Thursday, February 11, 2010

At the Golden Arches

As we were warned, the congested traffic of Bangalore quickly caught up to us. Its many one-way streets made it hard to navigate. Well-trained eyes spotted the “Golden Arches” of a McDonald’s, which would enable my friend to try out a Maharaja burger featured in a movie. Located in a still-unfinished shopping mall on the outskirts of Bangalore, this was one of 17 McDonald’s in Bangalore. To the right of the door framed by an arch of red and yellow balloons was good ‘ol Ronald himself, smiling on the bench and posing for photos as giggling Indians sat next to the statue or on his lap. The flame from a brass Hindu lamp reminded us that this was not the USA. Sari-clad grannies stared briefly at us before resuming munching on their fries. Young 20-something (many likely part of Bangalore’s booming IT industry) were rather oblivious, focused more on their cell phone conversation. Also curious as to what a Maharaja burger tasted like (and because there were no hamburgers to be found on the menu), I also ordered Maharaja Sandwich, along with some fries. It basically was a veggie burger with a slightly spiced sauce, a bit of lettuce and tomatoes. The burger was ok (a juicy hamburger with bacon and cheese would have been better), and the fries were fine. But we didn’t come here for the food; we came for the experience.

1 comment:

Pat said...

Speak for yourself! I came for the food, ha,ha. I liked the Indian version of the Big Mac (which I eat once in a very blue moon.)