What makes me excited about traveling to a foreign land for the first time is the experience of satisfying my palate with the place's most popular cuisine and what it's known for. I have always wanted to look for the staple food of the locals and savor their dish the way they feast on it like there's no tomorrow. But the usual challenge is knowing where to find the right restaurant and knowing if it's authentic or if it's a commercialized knock-off. Unless I know exactly where to go to or if I have previously made my research prior to the flight, the first thing I normally do is to satisfy my hunger on where I could easily grab a bite. And McDonald's always tops the list of my go-to places to eat!
Yes, you read it right. McDonald's Restaurant is my comfort food and it's one place I can't miss when I travel. Not because it's my favorite resto but it's one of the thousand business establishments that you can easily find, strategically located just a few steps from every hotel you will stay in, at the airports, commercial hubs, and most tourist spots all over the country. My best friend and travel buddy Google Maps has never run out of the nearest McDonald's to point me to, even in the most remote areas where I never expected I would see a mascot of a clown on a yellow jumpsuit inviting me to hop in. And even without the virtual guide, you will never be lost. It always amuses me that beyond every horizon is a gleaming yellow Golden Arches logo floating in the sky which serves as a north star pulling you to the axis of the only earth you've known.
Below is a list of some of McDonald's Restaurants I have been to, out of over 35,000 outlets you can find at the face of the earth.
1. Fillmore, USA
908 Ventura St, Fillmore, CA 93015, United States
We drove from Castaic for roughly 30 minutes to get to TNT Fireworks Store in Fillmore to get hold of fireworks for the 4th of July celebration. The ride from Henry Mayo Dr to E Telegraph Rd is a typical California road trip with endless plains, refreshing views of valleys and canyons, and sights of hiking trails in the surrounding mountains; until you get to a more densely populated area at the junction of Ventura St. It's a relief to see a lot of fast food restos in the area including a huge McDonald's hut just right next to a makeshift fireworks store just across 7-Eleven at the corner of B Street. It's the perfect place to get a quick bite after being roasted under the summer sun of July.
2. Tumon, Guam
1328 Pale San Vitores Rd, Tamuning, 96913, Guam
Guam is a small island with only about 30 miles long taking only 2 hours to drive around the country. To date, there are only 6 McDonald's Restaurants in the whole region, serving only the commercial areas and business districts of Guam, and I was able to dine at 4 of these branches. And if you happen to have spent your vacation in Tamuning area, there's one along Pale San Vitores Rd just right at the crossroads with Rivera Lane.
I didn't know that there is one in the area when I went taking pictures at Tumon Beach but as I was walking along the seashore that moment, it started drizzling so I looked for a nearby shelter and what caught my attention was a mall-looking building right next to TGI Friday's. As I was crossing the street, I saw a pile of Japanese tourists walking towards the rear of the building so I followed them. A smaller building stands at the back of the mall with a huge poster of the Minions was a spectacle. I didn't realize instantly that I was looking at a McDonald's Restaurant until I read the tarpaulin printed with a Happy Meal that features Minion toys. That served as a deciding factor for me to grab a quick bite, not only to take shelter from the imminent rain but to buy my kids Minion toys from an offshore McDonald's store.
3. Dededo, Guam
1901 16, Dededo, 96911, Guam
At just about 15 minutes drive from the Pale San Vitores branch is another McDonald's store along Army Drive just right across the Harmon Loop Hotel in Dededo area. It looks bigger than the one in Tamuning with more parking spaces around its area that we easily found a parking slot right at its entrance. My friends and I didn't dine here but we purposely drove to this place to look for other available Minion toys that are out of stock in Tamuning. Luckily, the crew staff is very accommodating that they allowed me to rummage on their boxful of Minion toys so I can choose the ones that I don't have yet.
4. Marine Corps Drive, Guam
Marine Corps Drive, Tamuning, 96913, Guam
I stayed in Aqua Suites by Wyndham (which is now permanently closed), and the nearest fast food restaurant is Papa John's Pizza, which is just at the roadside by the corner of Marine Corps Drive and Hwy 14 B, where the hotel is facing. It takes about a 10-minute walk to get there and surprisingly, there's also McDonald's in just a few more steps. Apart from the in-house restaurant at the hotel, McDonald's became my staple food for a few days since there are not too many restaurants within the area unless you get to dine at Guam Premier Outlet or at the nearest malls within Tamuning. I became a familiar face in the store and the crew would already know what I would order whenever I go there, and that gave me the edge to ask some of the staff to take a picture of me from my camera phone.
5. Hagåtña, Guam
389 4, Hagåtña, 96910, Guam
I went back to Guam a year after and stayed at the country's capital Hagåtña to see the other tourist destinations, which are not too many, that I wasn't able to visit the previous year. I stayed at Red Plumeria Suites, a budget inn within the Mongmong-Toto-Maite area, which is just near Agana Shopping Center. It takes about a 20-minute walk to get there but it's worth the stroll as there are a few fast-food restaurants in the area including a McDonald's sitting alone in Hwy 4 just after crossing 7B, facing an expansive parking lot by the east. This is a branch that is not too populated that you can literally jump from one table to another and no one will even notice when you make multiple selfies until you run out of battery and disk space.
6. Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong
Terminal 1, Sky Plaza Rd, Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong
Terminal 1 of Hong Kong International Airport is so huge that it wasn't so difficult to get lost but thankfully, there are airport restaurants on the second floor including a vast expanse, pun intended, of a McDonald's store that features long queues and limited tables. The store is equipped with an automated self-service kiosk that makes ordering quicker, easier, and more efficient for foreign visitors who don't speak Chinese and who are having a hard time understanding Chinese accents. Tables are always full but customers don't really stay long anyway, so we got ourselves an empty one once we were done ordering without having to wait for so long. We came back here before going home to the Philippines five days after and had breakfast before the flight. It's funny to think that our first and last meals when we came to Hong Kong were both from McDonald's.
7. Peking Rd, Hong Kong
Sands Building, 12 Peking Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
We stayed at Mirador Mansion, a budget hotel, located at Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui on our first ever family vacation overseas. Traveling with a picky-eater kid like my son Yeshua is really a pain in the ass, but thanks to an easy-to-find, kids-friendly restaurant like McDonald's, setting up mealtimes in the itinerary is never a problem. Three McDonald's stores are just a stone's throw away from the hotel and the nearest is a 5-minute walk from the hotel to Peking Rd. It's not even difficult to find it because Sands Building is very visible even before crossing Nathan Road. It's very accessible as it is within reach from Tsuen Wan Line subway station if you plan to go to Disneyland or at the Tian Tian Buddha in Ngong Ping, or at Haiphong Road bus station if you will take the A21 Bus to go to the airport.
8. Citygate, Hong Kong
Hong Kong, 大嶼山東涌 Tat Tung Rd, 20號東薈城一樓112號舖
Going to Lantau Island to see the Tian Tian Buddha in Ngong Ping from Tsim Sha Tsui requires a grueling 2 hours travel by train and bus (or cable car). Our first stop from a 1-hour train ride from Tsim Sha Tsui to the end of the subway line at Tung Chung Station is at Citygate, the largest outlet mall in Hong Kong. Thank heavens for housing a huge McDonald's restaurant at the first level of the shopping mall, so you can grab a quick bite before you get to another 1-hour bus travel to get to the Lantau Island or if you want to make a quick stop after you came back completely exhausted from climbing the 268 steps in Tian Tian Buddha. This branch, however, is customer-infested so expect long queues where readily available tables may be a little difficult to find.
9. North Bridge Road, Singapore
My business trip to Singapore was the shortest trip that I have ever made. It was the only time that I stayed in a foreign country in just 24 hours so I had to steal time to visit some of the tourist destinations in only a few hours. I chose to stay in a budget hotel in Middle Road, not because I was on a tight budget, but because it is the nearest hotel to get to the workplace the next morning, and because it's midway between Bugis Street where I can buy souvenirs and from Merlion Park where I can see the country's iconic symbol overlooking the Marina Bay Sands. Coming back home to the hotel at past midnight, I expected that there are restaurants nearby that are still open but I was surprised to see nothing but bars and night clubs operating after sundown. Thanks to Google Maps who led me to a 24-hour fast-food restaurant, just 4 minutes walk to the adjacent North Bridge Road, McDonald's is the only fully-illuminated building in the area, which makes it easy to find. I ordered Quarter Pounder with Cheese but it wasn't available so I had to settle with something else, just to fill my starving gut. And one of the surprises that I encountered was that the resto is still full of customers even at wee hours in the morning.
10. Vadodara Central, India
K 10, Vadodara Central, Genda Cir, Alkapuri, Vadodara, Gujarat 390001, India
Weeks before my flight to Gujarat in India, I feared that there are no western fast foods in Vadodara, which I thought was a remote area on the western coast of the country. But I was so wrong... totally wrong! Vadodara is a bustling city as it is known to be an industrial hub of western India and Google Maps was able to show me 15 McDonald's stores in this amazing city of cultural heritage. Having stayed at Effotel by Sayaji Hotel, the nearest branch is in Vadodara Central, which would take only 10 minutes by rickshaw.
The order taker at that time wasn't so friendly and I don't feel like she wanted to accommodate my questions so I ended up just ordering a McChicken Sandwich combo meal since it's quicker to just point at the picture on their desktop menu. Thankfully, the preparation was like faster than the speed of light. I would normally wait for 5 minutes or more for my number to be called, but they did it in less than the usual time. And my first bite was amazing! It doesn't taste like the same, old, boring way as you've known it for hundreds of years, because it does have a little touch of Indian cuisine in its condiments. It was the most extra-ordinary McChicken Sandwich that I've ever had! Kudos to this McDonald's branch.
11. Jalan Silang, Malaysia
55 & 57, Jalan Tun Tan Siew Sin, 50050 Wilayah Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Petaling Street Market, more popularly known to foreign visitors in Kuala Lumpur as Chinatown, is a very famous spot when it comes to buying souvenirs and other knick-knacks. Shopping for gift items or novelty products can really be exhausting, and when you start to feel like sitting to grab a bite, there are tons of Chinese restaurants around but they are almost always full because meals are cheaper than in most establishments. Just across Jalan Pudu, however, is a McDonald's restaurant just behind the old shopping mall Kotaraya Complex, if you want to want to try something else than Chinese food. The space is too cramped, however, that the counter looked a little crowded even though they were only serving a few people. There was a commotion when I came as I overheard customers complaining about how slow they prepare their food but I carried on. That's already a given in any McDonald's store, I guess. The second level is roomier so I decided to settle in there but I didn't realize that there is wide space behind me where kids can run around and play. Yes, I ate my meal while listening to screaming kids and running footsteps.
12. Intermark Mall, Malaysia
G17 The Intermark Mall, 348 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
My second time in Kuala Lumpur had me stay in Somerset Hotel in Jalan Ampang and my schedule on the first two nights were too tight that I had to order hotel room service for dinner due to time constraint (it was an excuse to say I feel too lazy to eat out). Realizing that the food ordered from the hotel is way too expensive, I searched for nearby restaurants where I can enjoy Malaysian cuisine without spending a fortune. What I found, however, is a familiar Golden Arches logo floating by the Intermark Mall which is just a 10-minute walk from the hotel. What's best is that it's a 24-hour establishment so I can stay late taking pictures at the Petronas Twin Towers not worrying where to grab myself a late dinner after.
> right arrow for more pictures
13. The Strand Arcade, Australia
375-377 George St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Right at the crowded stretch that leads to the Chinatown of Sydney is the most unique McDonald's restaurant that I have ever been to. A Victorian-style architectural structure sits at the central business district of Sydney, The Strand Arcade is a retail arcade home to Australian designer shops which is a favorite spot for shoppers of style and design. What caught my eye was a very different-looking McDonald's restaurant that is almost hard to distinguish if not with the famous Golden Arches logo you've known for years.
The interior is palatial where there's a sea of people, even though it's Tuesday and beyond the usual meal times. They have automated self-ordering kiosks but I chose to speak to a real human being so I went to the counter to get myself a Big Mac meal. The staff at the counter really moved fast (apart from talking real fast that I had to process speed talk and Aussie accent in my brain quicker than I used to) that ordering food almost took only a few seconds. There were a few tables available on the ground floor but I chose to take my tray at the second level to enjoy my meal at a very secluded area in the corner while enjoying the spectacle from above. It's my first birthday away from home, and McDonald's made that day a little special.
14. Guchengnanli, China
古城南里甲5号 Guchengnanli, Shijingshan, Beijing, China
Next to the US and Japan, China has the third-largest number of operating outlets of McDonald's restaurants globally and its Golden Arches logo is such a common sight in Beijing as it blends with most conventional red-colored establishments in the entire country. The McDonald's branch in Guchengnanli was the most unforgettable that I have been to because it was the first time that I had so much difficulty ordering due to the language barrier. Pointing at the picture in the menu or signaling the number with your fingers may help to avoid verbal interaction, but I encountered unforeseen circumstances that will make the staff talk to you to let you know that what you ordered "is only available on certain days," or "it is being served only at lunchtime," or "if you want soda or juice to go with it" and some other worse scenarios I don't even want to cross my mind. It was a real struggle not understanding what they are telling you but I'm very thankful that I am always in the right place at the right time (thanks to Rhonda Byrne for teaching me the Law of Attraction). In all those times that I ordered, there was always one English-speaking Chinese national in the queue that helped to translate so we both can understand each other. Thanks to these people, I have enjoyed all my meals during my entire stay in Beijing.
