
for $3.50 and 50 cents at the McDonald's down the street if you're in
Tokyo or Bombay. While shi-shi restaurateurs struggle to create the
perfect meld of East and West in esoteric dishes, McDonald's and other
fast-food restaurants throughout Asia have found many a localized
recipe. And they're bringing fusion food to more people and doing it
better than the master chefs.
"Fusion food suffers greatly because it was first introduced in the
high end. People think it's just a trend, a passing fashion," says
Richard Armstrong, planning director at Ogilvy & Mather in Hong Kong.
"But fusion is here to stay, just look at the menus at fast-food
restaurants." Armstrong led an Ogilvy & Mather team that recently
conducted the largest study on food in Asia. It found that throughout
the region, even in less-developed markets like Sri Lanka and
Indonesia, consumers savoured tastes that were a blend of East and
West, local and international.
Surprisingly, McDonald's has been particularly successful at catering
to those tastes. The global giant is often criticized for
standardizing tastes by serving the same burger the same way
everywhere in the world. But that's far from the truth. Though the
core menu--hamburgers, Big Macs, fries, etc.--is available in all
McDonald's restaurants, it's complimented with an array of localized
choices. Usually in Asia, about a third of the menu is made up of
dishes you won't find anywhere else, like Tatsuta Burgers in Japan or
Pizza McPuffs in India. In fact, the 25 McDonald's in Bombay and Delhi
feature a menu that is over 75% locally-developed.
McDonald's started localizing its menu in the early 1980s before
"fusion" became a culinary catchphrase. It introduced the Teriyaki
Burger in 1989 in Japan and the Fried Chicken in 1988 in Malaysia.
Even the good old standards like cheeseburgers and Big Macs were
tweaked to appeal to local tastebuds--they don't always taste exactly
the same in all the different markets. "The core concept of the
product may be the same," says Steen Puggart, marketing manager for
McDonald's in Asia. "But the flavour profile is different from country
to country, depending on the tastes of consumers."
So in Thailand, McPork Burgers with Thai Basil are served, while in
Korea, it's spicy Bulgogi Burgers. Chicken, the protein of choice for
most Asians, is on the menu throughout the region--spiced up a bit in
Malaysia, sweetened in the Philippines. McSpaghetti--spaghetti with
Filipino ham--is another favourite in the archipelago and McTempeh
Burgers, made using fermented soybean, are big in Indonesia.
MAYONNAISE ON BURGERS? NOT IN INDIA
But more than any other country, India has been the biggest
inspiration for McDonald's fusion chefs. With a population that is
mostly Hindu, the restaurant chain can't serve its mainstay--beef. So
most of the standard menu had to be thrown out, down to the "special
sauce" that goes into Big Macs elsewhere. Many Hindus, who are strict
vegetarians, eschew mayonnaise, the sauce's main ingredient.
In place of the Big Mac, McDonald's India developed the Maharaja
Mac--a mutton burger. But far more popular have been Vegetarian Pizza
McPuffs, which combine Pizza ingredients with samosas, and Chicken
McGrill, seasoned with mint mayonnaise and extra tangy Indian spices.
These fusion dishes have been the key to McDonald's success in India
and elsewhere in Asia. Though still not profitable, McDonald's is one
of the few fast-food chains to grow in India. KFC pulled out last
year. "Of course it's been successful. Otherwise we wouldn't do it,"
says Puggart.
Tricon International, which runs KFC and Pizza Hut, may have flopped
in the Subcontinent but it's pushing ahead in the rest of the region.
Pizza Hut has kung pao chicken toppings in Taiwan and kimchi pizza in
Korea, while KFC is serving soups and dumplings in China. Not only do
consumers like fusion fare, but over 85% of all KFC's and Pizza Hut's
ingredients are locally bought. "So it's inevitable that we combine
Eastern and Western cooking and flavours," says Tony Chen, Tricon's
menu developer in China.
But it's not just global giants like McDonald's and KFC that are
taking their menus to fusion. Homegrown chains like Mos Burger in
Japan or Jollibee in the Philippines are creating some of the most
innovative and tasty blends.
Mos Burger, for instance, took fusion burgers one step further by
replacing the buns with rice in its rice burgers. And instead of beef
patties, Mos Burger offers shrimp cakes and Japanese-style fried beef.
Jollibee, on the other hand, serves up local noodle dishes topped with
smoked dried fish bits, onion leeks, shrimp and hard-boiled eggs.
But don't expect McDonald's or KFC to be putting these types of more
Eastern than Western dishes on their menus. Though they've localized
their offerings, McDonald's and KFC still have an all-American image
to maintain. "Consumers don't come to McDonald's to eat completely
local food," says Puggart. "So we have to stay true to our heritage
while catering to customer's tastes."
McDonald's and other fast-food chains in Asia are destined to walk the
fine culinary line between East and West.
**************From Uncle Yap**************
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Bushido
wrote:
>MAYONNAISE ON BURGERS? NOT IN INDIA
>But more than any other country, India has been the biggest
>inspiration for McDonald's fusion chefs. With a population that is
>mostly Hindu, the restaurant chain can't serve its mainstay--beef. So
>most of the standard menu had to be thrown out, down to the "special
>sauce" that goes into Big Macs elsewhere. Many Hindus, who are strict
>vegetarians, eschew mayonnaise, the sauce's main ingredient.
>
>In place of the Big Mac, McDonald's India developed the Maharaja
>Mac--a mutton burger.
What business do strict vegetarians who cannot eat beef & mayonnaise
have with mutton ???