8 Foreign Food Chains Every Traveler Should Know ...

By Neecey

Foreign food chains are happy to provide travelers with delicious food based on the traditional dishes of their forefathers. Not all foreign food chains are huge franchise outlets and it is of advantage to travelers that the concept is only just catching on in many countries. One of the best pieces of advice you will ever hear is to look out for where the locals eat, so if you find a foreign food chain outlet full of local people, you will have stumbled across a restaurant that serves food at bargain prices. Sampling new cuisines or a favored food in its homeland is a great incentive to visit somewhere so here are 8 Foreign Food Chains Every Traveler Should Know

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1

Brazil: Giraffas

Many Brazilians aren’t happy to eat with their hands and when Giraffas first opened in the early 1980’s, it became the first fast food chain to use silverware. It proved a popular decision and this foreign food chain now has almost 400 outlets. The menu is heavily based on meat but there are some alternatives such as pasta available.

2

CHINA: Mr Lee

It isn’t news that the Chinese like soup and in China, it is pretty well eaten by everybody at lunchtime. The popularity of this foreign food chain is that at Mr Lee’s customers can add their own choice of condiment to the soup; soy sauce, dried chilli oil, pickled greens and white vinegar are all available. Mr Lee was originally founded in 1987 and now has more than 400 outlets throughout China.

3

GERMANY: Nordsee

Not everybody considers steamed fish as fast food but a large portion of the menu at Nordsee is made up of exactly that. Cod, Pollock, Plaice and Salmon all have starring roles and customers choose whether they want their fish grilled, steamed or fried. Nordsee caters to the preference for sustainable and healthy food that has been sourced responsibly. Nordsee is Europe’s largest food chain to specialize and has about 400 outlets throughout the continent.

4

INDIA: Kaati Zone

Street food has been standard in Indian for a very long time and fast food outlets have struggled to establish themselves as a result. You find few Indian names on any list of foreign food chains but Kaati Zone managed to break through with their selection of delicious rolls made of flat breads stuffed with vegetable or meat and sprinkled with spices. Each Kaati Zone kitchen has separate cooking and serving areas for meat and vegetarian dishes and now has 15 outlets in Bangalore.

5

RUSSIA: Teremok

You can eat salad, soup and porridge in Teremok but people really go there to eat blinis. These thin, small pancake triangles are wrapped around a variety of savory or sweet fillings and baked to order. Teremok was founded in the late 1990’s and is now a huge food chain in St. Petersburg and Moscow with almost 200 outlets.

Famous Quotes

To give oneself earnestly to the duties due to men, and, while respecting spiritual beings, to keep aloof from them, may be called wisdom.

Confucius
6

SAUDI ARABIA: Albaik

Albaik is famous across the Middle East for a variety of breaded chicken dishes which are pressure fried in order to keep the juices and flavur locked into the meat. Although it isn’t a huge foreign food chain compared to others, that is mainly due to the sparse population of Saudi Arabia and Albaik and in truth is massively popular. Albaik was founded in the early 1970’s and has almost 50 permanent outlets but also operates a pop up restaurant every year in Mina to cater for thousands of Hajj pilgrims.

7

SINGAPORE: Toast Box

Toast Box is the most popular breakfast and lunch outlet for locals throughout southern Asia. Although this food chain was only founded in 2005, the most popular dish, crispy grilled kaya toast with butter, an egg and cup of coffee had previously been served at roadside coffee stalls since the early 20th century.

8

SOUTH AFRICA: Steers

South Africans love meat. All kinds of meat, they love meat served alone or with more meat, you get the picture. Steers has been food chain of choice for South Africans for many decades and maintains market place dominance all over the country by offering excellent customer service in comfortable surroundings. The 7oz burger which made McDonalds laugh when they first arrived in South Africa remains Steer’s most popular item with ribs coming a close second.

As you can see, these foreign food chains may not be what you imagine unless you are familiar with the cuisine of the country they operate in. The next time you are in a different land, ignore the golden arches or the raised hat of Colonel Sanders and head for one of the local food chains. Some would say the only way to get to know a country is to eat its food. So, eat where the locals eat and try out one of these 8 Foreign Food Chains Every Traveler Should Know. Enjoy! Anyone got any to add to my list?

Top Photo Credit: pinterest.com

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hmm... i lived in shanghai and ive never saw mr.lee before... (funny name btw) i dont think its popular in big cities in china. i know this fast food chain called "zheng gong fu" (which literally means steamed kongfu) thats really popular. And the soup and chinese food are extremely good. and also i always find it funny when people in america get soo surprised when i tell them how popular mcdonalds and kfc are in china. werid thing is that im pretty sure that mcdonalds and kfc are like much more popular than burger king in china.

I live in India but I haven't ever seen or heard of Kaati Zone. Maybe it's based only in Bangalore?

This was really interesting. When I lived in Ecuador, it was cool to see local and foreign chains we don't have in the U.S. Chicken places were popular. I remember Pollo Campero (which apparently IS in the U.S. now), Texas Chicken, Sandry, and one with a relatively racist name and logo. I honestly can't remember what it was called. I don't eat meat, so the few times I had fast food, I had rice, boiled potatoes, or French fries. I loved a Colombian-based chain called Crepes & Waffles. I don't think anyone could be disappointed there. Nor could they be at a bakery chain called Cyrano. Such great bread and desserts.

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