Eric's Beijing Diary

This morning, after church, Claire and Raymond and I went to McDonald's for coffee. Before we went, I wanted to stop at a familiar street vendor and get a Xianburger. I call them Xianburgers because they come from Xi'an. They are kinda like sloppy joes, but the meat is freshly cut off a large piece, and the spices they use cannot be matched. Very tasty and very healthy. I bought one and started to eat it right away, but Claire and Raymond were betting I could get by with eating it at McDonald's if we bought some other stuff, like coffee. I told them we probably would not get by with this, but I went along with it. Sure enough, one of the fuwuyuan came up to Claire (who also had one) and told her that she could not bring food in from somewhere else. I really don't blame them for enforcing this rule. What kind of business would they have (especially in China!) if they allowed anyone to bring in other food. I can't even imagine it.

This meeting of old and new is very interesting in China, especially in relation to food. There are lots and lots of little restaurants that serve many varieties of delicious food. Yet, McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken both do very well in this country. One reason is because they do have pretty strict discipline about making sure that people who come are there to buy McDonald's.

Another innovation that sometimes exposes the conflict between the old way and the new way is the buffet restaurant. There are several varieties, but they are similar. Some people call these "cafeterias," because that is how the arrangement strikes them. Basically, you pay a flat price for all you can eat. Most of these places advertise a specialty like pizza or fried chicken. The price is usually in the high thirties, just under 40 RMB. That is about five US dollars, which doesn't seem bad, but for a minimum wage worker, it is not cheap. The first time I went, I couldn't understand why there was never any fried chicken available. Then I noticed a guy carrying his plate with a mountain of fried chicken on it. He had cleaned out the supply. These guys come in from the countryside and pay what, to them, is a high price and they are determined to get their money's worth! One time, I actually heard an announcement in the restaurant that those who take more than they can eat will be fined. It's going to take the laobaixing a little while to get used to this arrangement.