The owners of "Obama Fried Chicken", the little takeaway outlet in Beijing that gained international notoriety for its stylised logo depicting the president of the US of A, have decided to temporarily shut down the store, saying they have been completely overwhelmed by the media attention. more ›

Obama supermarkets, Obama sex dolls, Buddhobama, and now this. more ›

If the Shanghai Municipal Food & Drug Inspection Institute is to be believed, those employee allegations of gross things being done to your fried chicken (reusing oil, dirty chicken meat) were all just disgruntled grumblings. From China Daily: "On Tuesday, the workers with the institute conducted tests on the oil used by some KFC restaurants in Shanghai to deep-fry chips and chicken, in response to recent media reports that criticize KFC over its use of oil. The test results showed that all main indexes of KFC's cooking oil meet national standards." Speaking of KFC, some Shanghainese white collar workers recently discovered that a KFC family combo here, at 65rmb, is actually more expensive than a square meter plot of land in Miami, Florida. Something to think about before you dial 4008823823. more ›

Employees at several KFCs in Beijing have come out with some pretty disgusting allegations against China's favorite fried chicken chain. Four-day-old re-used cooking oil and dirty dripping bloody chicken meat about sums it up. Re-using oil is a common practice in restaurants, but health codes demand it be tested to monitor for chemical build-up, something they are claiming wasn't being done. The employees also say KFC is under-frying its chicken, and re-using burgers that have sat out too long by simply replacing the toppings. KFC, of course, flat out denies these allegations, and claims their chicken is clean, their oil is tested, and their old food is discarded. more ›

It looks like Subway wants all of China eating fresh, all the time. On Monday, the company announced plans to more than double its number of stores in China, from the current 220 to over 600 by 2015! They announced a 40 percent growth in sale revenue in Beijing last year, and appear intent on taking over the mainland, one tuna sandwich at a time. Tuna is, by the way, the most popular sandwich choice by the Chinese, but the company is looking for even more ways to tailor items to local tastes. This is a phenomenon massively popular with mainland giants like KFC and McDonald's, whose gnarly shrimp patty burgers and red bean ice cream are screamingly popular. One shudders as the possibilities: Green tea teriyaki chicken? Taro 'n' cold cuts classic? Fragrant fish ball sub? (We did hear talk of a Peking Duck sub though, and have salivated over that rumor ever since.) more ›

Yesterday I translated half of Southern Weekly's excellent article on McRefugees - those who make their homes in 24-hour fast food restaurants at night - and their lives in Shanghai. Here's Part II: more ›

A few weeks ago, Guangzhou's Southern Weekly had a very interesting feature on the McRefugees - people who, due to low pay or homelessness, spend their nights at 24-hour fast food restaurants - living in Shanghai's Xujiahui area. They were thrown into the spotlight in March, when one man stabbed a McDonalds employee who tried to kick him out. more ›

This shanzhai logo is utterly disgraceful. At least back in the day, Yonghe King bothered to "localise" it a bit: more ›

White collar workers in Shanghai have expressed increasing dissatisfaction with the lunch options offered at moderately-priced restaurants around the city. more ›

Has KFC been substituting cod fish in its food with some other type of species? According to Xinmin, an insider at the fast food establishment has alleged that it uses a species of fish called "Dragon Cod" (龙鳕鱼) instead. more ›

This video, taken by a deliveryman with his cellphone at KFC's Yuen Long Plaza (元朗广场) outlet in Hong Kong, has been sending shockwaves throughout the territory of late. He recently blew the whistle by telling Hong Kong gossip rag Next Magazine 《壹週刊》 that staff at this outlet would frequently stop kitchen operations, throw away all leftover food, and start cleaning up before the restaurant closes so they can go home on time. During this time, if a customer walks in, employees will pick up the food from the trash and serve it to customers -- and this is apparently all done with the consent of the restaurant manager so they can "avoid reheating the frying machine". more ›

At the side of the Maglev station, between the two terminals, three new restaurants are opening at Pudong Airport on August 10 (Sunday). There is a new KFC (for those who can't walk 5 meters to the existing branch), a Pizza Hut, and a Chinese fast-food joint. Also opening soon is a branch of the noodle chain that features Bruce Lee wearing the "Game Of Death" yellow tracksuit as their logo (Note to self: find out name of that restaurant!). more ›

With the world looking at China leading up to the Games, China continues to make a concerted effort to meet the social standards of Western developed countries. In addition to public service announcements teaching people to be civil to each other, the powers that be (in this case the Jing'an Municipality) have have even gone as far as launching a volunteer guerrilla campaign to bribe people with small gifts to clear their tables at McDonald's and KFC. more ›

The good people of KFC have been handing out national pride along with their popcorn Chicken lately: more ›

Though this article is a little old, from Reuters we learn that McDonald's is expanding its delivery service, which we first wrote about way back when. Apparently, demand for home delivery was strong but the restaurants could only meet orders within walking distance. But now, after spending the past year outsourcing its delivery operations and investing in 300 motorcycles across its 42 locations, McDonald's is in a better position to compete with rival Yum! restaurants KFC and Pizza Hut, which have been delivering to customers for years. more ›

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: more ›