I recently went on a business trip to Tarlac, Philippines. I stayed at a decent hotel and ate breakfast at the hotel, but the food didn't suit my taste. It was a completely different style from Korean food and I thought it would take some time to get used to it. So I visited McDonald's, a global fast food chain.
The atmosphere of the McDonald's I visited in the Tarlac region of the Philippines was not much different from that of Korea. There was an ordering kiosk installed, so I could easily order and pay with a credit card. Even the kiosk had a Korean patch, so ordering was not difficult. I ordered my usual Big Mac and looked for an empty seat. But then I saw an unexpected sight.
The McDonald's in Tarlac, Philippines was crowded with many Filipinos, and our group was the only foreigner. However, what they ate was not a hamburger, but a set menu consisting of chicken, rice, and cola. Without exception, everyone was filling their stomachs with chicken, rice, and cola.
Inside the McDonald's restaurant, there were many Filipinos of various classes. Most of them came with friends or families, and we were the only ones eating burgers like Big Macs.
I had a bit of a culture shock that day. Because in Korea, McDonald's doesn't have a menu like chicken-rice-cola. And in Korea, you don't go to McDonald's to eat chicken. It's common sense to order chicken dishes at KFC or other chicken specialty restaurants.
The chicken set sold at McDonald's in the Philippines is even cheap. The basic set costs a little less than 2 US dollars. I was curious about the taste, so I visited McDonald's again the next day and ordered the chicken set that Filipinos like to eat. The fried chicken, rice, cola, and simple sauce were not bad. Fried chicken is never a failure.
Later, when I asked the Filipino who accompanied us, he said that Filipinos really, really love rice. He said that rice is a basic requirement for every dish. That’s why there is even a menu item at McDonald’s that includes two pieces of rice in its chicken set.
I thought that one of the reasons McDonald’s was able to establish itself in the Philippines was because of this localization strategy. Unlike the outdated buildings around it, McDonald’s has facilities that would not be out of place anywhere in the world, and is used as a place for various meetings and family gatherings. The prices are relatively cheap, so it seems that Filipinos frequent it a lot.
If you go to the Philippines, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try a variety of chicken sets at McDonald’s rather than just burgers.
Post a Comment