6: Fast food in Singapore
Variety is the McSpicy of life
Every Chinese New Year, families across Singapore gather to celebrate the return of two heavenly bodies: the first new moon of the lunar calendar and the McDonald’s Prosperity Double Beef Burger.
Such custom items are common in Singapore, where fast food is taken just as seriously as all other food. After all, eating is a national pastime here, and it can inspire fanatical levels of devotion. KFC has Golden Durian Mochi Balls (I had them once, but they cleared up after a week or so), Burger King has Sjora Lychee Berry, a blend of milk and fruit juice, while McDonald’s has a seemingly endless roster of products to keep locals coming back for more.
Seasonal items have included the Nasi Lemak Burger, Salmon Hokkaido Burger and Seaweed McShaker Fries, which is so desirable that the packets of seasoning are traded on local auction site Carousell. Meanwhile, the McSpicy has become a permanent fixture across south-east Asia, a chicken burger that tastes like someone has sprayed your mouth with mace. Weirdly addictive.
Then of course, there’s the Prosperity Double Beef Burger, which is slathered in signature pepper sauce and topped with sliced onions, and which I admit I haven’t tried. However, I did once upgrade from regular fries to Prosperity Twister Fries, which made me precisely 90 cents less prosperous. (That’s the twist - clever.)
Similarly, Subway caters to local tastes with its Shrimp Rendang filling, a spicy coconut-based curry, while Shake Shack uses pandan leaf to make a green milkshake. Meanwhile Pizza Hut has the answer to the question that nobody ever asked with their Durian Cheese Pizza. Topped with the famously pungent fruit, its advertising slogan says it all: ‘No words can describe it’.
If all this is a thinly veiled attempt by western corporations to ingratiate themselves into the hearts and stomachs of local consumers, then it’s a very effective one, judging by the hype these specials generate on social media. Limited-edition menus prompt long queues full of would-be influencers vying to post the first pictures on Instagram. There’s even a #McDSuperfan hashtag that is entirely Singapore based, including posts such as this:
Which looks to me like a poster for a horror movie.
But it isn’t all American appropriation; Singapore has homegrown fast-food options, two of which are particularly historic.
Ya Kun Kaya Toast originated in 1944. It’s a local institution, with their standard set comprising sweet white coffee, two soft-boiled eggs, and four slices of toast layered with butter and kaya, a sort of coconut jam. This costs less than $5 (GBP3, USD3.75), and it’s an everyman sort of place, frequented by expats and locals alike.
Old Chang Kee is the other major brand, dating from 1956. It’s a chain of stalls famed for its curry puffs: effectively a Cornish Pasty filled with masala-style chicken, potatoes and a hard-boiled egg, which is exactly as delicious as it sounds. Other local delights include the pleasingly literal Fishball OnStik.
With its distinctive yellow signage and a counter-full of fried snacks that are pretty much the same colour, Old Chang Kee stalls are literally and figuratively unmissable.
Since 2018, the brand has been operating from two sites in London, perhaps intending to ingratiate themselves into the hearts and stomachs of local consumers with seasonal tie-ins for St George’s Day and Bonfire Night.
Meanwhile in Singapore, there’s a total lack of British fast-food chains: no Greggs, no Leon, and only one Pret A Manger inside an airport terminal, so that doesn’t count.
It’s almost as if the UK doesn’t have a global reputation for fast-food excellence. But if any of them did open here, I’m sure they’d be well received. Singapore has always been a crossroads for the world, embracing all types of people and the food they bring with them. The McDonald’s Prosperity Beef Burger is the ideal symbol of how the country welcomes outsiders, slathers them in signature pepper sauce, and makes them their own.
The main picture uses elements from Wikimedia and on Ali Shafei on Unsplash.
Great post Richard! I hope you are getting some sweet affiliate cash from this.....having never previously heard of Old Chang Kee I see that their London stores are giving away FREE pastries I exchange for an email address! I’ve signed up and plan to try my first one this afternoon!