When you’re a tourist / traveller visiting Thailand, you’re not supposed to eat at McDonalds. It’s just not ‘cool’. You’re a stranger in foreign exotic lands. And you’re supposed to dive on in and absorb the tastes of Thai culture, challenging your taste buds with the types of authentic Thai cuisine that you just can’t find back home.
Which is all well and good. And it’s true that a visit to the land of smiles without at the very least trying a Pad-Thai (a fried noodle dish popular with tourists and Thais alike) is a visit wasted. Sometimes, when you find yourself alone in alien lands, and feeling a little disorientated, a little taste of something familiar, served-up somewhere familiar, can go a long long way!
And should you find yourself craving a Mc’ something-or-other, in the main tourist areas at least, a McDonalds is never too far away.
Mid way down Khao San Road, or inside the Royal Garden Plaza, Pattaya. McDonalds, in Thailand, offers up most of the foods and beverages, you’ll be familiar with back home. And, if the currency exchange rate is balanced in your favor, Big Macs and Mc’Chicken Nuggets, can be purchased at a fraction of the price you might pay back home. And while I’ve heard that McDonalds in other parts of Asia might serve up treats more targeted towards the native palate. Such as ‘green tea and red bean ice cream sundaes’ in Hong Kong, and the ‘Mc’ Chicken Porridge’ offered in Malaysia. In Thailand, the fare was fairly standard. With the only variants from the UK menu I noticed being the inclusion of the ‘Samurai Pork Burger’, a Pork patty, served with teriyaki sauce and pickles. And that Mc’Chicken Nuggets in Thailand came with (in addition to barbecue sauce) a sachet of Thai Sweet Chilli sauce (which quickly became my dip of choice).
And, while eating at McDonalds may be seen as something of a travellers faux-pas among your backpacking buddies. Among the Thais themselves, eating at McDonalds (so I’ve heard) still retains most of the prestige, and excitement, that eating at McDonalds at home lost a long time ago. And while a McDonalds in Thailand is a cheap option for most Falang visiting the country - with the wide variety of far cheaper local cuisine available for feasting on, eating at McDonalds is still something of an ‘experience’ for many native Thais. With a meal out at the world's most popular hamburger eatery, still being seen as something of a special treat. And why not? Because during those brief moments of isolation felt by every traveler alone in foreign lands, a BIg Mac, with large fries, and large Coke, was just the re-centering, and re-energizing non-adventure I needed.
Before getting right back out there...
Which is all well and good. And it’s true that a visit to the land of smiles without at the very least trying a Pad-Thai (a fried noodle dish popular with tourists and Thais alike) is a visit wasted. Sometimes, when you find yourself alone in alien lands, and feeling a little disorientated, a little taste of something familiar, served-up somewhere familiar, can go a long long way!
And should you find yourself craving a Mc’ something-or-other, in the main tourist areas at least, a McDonalds is never too far away.
Mid way down Khao San Road, or inside the Royal Garden Plaza, Pattaya. McDonalds, in Thailand, offers up most of the foods and beverages, you’ll be familiar with back home. And, if the currency exchange rate is balanced in your favor, Big Macs and Mc’Chicken Nuggets, can be purchased at a fraction of the price you might pay back home. And while I’ve heard that McDonalds in other parts of Asia might serve up treats more targeted towards the native palate. Such as ‘green tea and red bean ice cream sundaes’ in Hong Kong, and the ‘Mc’ Chicken Porridge’ offered in Malaysia. In Thailand, the fare was fairly standard. With the only variants from the UK menu I noticed being the inclusion of the ‘Samurai Pork Burger’, a Pork patty, served with teriyaki sauce and pickles. And that Mc’Chicken Nuggets in Thailand came with (in addition to barbecue sauce) a sachet of Thai Sweet Chilli sauce (which quickly became my dip of choice).
And, while eating at McDonalds may be seen as something of a travellers faux-pas among your backpacking buddies. Among the Thais themselves, eating at McDonalds (so I’ve heard) still retains most of the prestige, and excitement, that eating at McDonalds at home lost a long time ago. And while a McDonalds in Thailand is a cheap option for most Falang visiting the country - with the wide variety of far cheaper local cuisine available for feasting on, eating at McDonalds is still something of an ‘experience’ for many native Thais. With a meal out at the world's most popular hamburger eatery, still being seen as something of a special treat. And why not? Because during those brief moments of isolation felt by every traveler alone in foreign lands, a BIg Mac, with large fries, and large Coke, was just the re-centering, and re-energizing non-adventure I needed.
Before getting right back out there...
For more information, you can visit the official McDonalds Thailand website: HERE
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