McDonald's lures back Asians with rice

McDonald's lures back Asians with rice

Agence France-Presse, Hong Kong

U.S. fast-food giant McDonald's has turned to rice dishes for
the first time in a battle to entice Hong Kong's Chinese diners
in the increasingly competitive fast-food market.

However, McDonald's new menu of grilled chicken with rice and
mushroom sauce and chicken cutlets with rice and curry sauce have
yet to win over its customers used to the hamburgers and French
fries it introduced to Hong Kong 27 years ago.

Office clerk Henry Tang, 23, said he sampled the new menu out
of curiosity when it was first served only in the evening on
Monday, adding: "I will go to a Chinese restaurant for such
meals, but I'm used to hamburgers now."

Tang was dining at one of McDonald's 188 outlets in Hong Kong
-- a popular hangout for the territory's younger generation.

Another diner who declined to be named said: "McDonald's has
probably come to realize at the end that rice is still a staple
food in Asia."

A McDonald's spokesman claimed the initial response to the new
menu had been "extremely positive," adding it was too early to
draw any conclusions.

"McDonald's will constantly review demand and launch new
products when appropriate as we always do," the spokesman said in
a statement to AFP.

The rice menu is also being offered at McDonald's outlets in
Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

Other fast-food outlets such as KFC, Hardies and Cafe De Coral
have been offering rice menu for years.

In recent months several Chinese restaurants have been closing
down in Hong Kong because of an economic downturn in the former
British colony.

Ho Kwok-leung, assistant professor of applied sociology at the
Polytechnic University, told local media that it was obvious
McDonald's move was aimed "to increase its competitiveness."

Ho expressed concern the chain's move could turn local
caterers to adopt the fast-food style.