Chinese Noodles Versus Western Fast Food

When choosing a fast food restaurant, there is one major deciding factor for many parents and children. They want a fast meal in a happy atmosphere where children can be them­selves and are unlikely to complain about the food.
The American fast food giants learnt this many years ago and a huge amount of their advertising and marketing is direct­ed at children and teenagers.
Buy a hamburger at McDonald''s or fried chicken at KFC and it''s not unusual to find a plastic toy or trinket in the kids'' meals. This approach to the customer has been immensely suc­cessful in China, but is it really the best way to eat?
Many people in Western countries are becoming increas­ingly concerned that the fast food diet is a major contributor to serious health problems, such as obesity and heart disease, and Westerners are changing their habits accordingly.
"In America, people on the move pick up burgers from McDonald''s, so the restaurant always looks empty. But in Chi­na people are rushing to Western fast-food chains to relax and enjoy not only the special taste but also the good environ­ment ," said Yu Shuhua, a researcher from National Adminis­tration of Internal Trade.
Yu said in Southeast Asia, McDonald''s is not so attractive to children as on the Chinese mainland. "Some customers in Southeast Asia are Muslim who are against eating pork, but the Chinese do not have so many taboos," she said.
China has evolved into a "Kingdom of Cuisine" after 2,500 years of civilization. Three thousand years ago, "food, drink, and sex man''s prime desires" was a motto in the "Book of Rites," one of the Five Classics of China. It lists food as the most important. In the Han Dynasty, about 2,000 years ago, a steward of a Chinese emperor said: "The emperor takes the people as his god, and people take food as their god." These philosophies still dominate Chinese thinking.
Chinese people enjoy eating and are curious about new food. This is one of the reasons why Western fast food is so popular here even though it is described as "junk food" by crit­ics.
Chinese parents are known for their love of their children more so since the one-child family became the norm and will not hesitate to answer to their child''s whims. KFC routinely gives away toys with children''s meals. Five-year-old Geng Yan has been going there with her mother since she was two and the novelty has now worn off. "In my home, I have too many KFC toys," she said.
McDonald''s has also taken many steps to attract children, including community service projects. Next to one Beijing pri­mary school stands the familiar yellow M sign, visible to all the pupils as they come and go.
In Andingmen, right beside KFC, stands a once famous Chinese fast-food restaurant, Ronghua Chicken, which now has only two outlets in Beijing.
A taxi driver here says he prefers Ronghua to KFC and other American fare. "I never feel satisfied with hamburgers. Last time I spent 27 yuan, but I still felt hungry."
But his son is very familiar with KFC. "It seems that its name is easier to remember than Ronghua. The signs of West­ern fast-food chains are absolutely everywhere."
Many young people find the modern ambience of Western fast-food chains hard to resist. Even if they are not in a hurry, they enjoy hanging out at the restaurants with friends and lis­tening to the background music.
According to a survey in the "Workers'' Daily," 72.7 per cent of young people under 15 years old prefer Western fast food to Chinese fast food.
Researchers believe that the healthiest meats are those which are lowest in fat. The US Government now recommends grains as the most important factor in a good diet, followed by vegetables, fruits and milk products, then meat, eggs and nuts. Last are fats, oils and sweets. This nutritional model conforms to the traditional Chinese diet.
Dietitians at the Beijing International Hotel once analyzed 240 traditional Chinese menus and found all fulfilled modern nutrition requirements.
While Chinese food means a balanced diet, fast food is more about a system. It is the result of an industrialized civi­lization, especially modern Western civilizations.
KFC says it will throw away its chicken if it hasn''t been sold within 90 minutes of being fried. McDonald says its fries have a shelf life of one minute and the burgers just 10 minutes.
This strict quality control guarantees the customer the same food and the same service every time. In this sense, Chi­nese fast food has a long road ahead if it is to compete in a modern society.