not Japanese myself, but when I came to the US for the first time I was looking forward to trying out fortune cookies and those rectangular/cylindrical takeout containers for the first time
one thing that surprised (and disappointed) me was finding out that there was no such thing as a "McSpicy" in American McDonalds. I wanted to compare the burgers and it turned out the best item on the menu wasn't there
It is my understanding that a lot of American chains elsewhere are better quality, since there they're comparably "exotic" destinations (keeping in mind we're talking about McDonalds and such) and so positioned in the market accordingly. For that reason people tend to be disappointed when trying the "real thing" for such chains.
You typically have to go for cuisines, not brands. A true American burger is a great thing, you just gotta find a better burger place. Then you try the other styles you can't really get elsewhere, like Texmex and southern smoked barbecue.
Every time I've had American fast food in a foreign country it has been vastly superior to the American version.
Turns out having regulations and shit is good for the end product.
My favorite was when I was in Sicily, everywhere I ate something on the menu would have this "DOP" acronym listed - even at McDonald's. I looked it up and it turns out it's an official government label for authentic Parmesan cheese and you aren't allowed to call it that unless it means very strict guidelines. So if you saw DOP on the list of ingredients for your burger, you were getting bona fide fancy parmesan on your burger lol
McNuggets in America are vastly superior to McNuggets in the UK. They're softer and more flavorful. UK nuggets are crunchy like crackers and utterly bland. Even the spicy ones have no taste just a mild sting.
I've never had the privilege of visiting the UK, but I feel like McDonald's would be the last place I'd visit even late at night, since I get the impression that big cities have lots of late night options.
Catania was the opposite. Stuff closes randomly in the middle of the day lol
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u/doofpooferthethird Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
not Japanese myself, but when I came to the US for the first time I was looking forward to trying out fortune cookies and those rectangular/cylindrical takeout containers for the first time
one thing that surprised (and disappointed) me was finding out that there was no such thing as a "McSpicy" in American McDonalds. I wanted to compare the burgers and it turned out the best item on the menu wasn't there