Burger and fries (Part 2)....

(Second of three parts.)

Here in the Philippines, like every other country I suppose, fast food has taken a hold of how we perceive and ingest food in our daily routines. There are countless fast food restaurants, and there's hardly a stretch of road (in the cities at least) without one being readily visible. Virtually all of the major names are here, but the top sellers when it comes to the fast food staple of burger and fries are Jollibee (a local chain) and McDonald's, the American fast food giant.

McDonald's has had a massively successful run ever since the first franchise was opened by Ray Kroc in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955. McDonald's restaurants have spawned all over the world, and the Philippines is no exception, with the first restaurant opening in 1981.

However, the local fast food market has been dominated by Jollibee, a chain which was first brought to existence in 1975 by Tony Tan Caktiong, a Filipino-Chinese. It was then that he set up a small ice cream parlor which was destined to be the very first Jollibee outlet. Jollibee Foods Corporation was fully incorporated by 1978, by then ready, willing and able to take on the challenge of the arriving McDonald's juggernaut.

That was almost three decades ago. While there are about 250 McDonald's outlets all over the country, Jollibee has twice that many at about 500, with sales totalling P21.7 billion, or $397 million, a testament to the saleability of fast food specially made to cater to Filipino tastes. 30 years ago no one would have expected Jollibee to stand up to McDonald's, much less beat it at its own game here in the Philippines. Yet that is exactly what happened. Today Jollibee has branches in the United States, Taiwan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Saipan, Brunei, and Vietnam.

So, assuming you're from these parts, which fast food chain do you prefer? At the risk of sounding anti-Filipino, I had always preferred the taste of McDonald's burgers and fries to those sold by Jollibee. Not to say that Jollibee burgers and fries don't taste good, I just like McDonald's better for some reason. My favorite McDonald's sandwich is the Quarter Pounder with Cheese sandwich. Quarter pound of beef, cheese, pickles, onions, ketchup and mustard. 535 calories, 14 grams of saturated fat. Yummy. Assuming it doesn't give you a heart attack. Of course, the flagship sandwich of McDonald's is the iconic Big Mac. But I like the Quarter Pounder better.

Jollibee's flagship sandwich is the venerable Champ. One-third pound all beef patty, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. Easily a match for the Big Mac. And not at all that bad if I may say so myself.

Quarter Pounder, fries, and a Coke.


Champ, fries and a Coke.

Well, going back to the topic at hand, suffice it to say that fast food has already taken hold of our eating habits, and is here to stay for the long run. The commercial battle for our appetites (and wallets) being waged by the various fast food chains continue to this very day. Of course, it doesn't mean that we don't have a choice in the matter. While fast food may taste good and easily satisfy our deep-seated cravings for fat, salt and sugar, we have to remember that too much fast food can be bad for our health. I guess that goes without saying. Yet despite that knowledge, most of us ignore the warnings, and are even slowly conditioning our children to like these kinds of food, and this is something that we have to be aware of.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that let's try and lay off the fast food. There's just too much of everything bad for our health in it, and constantly binging on it would no doubt take its toll on our bodies sooner or later. I have to admit, fast food can be quite tempting. I guess it probably won't hurt to have it once in a while. We just have to watch ourselves, or suffer the consequences. Just ask Morgan Spurlock.

(To be continued tomorrow...)

Links:

Jollibee stings McDonald's in Philippines