Sweet Dreams
© Meredith Mullins

McDonald’s: From Le Croque McDo to McSpicy Paneer to Matcha McFlurry

Yummm. Rows of macarons in their inviting soft pastel palette. Rich chocolate cake. Little canelés rising like flour fortresses. Tiramisu. Cheesecake. Cookies. Lemon tarts.

Where are we?

In a sweet dessert dream? In a prominent Paris patisserie? In the restaurant of a Michelin-starred chef?

We could be. But, in fact, we’re at a McCafé, a part of the McDonald’s ambiance in France that brings all the lusciousness of French pastries and desserts to its fast food counter. From croissants to muffins to traditional French pastries, they’re all here for the (fast) taking.

McCafé in a Paris McDonald’s
© Meredith Mullins

Changing Times

I remember when a McDonald’s finally came to our town (somewhere around high school for me). The golden arches rose majestically and seemed to be lit from within. We looked on in awe.

Fifteen cents for a hamburger. Ten cents for a drink. The brightly colored restaurant quickly became an after-school hangout, and our parents’ carefully-planned healthy cooking became a distant memory usurped by an all-beef patty on an oh-so-soft roll.

McDonald’s turned 75 last week (May 15). The company has grown from a single BBQ stand in San Bernardino, California, to more than 35,000 restaurants that reach out to local tastes around the world. From a single burger to the Big Mac to the Quarter Pounder to a range of new offerings, the menu changes with the times and tastes.

A thumbs-up favorite: the Quarter Pounder
© David Taggart

Fast Food with Cultural Roots

In the McDonald’s restaurants around the world, the menus adapt to the culture and tastes of the locals. Traveling Americans like to have a familiar place to eat—a place where the lingo is known and where there are reminders of “home.”

The familiar burgers and fries are available in 119 countries. But when the menu relates to the culture and traditions of the country, the flavors appeal to the locals, as well as to the visitors.

The McFalafel
Photo courtesy of McDonald’s

Far Flung Flavors

Looking at McDonald’s menus across cultures is a travel adventure in itself, as well as a lesson in diversity.

From Le Croque McDo in France to the McSpicy Paneer in India to the McSausage Burger in Germany to a little sprinkle of seaweed on the fries in Japan, each menu adapts to the tastes of the country.

A kosher menu in Israel
© Mark Sebastiani

There is a kosher menu in Israel. There is a vegetarian menu in India. And there are creative recipes in every country that provide good clues as to what local folks like to eat.

• The Ebi Burger or Ebi Filet-O in Japan, Singapore, and other Asian countries—a whole-shrimp crispy patty, served with lettuce and a spicy sauce in a Big Mac bun.
  

  The very round Le Croque McDo
  Photo courtesy of McDonald’s

• Le Croque McDo in France—a very round croque monsieur, a French sandwich with emmental cheese and ham melted on toasted bread.
• The McArabia in Arab countries—two grilled chicken patties with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and garlic sauce inside a pita.
• Burbur Ayam in Malaysia—a breakfast porridge with chicken, spring onions, ginger, shallots, and chilies.
• McSpicy Paneer in India—a fried curd cheese patty with tandoori sauce, red cabbage, and lettuce on a sesame roll.
• McLobster in Canada and Maine—lobster salad on a long bun.
• 

  The Italian spinach and parmesan McNuggets
  Photo courtesy of McDonald’s

  McLaks in Norway—salmon filet on a bun.

• McPinto in Costa Rica—the traditional gallo pinto (black beans and rice) with fried plantain, eggs, and vegetables.
• Gazpacho in Spain, spinach and parmesan McNuggets in Italy, McFalafel in Israel, and Bacon Rolls in the U.K.

From McDonald’s in India: The Chicken Maharaja Mac
Photo courtesy of McDonald’s

More Clues to the Culture

McDonald’s adapts its menus, but there are other customizations as well. The buildings can show individual style, and the ordering process is also different in some countries.

Modern times at the McDonald’s in Deagu, Korea
Photo courtesy of McDonald’s

The McDonald’s in Times Square hosts a marquis with glittering lights. The Taupo, New Zealand McDonald’s, is inside an old DC-3 airplane. And the McDonald’s in Sedona, Arizona, had to change its golden arches to turquoise at the request of local leaders (a better fit with the palette of the city).

A tall, skinny, wooden McDonald’s with Paris charm
© Meredith Mullins

The ordering processes go from high tech (with a wall of touch screens to take orders and payments) to home delivery in many Asian countries. The fast food chain consistency concept seems to be changing into promoting individuality and personality.

Touch screen ordering in multiple languages
© Meredith Mullins

Oh, I See

There are many ways to learn about cultural differences in the world. The McDonald’s story tells us that food offers a way to connect to another culture.

The next time you’re in another country looking at a McDonald’s fast food menu, you can go one of two ways. You can have a “stay-at-home” familiar burger and fries, or you can choose one of the local menu items. Either way is an adventure—a taste of culture a long time in the making.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

In Hertfordshire, England, the deer on road signs have a certain regal look
with antlers fit for a bejeweled crown.
© Simon Gurney

Crossing the Road and Cultures, Too

Why does a chicken cross the road? Ponder that all you wish, but know for sure that a chicken and a host of other beasts are gonna cross the road.

Humans devised the idea of warning signs to help you avoid a bump in the road. Governments and international commissions created copious specs (862 pages in the US Manual alone) to make sure the humans got it right.

With all the international constraints and the small size of the “canvas,” you might think road signs would be boring, routine, standard. But—surprise!—they show more about different cultures and geographies than you might think!

Deer Designs

Deer are native to every continent except Australia and Antarctica. That results in many different deer species across geographies and climates, providing a challenge to anyone who might want to standardize the deer sign.

The iconic deer on the US sign is a silhouette with a nice leap and a cute turned-up tail. But why are the antlers backward?

If a deer on this Idaho roadway jumps at your car, don’t take time to compare
its horns to the sign. Just get outta the way!
© jimkruger

The style, the balance, the angle of the leap of this American deer may seem like pure perfection, but it lacks the “moves” of the deer on the English country road.

And it’s also missing some personalized charm. The beguiling smile of the British deer wasn’t there when the sign went up, but the 3/4 perspective used by the designer invited some playfulness. Well done, mate!

For designers, the horns are always the dilemma, especially when more than one species of deer cross the same road. Maybe they see the horns like hair styles—this year, bigger and bouffant; next year, curly and compact. Perhaps the horns balance the angle of the leap. Or, do the antlers just reflect the deer in the ‘hood?

Deer crossing signs (l to r) from France—an elegant deer, of course, on its way to Paris—
and from Canada (© alblec), and Sweden (© 221A)

Despite many attempts, the shapes of warning signs defy international standardization—diamond-shaped in the US and Canada, triangular in most of the EU. Background colors and border styles vary, too. Like beauty, the efficacy of warnings is clearly in the eye of the beholder.

The Happiness Index

The UN looks at happiness across countries by polling citizens and collecting information on several happiness indexes. It has set every March 20 as the International Day of Happiness.

Published each year since 2012, the World Happiness Report ranks countries based on the Gallup World Poll. In 2020, Finland came in first and several other Scandinavian countries—Norway, Sweden, and Denmark—ranked in the top ten. A half-world away, tiny Costa Rica, the land of pura vida, ranked #15; the US, #18; and Spain, #28.

Though there’s no way to know if the happiness indexes pertain to the bovine population, it is curious that the wag of the tail on cattle crossing signs in Spain and Costa Rica are oh-so-different!

Wag more. Moo less!
Cattle crossing signs in Spain (top) and in Costa Rica (bottom).
© percds / © Sheron Long

Fact and Feeling

Happiness is not the only emotion that springs from the metal of a road sign. The mellow California sign below would have you thinking, “C’mon, wild boars are mothers, too.” But it’s the Japanese sign that gets it right.

The personality of a wild boar does not change because it migrates to California!
© Spontaneous Pictures (l) / © Sheron Long (r)

In some parts of the world, the road signs are factually correct, delivering on their promise.

Llama and vicuña crossing in the Bolivian highlands–a wooly meet-up!
© javarman3

In others, not so much. This road sign throws you a curve—it promises straight-line black-and-white stripes and delivers two rounds of fluffy brown feathers.

“No fences” in Namibia means ostriches and other beasts can crash the party.
© Bryta

Confusion and Contradiction 

Svalbard, a cluster of islands about midway between Norway and the North Pole, has a small permanent population and polar bears. It needs warning signs, of course, and this one says, “Applies throughout Svalbard.” But still you have to wonder why it’s there—if you’re walking in an Arctic snowstorm and encounter a polar bear, will you see it?

White on white polar bear crossing in Norway
© Avatar_023

If you’re driving through the warmer climate of Namibia, it’s good to be on the lookout for ground squirrels. They live in bands, sometimes in groups of 20, all of which might be milling around the same crossing.

But what’s the message on the crossing sign? Are the ground squirrels already road kill, or are they slow? Or, are they road kill because they’re slow? Or, do YOU go slow so you don’t end up as road kill?

Ground squirrel crossing in Namibia
© namibelephant

Confusion can turn to contradiction. The red sign says STOP in Arabic, but apparently camels are exempt.

In Morocco, red stop sign and camel directional sign toward the Sahara desert. Stop or go?
© Jann Huizenga

Clarity is the gold standard for warning signs, and some rise to the challenge. Take this one in South Africa—it’s clear, it’s realer than real, and if you do what it says, you’ll never feel as silly as a baboon.

Special precautions prevail at this baboon crossing in Cape Town, South Africa.
© Micky Wiswedel

Where in the World Are You?

Get ready to say, “Oh, I see!” It’s your turn to cross the road into different cultures and match the road signs to these map points: 

1. Germany  2. Nicaragua  3. New Zealand  4. Thailand  5. South Africa  6. France

Oh, I see! Do U?
Credits (A-F): © Oralleff / © Sheron Long / © Andreas Weber
© Tim Arbaev / © David Callan / © Steve B Photography

Different wildlife, different cultures, different languages. They all hold the clues. Good luck, and STOP to check your road sign answers below.

Comment on this post below.

For more on how cultures show their differences on school signs, see “In the (School) Zone of Different Cultures.”

With appreciation to Thinkstock and iStock for images except those copyrighted by Sheron Long.

Answers: 1. Germany is C, a moose crossing at the Christmas market in the Königsplatz in Kassel, Germany. 2. Nicaragua is F, a crab crossing by Long Bay on Corn Island. 3. New Zealand is A, a penguin crossing on the South Island. 4. Thailand is D, an elephant crossing in Phuket. 5. South Africa is E, a dassie crossing at KwaZulu-Natal. 6. France is B, a snake and turtle crossing in the swampy lands of the Camargue.