当前位置: Language Tips> 新闻播报

Vietnamese get first taste of McDonald's fast food

中国日报网 2014-02-10 10:08

分享到

 

Get Flash Player

Download

Four decades after the Vietnam War ended, US fast-food giant McDonald’s has opened its first restaurant in the country, aiming to lure a rising middle class away from rice and noodles.

McDonald's, one of the most potent symbols of US capitalism, arrived on Saturday in southern Ho Chi Minh City - known as Saigon when US troops dramatically withdrew in 1975.

The fast-food restaurant is following US rivals Burger King, KFC and coffee giant Starbucks into Vietnam - a country many Americans associate more with an unpopular war than a newly wealthy middle class.

But with its 90 million-strong population and average per capita income of more than $1,500, "Vietnam is on the radar now" for US franchises, said Sean Ngo, managing director of consulting firm Vietnam Franchises Ltd.

Critics say that Vietnam's rapid economic growth since "Doi Moi" reforms opened up the country in the early 1990s masks rising inequality and inefficiencies in an economy still dominated by state-owned enterprises.

But signs of the country's rising affluence were on display Saturday as hundreds of people lined up at the McDonald's restaurant on Ho Chi Minh City's Dien Bien Phu street - named after the battle that forced the French to withdraw from their former colony.

"I like fast food. I don't like Vietnamese food. I don't like fish sauce," Nguyen Hoang Long, 25,told AFP as he devoured a Big Mac, referring to the pungent condiment made from fermented fish and sea salt that is used liberally in local cooking.

A Big Mac costs about $2.85 at the new outlet, while a bowl of traditional pho noodle soup can be bought on most street corners for around $1.50.

The arrival of McDonald's marks a full turnaround for the fortunes of US brands in Vietnam.

Iconic brands such as Coca-Cola were available in US-allied South Vietnam until the end of the war, but the companies pulled out after the communist victory in 1975, which paved the way for the unification of the country in 1976.

(中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑)

Vietnamese get first taste of McDonald's fast food

About the broadcaster:

Vietnamese get first taste of McDonald's fast food

Lance Crayon is a videographer and editor with China Daily. Since living in Beijing he has worked for China Radio International (CRI) and Global Times. Before moving to China he worked in the film industry in Los Angeles as a talent agent and producer. He has a B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Arlington.

 

分享到

中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883561联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。

中国日报网双语新闻

扫描左侧二维码

添加Chinadaily_Mobile
你想看的我们这儿都有!

中国日报双语手机报

点击左侧图标查看订阅方式

中国首份双语手机报
学英语看资讯一个都不能少!

关注和订阅

本文相关阅读
人气排行
搜热词
 
 
精华栏目
 

阅读

词汇

视听

翻译

口语

合作

 

关于我们 | 联系方式 | 招聘信息

Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 版权声明:本网站所刊登的中国日报网英语点津内容,版权属中国日报网所有,未经协议授权,禁止下载使用。 欢迎愿意与本网站合作的单位或个人与我们联系。

电话:8610-84883645

传真:8610-84883500

Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn