McDonalds

[sanjuro_ronin]

LOL!
Didn't they see him coming?

[GeneChing]

luvin it.

[PalmStriker]

Crazy Dude needs a 2x4 upside his head, then electro-shock therapy for good measure. Then hooked up to the grid to produce free electricity to subsidize the poor.

[GeneChing]

...given the nutritional value of McD's, the blindspot is obvious.

But this is ridiculous.

Homeless woman found dead at Hong Kong McDonald’s 24 hours after she sat down as unaware customers ate
Social welfare groups have raised concerns about the lack of support for people living on the fringes of society
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 04 October, 2015, 1:57pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 04 October, 2015, 8:22pm
Gloria Chan gloria.chan@scmp.com


Workers remove the body of the homeless woman from the Ping Shek Estate McDonald's in Kowloon Bay on Sunday. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Police are trying to confirm the identity of a homeless woman who was found dead in a 24-hour McDonald’s outlet at a public housing estate in Kowloon Bay yesterday morning.

The case has raised concern among social welfare groups about the lack of support for people living on the fringes of society.

The woman, aged around 50 to 60 years, was found slumped over her table in a quiet corner, 24 hours after she entered the restaurant at Ping Shek Estate, while other customers were unaware what had happened.

She was 1.6 metres tall, with short black hair and wearing black-rimmed glasses. She was dressed in a gray long-sleeved overcoat, white t-shirt and black trousers, and wore slippers. Although she had a bag and a wallet on her, she had no identification documents.

It is believed she was a street-sleeper who regularly spent her nights in McDonald’s.


Customers go about their meals at the Ping Shek Estate McDonald's in Kowloon Bay on Sunday even as the area where the homeless woman died is cordoned off with a black sheet. Photo: SCMP Pictures

At around 8:30am yesterday, a McDonald’s employee called police after finding the woman unconscious and cold at her table. She was confirmed dead at the scene.

According to police, there was nothing suspicious about her death upon initial investigation.

CCTV footage showed the woman entering the restaurant at 8:39am the previous day – 24 hours before she was found dead – and sitting at a table near the bathroom. At 1:20am yesterday, she suddenly slumped over the table. Nobody paid her any attention and customers ate their late-night meals around her.

It was back to bustling business as usual while police carried out their investigations yesterday morning. The area she had sat in was cordoned off, and customers were navigating around it to find seats.

Her body was taken away to a mortuary through the back door at around 11:30 am, and by 1pm all tables were open to customers.


Customers at the Ping Shek Estate McDonald's in Kowloon Bay came and went for 24 hours before an employee realised the woman was unconscious and called police. Photo: Frankie Tsang

A spokesman for McDonald’s Hong Kong expressed grief over the incident, promising that the fast food chain would cooperate with police in their investigation.The Ping Shek Estate restaurant was cleaned and disinfected immediately after the incident, he said.

McDonald's clarified that the woman had not ordered any food, but staff noticed she was moving, and had asked for water from the counter.

"To complement the modern lifestyle of people in Hong Kong, some McDonald’s restaurants operate 24 hours a day. We welcome everyone to visit out restaurants any time," the spokesman said.

“In order to provide a pleasant dining environment, we would not disturb our customers, but our service will be offered promptly upon request.

[GeneChing]

astounding. you couldn't make this stuff up if you tried...

McDonald's introduces horrifying grey-bunned Modern China Burger



China is kind of known for some off-color burger buns, but we don't think we've ever seen something so unappetizing as the two pieces of "bread" used for McDonald's latest creation, the Modern China Burger.
It features two pork patties, several pieces of greasy bacon and some lettuce topped with tingly Sichuan pepper ketchup, all squished between two grey buns with black sesame. Mercifully, it is only available in China and only until November 3rd.
The buns are apparently made with fluffy mantou-steamed bread, but diners spent most of their time trying to figure out what exactly the inspiration for the distinctive color of this Modern China Burger was, China's smoggy skies (from smoked bacon) or slates of stone?
Courageous internet users have shared photos of this newest snack online and it somehow manages to look even more unappetizing than in Photoshop form, horrifying the general populace. However, brave writers at Time Out Beijing tried out the Modern China Burger and reviews weren't entirely unfavorable.
“Justin Bieber or Chinese fast food. So much fun to hate…but in my car, alone, and utterly unwatched, you know I’m really enjoying it.”
So, you might as well try it? When are you ever going to get this chance again?

With sliding sales and some recent bad PR, McDonald's has been trying to revitalize its brand in China. In July, they launched a new "Create Your Taste" customized burger concept. Maybe somebody actually asked for this?

Anyway, we certainly know what Xi Jinping is going to offer Donald Trump to eat the next time he comes to China.
Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Alex Linder in News on

There are some instagram pix which I don't have time to cut&paste right now, so if you want to see more grey buns, follow the link.

[David Jamieson]

Grey buns?

Sounds like some kind of septuagenarian porno. No thanks!

[GeneChing]

Thanks for that thought, DJ.

In return, I leave you with this.

McDonald's Hamburger University can be harder to get into than Harvard and is even cooler than you'd imagine
Natalie Walters, provided by
Published 5:05 am, Saturday, October 24, 2015


Hamburger UniversityBloomberg/Getty Images

McDonald's Hamburger University is no joke.

With a selection rate of 1% at its Shanghai campus, the intense, weeklong training program is more exclusive than Harvard, reports Bloomberg.

Students at the American campus can earn up to 23 credits toward their Hamburgerology degree, according to CNN, or toward an associate or bachelor's degree at 1,600 US colleges and universities, the American Council on Education reports.

The program currently has seven campuses worldwide in Oak Brook, Illinois; Tokyo, London, Sydney, Munich, São Paulo, and Shanghai, with an eighth campus scheduled to open in Moscow later this year.

Founded in 1961, Hamburger University now has more than 275,000 graduates and will celebrate its 55th anniversary next year. Here's a look at how it started and how it's evolved.

Vivian Giang contributed to a previous version of this article.

aflury6 2 months ago

Early morning run through McDonald's campus 🍔🍟🍦#HamburgerU

Almost 55 years ago, McDonald’s became the first restaurant company in the world to develop a global training center.

Today, there are more than 4,000 corporate universities in the world, and Rob Lauber, McDonald’s chief learning officer, tells Business Insider that Hamburger University shares its training practices with other restaurants to help continue to improve the service industry across the board.


McDonalds

Source

It was founded in 1961 in the basement of a McDonald’s in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, by Fred Turner, the first grill man for McDonald's and, later, the CEO for 20 years. Over the past 55 years, more than 275,000 people have attended a Hamburger University.


mcdonalscorp via YouTube

Source

[boxerbilly]

astounding. you couldn't make this stuff up if you tried...



There are some instagram pix which I don't have time to cut&paste right now, so if you want to see more grey buns, follow the link.

Looks like stone. I pass. Has anyone eaten the BK black-bun yet? Any good ? I have not. I don't like the way it looks.

[GeneChing]

The verdict is in on this and more.

China Court Jails Religious 'Cult' Leader for Life
World | Agence France-Presse | Updated: October 31, 2015 12:07 IST


Representational Image.

SHANGHAI: A Chinese court has sentenced the leader of a religious sect labelled a cult by authorities to life in prison on several charges, according to an official statement, with three of his followers also jailed.

A court in the southern city of Zhuhai on Friday also fined Wu Zeheng, head of the "Huazang Zongmen" sect, more than 7.0 million yuan ($1.1 million), it said. The charges included organising a cult, rape, fraud and selling harmful food products.

Wu seduced dozens of women by telling them sex with him could give them "supernatural power", state media has said. He also operated a restaurant which claimed the food was cooked with "precious" ingredients.

A police investigation showed Wu had amassed an illegal fortune of more than 6.9 million yuan through his activities, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

The court also sentenced three of his followers to jail terms of one to four years, but one of those tried escaped punishment, the statement said.

The group, which operates under multiple names, claims links to Buddhism.

Analysts say China has tightened control over religious worship, among other areas, under the administration of President Xi Jinping, who took office in 2013.

Authorities have targeted cults after members of one group beat a woman whom they were trying to recruit to death in a McDonald's restaurant in May last year.

In February, authorities executed a father and daughter, who belonged to the Quannengshen group, for the murder. Another 14 members of the sect, whose name can be translated as Church of Almighty God, were jailed for up to three years in July.

In another case, a celebrity Chinese "qigong master", Wang Lin, who claimed to conjure snakes from thin air and cure the sick, was held by police on suspicion of kidnapping and murder in July, according to media reports.

In a bizarre twist to the case, his ex-wife and mistress offered 2.0 million yuan in bribes to a policeman investigating the matter in exchange for information to help Wang seek a lighter sentence, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

Story First Published: October 31, 2015 12:07 IST

Copied from the Busted-Qigong-Masters thread.

[GeneChing]

Freakin' hilarious. I wonder what McD would call their version of the Whopper?

Burger King Japan giving discounts if you bring a McDonald’s Big Mac into one of its restaurants
Casey Baseel
2 hours ago



For companies in the fast food hamburger business, there’s no way of getting around the fact that they’re in competition with McDonald’s. So instead of trying to tiptoe around the situation, Burger King Japan has decided to try to tackle its rival head-on with the new Big King 4.0 sandwich, which Burger King has just introduced to the Japanese market.

If you’ve got burgers on the brain, the name Big King no doubt reminds you of McDonald’s Big Mac, and that’s fine with Burger King. As a matter of fact, thanks to an unusual promotion going on right now, Burger King will give you a discount on a Big King if you bring in a receipt showing you recently bought a Big Mac, or, even stranger, if you bring in the actual McDonald’s hamburger itself.

The Big King is a two-patty burger with lettuce, cheese, special sauce, and a third central slice of bread. That sounds almost exactly like a Big Mac, and Burger King even admits as much on its website, which has a side-by-side comparison of the Big King and what it coyly calls “The ‘Big’ hamburger everyone knows about from that other chain.”

▼ That mosaic isn’t fooling anybody, BK.



Burger King explicitly states that the two sandwiches are “almost identical,” but points out one key difference: the Big King’s patties are cooked over an open flame, unlike the flat-grilled meat of McDonald’s sandwiches. Thanks to this, Burger King says a majority of survey respondents who sampled the Big King prior to its official release called it tastier than the other “Big” burger.

But while beating McDonald’s in the flavor department is one thing, it’s a lot tougher to price your menu items below those of the eminently efficient Golden Arches. The Big King costs 490 yen (US$4.10), 120 yen more than a Big Mac. That’s why until November 29, Burger King is offering what it calls the Big ( ) Discount.

▼ And just in case that’s still too subtle, that’s definitely supposed to be Ronald McDonald’s hand.



The Big ( ) Discount knocks 120 yen off the price of the Big King, making it align perfectly with the cost of a Big Mac. There are two ways to take advantage of this offer. The first is to bring a receipt showing you recently purchased the other “Big” burger to Burger King.



The second, more dramatic method is to bring the actual sandwich in and show it to the cashier. In other words, Burger King will knock about a buck off the price of your meal if you actually take a Big Mac into one of the chain’s branches.

The implication, of course, is that after you try both sandwiches, Burger King is confident that you’ll like the Big King better, and thus came back for more in the future. We imagine they prefer you not conduct the head-to-head taste test while sitting in one of Burger King’s restaurants, but if you’re especially hungry and don’t mind getting your meal to go, this is essentially an opportunity to get paid for eating fast food, which we have to admit sounds like a pretty sweet deal.

Source: Nikkei Keizai Shimbun via Byokan Sunday, Jin
Top image: Burger King Japan
Insert images: Burger King Japan (1, 2) (edited by RocketNews24)

[highlypotion]

My friend worked in McDonalds before and she resigned because she got gastritis from all the stress there.

[GeneChing]

I'd actually eat at this McDs.

Former KMT leader Chiang Ching-kuo's old lakeside villa in Hangzhou reopens as a McDonald's



As a final act of retribution for the bitter Chinese Civil War, the former Hangzhou residence of former Taiwanese leader Chiang Ching-kuo has been turned into a freaking McDonald's... errr a McCafé.

The two-story western-style brick and wood villa was built in prime real estate near West Lake in 1931. Chiang Ching-kuo, former leader of the Kuomintang, and son of Chiang Kai-shek, lived there until he was forced to find a more permanent residence in Taiwan.



Considering that its former resident would go on to be the president of the Republic of China, the Hangzhou city government had been having a bit of a hard time finding any willing renters for the villa, until McDonald's showed interest back in January.



The proposal initially provoked a storm of controversy with people worrying about the preservation of the historical structure. To ease concerns, McDonald's promised to open a more classy establishment than usual -- a McCafé -- that would specialize in lattes rather than Modern China Burgers, in order to uphold the sanctity of the historical building.

According to NetEase, the cafe can seat 100 guests. Two months earlier a Starbucks cafe opened in the side wing of the same building. The interior structure and exterior walls were not altered during constructions. If visitors want to see Chiang's old living quarters, they'll have to go around the back.



Netizens have mostly met this latest news with varying levels of bemusement:

"When are we going to turn Mao's old house into a KFC?" wondered one netizen from Zhejiang.

"Finally, Chiang can serve the people," joked another netizen from Beijing.



Does this make up for Starbucks getting kicked out of the Forbidden City?

[Images via NetEase]
Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Alex Linder in News on Nov 16, 2015 6:33 PM

[GeneChing]

Can a Big Mac be customized to be more healthy? Or would that destroy the essence of Big Mac?

McDonald’s To Open 150 Customized Burger Stores In China In 2016: Report
BY ADITYA KONDALAMAHANTY ON 01/29/16 AT 2:41 AM



McDonald's said it would open 150 new customized burger stores in China in 2016. Pictured: Customers walk into a McDonald's store in Hong Kong, July 25, 2014.
PHOTO: REUTERS/TYRONE SIU

McDonald’s said it would open 150 new stores in China this year where customers would be able to personalize their burgers to their taste, Reuters reported Friday. The world’s largest fast-food restaurant chain that currently has 11 such stores in China beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly sales this week, powered by its all-day breakfast menu and a revival in demand from the Asian country.

McDonald’s would open 150 "Create Your Taste" outlets that would allow customers to build their burgers from ground up, Regina Hui, senior director of communications for McDonald's China, told Reuters in an email.

Hui said that the specialized outlets had received “very positive feedback” from Chinese diners, amid intensifying competition due to a boom in alternative fast-food store chains and greater health awareness. "They like the taste of burgers, the digital experience and the table service," Hui said.

Recovering from a food safety scandal in July 2014, McDonald’s posted a 4 percent rise in same-store sales in China, the second straight quarter of growth after a year of falling sales. Although same-store sales of the U.S. burger chain and rival Yum Brands Inc. remain below pre-scandal levels in China, globally same-store sales of McDonald’s rose 5 percent, above the 3.2 percent reportedly expected by analysts.

However, analysts believe that it will be tough for the two fast-food giants to spur the rapid growth seen before 2012 as more and more Chinese diners look for healthier options.

"It's back to par rather than getting ahead too much, but it's good for them to see stable sales," Ben Cavender, Shanghai-based principal at China Market Research Group, told Reuters.

McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook, who took over from Don Thompson in March, implemented a turnaround plan last year that involved making the menu simpler, improving service times and raising worker wages. Earlier this week, the company announced plans to increase its investment in Russia and open more stores there in 2016.

[GeneChing]

I wonder how many Chinese restaurants there are in the U.S. and how that number compares to the number of U.S. restaurant franchises there are in Asia now.

Thu Mar 31, 2016 9:41am EDT
McDonald's to add more than 1,500 outlets in China, HK, Korea


Birds fly past a sign of 24-hour McDonald's restaurant at sunrise in Hong Kong, China November 11, 2015.
REUTERS/TYRONE SIU

McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) plans to add more than 1,500 restaurants in China, Hong Kong and South Korea over the next five years as it focuses on high-growth markets to boost sales.

The company, known for its Big Mac burgers, said it was seeking franchise partners in those three markets, where it already has more than 2,800 restaurants, most of them company-owned.

China, Hong Kong and South Korea, along with a few other high-growth markets such as Russia, accounted for nearly a quarter of McDonald's total sales in 2015.

McDonald's, which converted about 470 company-owned restaurants to franchises last year, plans to franchise 95 percent of its outlets worldwide in the long-term.

More than 80 percent of its 36,000-plus restaurants are currently operated by franchisees.

Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald's said it was looking for partners who would "enable localized decisions on growth initiatives" in China, Hong Kong and South Korea.

McDonald's and rival Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N), the owner of KFC and Pizza Hut, have been facing increasing competition from cheaper local rivals, particularly in China, where they are trying to recover from food safety scares.

China, which is home to the third largest number of McDonald's restaurants, is Yum's biggest market.

Sales took a hit after Chinese regulators launched a probe into a local meat supplier in 2014 for allegedly mixing meat beyond its expiration date with fresh meat.

A Reuters analysis of same-store sales data suggests McDonald's is recovering faster than Yum in China.

Researchers and consumers said there's no simple answer to explain why one is faring better than the other, but the scandals seem to have stuck to KFC much more than McDonald's in consumers' minds.

McDonald's shares rose to a record high of $126.76 in early trading on Thursday. The stock has risen about 29 percent in the last 12 months, outperforming the 18 percent rise in the S&P 500 restaurants Sub index .SPLRCREST.

(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik and Sruthi Ramakrishan in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Sebastian and Anupama Dwivedi)

[GeneChing]

McDonald's Released A Green Burger In China
Brian Ashcraft
Thursday 5:00am Filed to: SNACKTAKU


[Image: That’s]

Goodness. Look at those buns! They’re quite green.

To mark the Angry Birds’ movie release, McDonald’s in China is serving up Angry Birds themed food, including this Bad Piggy burger. Well, according to website That’s, it’s actually called a “Naughty Green Pork Burger.”

That’s said the burger “wasn’t half bad,” adding: “It wasn’t as large, or as succulent as the advertisement made it appear, but then again they never are. The burger included a pork patty, an egg, lettuce, a mysterious sauce with a hint of jalapeños, and the notorious green buns.”


[Image: wxrw123]

China is also getting an Angry Red Burger, which is a double chicken patty with red buns.


[Image: Great Chef]

And a cool box. Below are more photos of China’s Angry Birds themed McDonald’s.


[Image: zhoumozuosha]


[Image: zhoumozuosha]


[Image: cqdst]

Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.
Brian Ashcraftb ashcraft@kotaku.com @Brian_Ashcraft
Originally from Texas, Ashcraft has called Osaka home since 2001. He has authored four books, including most recently, Japanese Tattoos: History * Culture * Design.

This is so wrong. It shoulda been the McNuggets that were angry birds.