The Golden Arches

The Golden Arches -

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Several publications, including the New York Times recently ran pieces detailing the phenomenon Jakarta young people who gather in the local 7-Eleven. They cite quite simple causes for the trend: cheap food, air conditioning, WiFi, and more importantly, a physical space to gather in a city largely devoid of public spaces, except malls. But there is another place hot party in Jakarta who remained silent, and I would like to add some nuances to the conversation by discussing here :. McDonald

In my observation, the parties 7-Eleven usually start in the evening as people leave work and school, and last up to 10 or 11 hours. But McDonald occupies a niche extreme circuit nightlife Jakarta-native. If 7-Eleven is a chic cocktail lounge, McDonald left after the noisy hours, reaching its peak at 2 or 3 am on the weekend nights. Of course, snack-drunk beer fueled cravings for artery-clogging yumminess-is a universal phenomenon, but this is not what is happening here. Of course, people eat, but looking around a local McDonald at 2:30 on a recent Saturday (the things I do for research), I could not help but notice all the untouched food on trays people. Also, nobody seemed really drunk. None of the girls had the out-party look, disheveled hair, smudged mascara, glassy eyes; girls at McDonald looked like they came straight from the salon. McDonald was clearly not their end of the night-shot. No, McDonald was the final destination.

Random I too think this, that crowds of people are really at McDonald's in the middle of the night just because they love food, let's delve a little more into the idea McDonald food products in Jakarta. First, I have to establish an opinion of me, and others I spoke with, seems unequivocally to be essentially a fact. Here: Indonesian street food is much tastier than the food of McDonald's, and about 25% of the cost. This food street is just outside in the steaming hot and ready to eat, which casts doubt on the idea that these people are at McDonald's for food subsistence.

Because I understand that it's not fair to compare the nasi goreng fried, let me do the most applicable juxtaposition stressing that Indonesia McDonald's serves not only rice but also includes bubur ayam the menu. So in order to make an A-to-A comparison, my boyfriend and I had an order of bubur ayam there a few weeks to see how it stood up against the bubur that we had at various street vendors . I can state unequivocally that my two buds that night and my stomach the next morning agree that the bubur ayam McDonald's shit. Experience over, I am convinced to return to my original hypothesis that Price- and sage taste street food beats McDonald.

But of course, nobody at McDonald at 3:00 is to order bubur ayam (except for the two Americans). Everyone is ordering fries and ice cream ice cream, much of which rests intact. Which brings the question, why McDonald?

The food is clearly an excuse to be in McDonald, who has somehow attained the status of "She" instead. Perhaps the reason for the "It" -ness can be best explained with an analogy. On the visit of another 3:00 McDonald (I work very hard for my stories), the restaurant was filled with young people who watch France v. Spain Eurocup game projected on a large screen. Everyone was rooting for Spain. Puzzled as to why so many Indonesians seemed so delighted by that distant game between foreign countries, I patted the shoulder of a young man nearby and asked, "Excuse me, do you know why everyone cares this game? "

He shrugged:

"Oh," I said "football is the most popular sport.". "And do you know why everyone is rooting for Spain?"

"Spain is a great team."

There seemed to be both a completely circular response and quite logical, the more I thought about it. And I have a feeling that if I twisted the questions bit has "? Do you know why everyone is at McDonald's, "and" Do you know why everyone is ordering fries and sundaes "-. I received basically the same response

Okay, another complication If the phenomenon of McDonald drifts of his stature as "It" spot where seeing and being seen, then how do you explain the following:. a haircut at a fancy-pants lounge, filled with women dolled-up stains and brushing and manicured, I noticed a woman impeccably dressed at the central table, doing something I could not imagine a woman in a New York salon or San Francisco do: eat a large order of fries . McDonald and chicken wings she was not condescending McDonald to be seen at the hot spot, no, she got her food to go and eat elsewhere

One answer might be that the stamp. McDonald exists in various forms, one of which is physically be there, showing you know the right place to be; and another that is simply eating McDonald in public, much like Marc Jacobs reuse your bag to keep your lunch or gym shoes a mobile advertising your savvy.

But there is one last piece of the puzzle that I can not reconcile. Here in Jakarta, we are blessed with the luxury of delivery McDonald. And, based on the number of delivery-MCDONALD'S I see motorcycles puttering through the neighborhoods, it is frequently used. I could try to argue that people order delivery McDonald on the chance that someone sees the bike delivery draw up their house, but even I know that's a stretch.

I do not think any amount of intellectualizing or rhetoric can make me around a very simple fact, a fact that I implicitly recognized and validated when I ordered delivery of McDonald there are some weeks (my quest for journalistic excellence knows no bounds) and happily swallowed salty delicacies, fat, rolled paper happened. Therefore it is :. The likes of McDonald damn good

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