The Fast-food Experience in Taiwan
American-style fast food has come a long way in Taiwan lately. Whereas
in the not-too-recent past Americans had only Big Macs to choose from, now
one can feasibly live in Taiwan and eat just about anything one misses from
the states. Personally, I eat whatever I am in the mood for, be it anything
from a meal at Friday's to a bag of fried Tofu soaked in soy sauce.
But it is interesting that, for US fast food stores, just being in
the Taiwanese context seems to effect each restaurant in a different way.
McDonald's, of course, owes its existence here to the aged 10-and- under Taiwanese
crowd, on whom it almost exclusively relies upon for its profits. This means
Happy Meals with toys, playgrounds, high-decibel screams, and a generally
kindergarten-like atmosphere. It's ok for milkshakes and breakfast if you
can somehow work around the after-school and weekend rush of parents hauling
their toddlers in, the latter screaming for toys while the former tries to
distract their offspring by pointing out a random foreigner and saying, "Look!
A white person! Say "Ha-lo" to it!" Not exactly conducive to
digestion, but at least they get that special zoo-like quality that kids really
love.
Burger King is supposed to be Mickey D's big rival in the states,
but here they got off to a late start, arriving on the island to find thousands
of multi-storied palaces adorned with the golden arches, so many that they
are often within sight of each other. Therefore BK decided to cater to a different
segment of the population, with a faux- 50's atmosphere complete with jukebox
and black/white tiling, the King is going after the more mature teen-and-up
crowd as well as other groups with operating taste buds. Still, one can still
see many Taiwanese parents, apparently assuming that all US fast-food restaurants
are just like McDonald's, dragging in a crowd of frolicking youngsters into
BK and demanding toys at cellularpoint.
Here's a quick test: Go to a Wendy's and eat there. Now go to any
other country and eat at a Wendy's there! It's ok, we'll wait right here.
-Two-day pause-
Get it? It's simply not the same! Does the real Wendy's know about
this? Is this simply another case of the If-it's-somewhat-similar-well-who's-gonna-care?
kind of thinking that leads many Taiwanese young people to pursue singing
careers based solely on copying Western hits?
I don't know, and frankly, I don't care. It's still food, it's just
not Wendy's As We Know It. The really strange thing is how, after the customer
gives his order, the blue-striped staff turns around and shouts the order
back to the kitchen in usually badly-mangled English. I can't help but wonder,
wouldn't it be simpler, all parties involved here being Chinese, to use, well,
Chinese to communicate? I, personally, would feel better about my order if
it weren't translated twice. I can't help but get uneasy about people playing
games like "Telephone" with my diet.
Another interesting thing, no matter where I end up eating, is how
the people sitting nearby me always seem to bring up the topic of foreigners.
"I knew a foreigner once who..." one girl will always start, after
the group has exhausted all of their thoughts about the fact that I am a foreigner
and I am sitting in the same room with them. And then that's it. All the White
people everyone in the group ever knew, including Casper Weinburger, will
be discussed before I can finish my meal. But that's ok; that's to be expected.
What is really puzzling is how people, who know that their English must -pardon
my French- suck, seem to get the urge whenever I'm nearby to spout out every
English word they can think of, apparently unaware that they are making fools
out of themselves trying to fit the words "Seven-eleven" into a
discussion about Sartre. Why is this? Am I supposed to take pity on them and
teach them, right then and there, to speak fluent English? When I am in the
States and I see someone who might be Chinese in the same restaurant, I don't
just start talking to whichever English-speaking friend I'm with in Chinese:
ME:...and
I didn't really like how they(notice possible Chinese in vicinity, raise
voice)..uh, really, uh, ba zhengge guocheng nong zao le, ya know?
FRIEND:
Huh?
But this happens almost constantly in Taiwan. Another problem you
don't find in America is that of the employees running away from the counter
and hiding in the back of the kitchen while giggling into their hands when
someone of a different race enters the store. In the states, if a someone walks
into KFC, be they White, Black, Asian, or an Escaped Circus Poodle, they will
unilaterally be met with the standard monotone "Whaddaya want?" Here,
if I walk into just about any store and not open my mouth, just stand at the
counter, the situation quickly becomes critical for the party behind the
counter. Within 10-15 seconds of blushing, giggling, entreaties to other
employees, and attempts to use sign language, smoke signals, ANYTHING but
verbal communication, the employee will often either resign, faint or both. I
kind of enjoy sitting back and watching them squirm when the obvious answer is
right in front of them, but usually, when I get hungry enough, I will just tell
them my order in Chinese. I know, I know, it's cruel on my part.
This is the sort of thing psychologists really go for, maybe I should
see one. That is, of course, if I can get past the counter. And maybe, just
maybe, if it's an American psychologist, they'll give me a toy.