Shanghaiist Sunday Show: An Hour with Lee Kuan Yew —The Charlie Rose Show
Time to stock up on face masks
In case you missed it: WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai
Video: The Great Panda Escape
Pencil This In: November 9-13
Taco Bell, we hardly knew ya. An article in this morning's Metro Express commuter paper reported that a Yum Enterprises spokesperson has confirmed the closing of Shanghai's two Taco Bell Grandes, at People's Square and in Gubei, as well as the chain's single Shenzhen location. Instead of pushing Americanized Mexican food in a tough market, the owners of KFC and Pizza Hut have chosen to concentrate on expanding their new Chinese "quick service" venture East Dawning (东方既白), which according to Dianping.com already has 10 locations sprinkled throughout greater Shanghai. The People's Square former Taco Bell Grande will become East Dawning's flagship location. According to TIME magazine:
The menus at East Dawning restaurants don't offer overtly American fare but still attract Chinese consumers because of the quality and service associated with an American brand.
"Covert American fare" sounds like a concept with potential. The Wall Street Journal has a short online slideshow introducing Yum's China operations — can you spot the hidden hamburgers and crouching freedom fries?
Photo by 龙★小鱼儿 on the Zhuge BBS.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
post to facebook
Hmmm. I always figured the Taco Bell Grande was a fake Taco Bell, so I never went.
I went a couple of times but was suprised to find a kind of upscale looking tex-mex restaurant. When I spent a couple of years in Canada, at a time when the UK didn't have Taco Bell, I went and it was like McD's with tacos.
Do they have these more conventional 'grande' places in the states now? As opposed to the take out counter type, you know.
I also assumed it was 'fake' when i saw the format was totally different.
@Mata hari
Taco Bell in the US is 100% about counter service, gorditas and drive-thrus with an unusually large amount of car scuff marks (Taco Bell tastes best with at least a .15 BAC).
I went to 东方既白, Zhangjiang branch, for lunch today out of curiosity.
...
Airplane food. If I'm not on an airplane, I don't want to eat it.
McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Subway, Dairy Queen, I figured Taco Bell was next at bat with at least a double RBI.
This is a bit disappointing how TBGrande gave up so soon, or maybe they started out with the wrong image considering lots of people assumed it was a knockoff.
Wendy's Arby's In N Out Popeyes Jack In The Box, who's the next to feed the Giant Panda?
In N Out - obviously not, since they don't freeze their meat. There's already been articles on shanghaiist about FatBurger - so I'm looking forward to that. I'm surprised that Hardee's (already some in the Philippines and Hong Kong) hasn't made in-roads to China.
I do wonder why Taco Bell didn't just come in with a normal Taco Bell? I would kill for a Meximelt and a 8 kuai bean and cheese burrito.
Chipotle! I'll pay 40 kuai for a football sized burrito.
Taco Bell Grande tried to mess with a proven formula by trying to bring a level of class to tex-mex, quite the oxymoron. I am suprised it lasted this long. But as we all know from Demolition Man, Taco Bell will eventually win the global restaurant wars so we'll see it back on this side of the Pacific sometime soon.
I'm with elpollorico, as long as they get rid of that stupid WHITE RICE (with cilantro) - give me red rice with my burrito please!