mcD or kFc - pick a side (vicinity of obscenity)

lately, these kiosks have been springing
up like 'shrooms after the rain stops. in
effect, they reflect the fast food culture,
or sub-culture of what is know known as
'everything's-freaking-fast' nation nowadays.

i like kfc and mcD for a different reason,
albeit not related to the food they serve.
of course, the cuisine they serve is worthy
of mentioning.

No offense and i hope none's taken.

In my hometown, kfc came early. 'twas by the
stadium, and i think it was the first fast
food franchise to penetrate kedah. i know
for a fact that white castle also came, but
they couldn't handle the pressure (of kedah-uns
not buying their products) and it was a good
few years too before mcD came to town.

when me pops was still around, going to kfc
was considered a family outing. they had a
playground at the back for the kids, so it
was fun (aside from the eating) for me as a
kid to go to KFC.

yeah, the nostalgic factor was what kept
me glued to kfc 'till now. don't get me wrong,
nostalgic is great but it's not what makes
the benjamins roll in. i'm overcome with
sorrow whenever i see a kfc. it's a pale
shadow of what it used to be. they used
to have great gassy drinks, and now they
only got watered-down pepsis. the meals have
become more expensive. the combination of
piecemeals is rubbish. which is a shame.

but the original recipe is still as good as
ever. that's for sure. but i don't know for
how long, man.

mcD, in my opinion, has the food quality at
a slightly above average level, but everything
else, they got thems right.

which is why mcd now is the mcD that you see.

they made everything else great to mask the
fact that their product is average.

the other thing that made me not particularly
fond of mcD is an event that happened many
years ago.

i think it was before '90s. 'twas during my
family's excursions to kl that we found
ourselves in bangsar. there's a mcd there
(at the junction), so of course, as a kid,
i wanted the value meal (happy meal?) badly.
it was i think, priced at rm3.99 or rm2.99,
so me mum gave me the exact change for the
goods.

so off i went and ordered. when the meal
came, i duly put the cash at the counter.

then the clerk said,"rm4.19, adik."

i froze.

then i said,"tu tulis rm3.99?"

"ada tax dik. 5%".

shit.

an aunt nearby felt sorry for me (yeah, what
else is new?) and she gave 20 cents for me
to settle the bill.

it's a happy ending, but i learnt on that
day that there's a thing called taxes, and
it will bite you on your ass if you're
distracted.

come to think of it, it's quite funny, innit?