I like the Whopper. F--k the Big Mac!

Shanghaiist has always been one to pull for the underdog (except for in baseball), so it makes sense that we grew up eating our fast food at Burger King[1], not McDonald's -- well, at least until Wendy's moved to town. Oh, those were the days -- before nutritional information was mandatory, when a family of four could order two Whoppers, two Jr. Whoppers and onion rings for everyone and actually feel good about themselves. These burgers were flame broiled, that must make them good for us.

Now, pretty much any fast food makes Shanghaiist a little sick to the stomach, but we must admit we felt a tinge of nostalgia -- or perhaps that was an onion ring craving -- when we learned that Burger King is opening a store in Shanghai. It's behind Jing'an Temple and is scheduled to open around June 27 June 28. The story says this Burger King is the "first of its kind on the Chinese mainland." Shanghaiist vaguely remembers hearing about a Burger King that had opened and closed in Lanzhou, capital of dusty Gansu Province out west. But perhaps it was just a mirage. Anyway, it looks like the Shanghai Burger King could be the first of many in China.

It will be interesting to see how Burger Kings fares against Shanghai's more established fast-food eateries, McDonald's and KFC. We're betting on success, because the Chinese love them some fast food. And it's starting to show -- at least 200 million Chinese will be obese in 10 years. It seems they've got this how-to-act-like-a-global-superpower thing down pat -- well, at least the adopt-a-sedentary-lifestyle-and-a-high-fat-diet part.

You know, Shanghaiist just might head over to the Shanghai Burger King when it opens ... but only if they're handing out those old-school cardboard crowns.

[1] For all you Aussies, Burger King is the same as Hungry Jack's.