NK’s First Fast Food Outlet Enjoying Popularity

[ashiva.livejournal.com]

Do you still remember an article about NK's first fast food restaurant? Well, apparently things are going well there:


This handout picture released by restaurant chain Waffletown USA shows workers posing at North Korea’s first fast food restaurant, Samtaesong (Three Big Stars), in Pyongyang.

A Singaporean entrepreneur has opened the first fast food restaurant in North Korea and he is already drawing up expansion plans just months after opening the first shop, AFP reported.

The first branch of "Samtaesong (Three Big Stars)" started operating in May in Pyongyang after Patrick Soh got the first license awarded to a foreign fast food outlet.

Soh, 56, holds the franchise in several Asian countries under the title of "Waffletown," a relatively obscure brand compared to the likes of McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut.

"There is a potential to develop this business over there," Soh was quoted as saying. He is bullish on the prospects of fast food in the isolated Stalinist state.

According to AFP, burgers, called "minced beef and bread" in North Korea to mask their American association, are the biggest attraction at the eatery, which also sells fries, crispy Belgian waffles, fried chicken and ― the latest addition ― hotdogs.

"It is not only the locals who enjoy the food. Even the foreigners like the food," Soh told AFP in an interview at a Singapore outlet of Waffletown.

Soh will make his fourth trip to Pyongyang this month to explore the feasibility of opening a second outlet there.

If all goes smoothly, it should be up and running in early 2010, said Soh, who is not deterred by problems like power outages and the unavailability of some items in Pyongyang.

Soh made his first trip to Pyongyang in November last year, taking four days to survey the site and see whether the fast food concept was workable in one of the world's few remaining communist states.

Source: The Korea Times

LOL @ minced beef and bread. Anyone else wondering how much there is grass in those burgers due to food shortage?

Comments

[czarny.livejournal.com]

Belgian waffles? Omg Western Imperialism >=OOO Should call them ~Revolutionary Waffles~.

I wonder if Korean women look at South Korean idols and think they look too girly. I hear NK women aren't all girly and prissy ya see o.o.

[ashiva.livejournal.com]

The girls who had screamed would have probably been sent to some concentration camp due to bad behaviour and enjoying capitalistic music. What I understand is that NK is extremely patriarchal society where women aren't allowed wear trousers or even ride a bicycle (crazy rule considering the acute gas shortage there), and of course woman's key duty is to give birth to many sons (NK keeps a very big army), adore "the great leader", and stay quiet.

[umbrella-smile.livejournal.com]

Shinhwa went to NK to perform one time

WHAT?

[umbrella-smile.livejournal.com]

The poor girls looked scared :(
And the woman at 3:10 was not amused lol

[v-rosesandwine.livejournal.com]

i bet shinhwa was scared by them hahahahah!

[v-rosesandwine.livejournal.com]

THEY LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE ASKED TO PERFORM IN THE MIDDLE OF A PARLIAMENT MEETING FOR GOODNESS SAKE!

The audience's boredom and silence is overpowering the performer's energy. T.T

[ari-meh.livejournal.com]

yep.
baby vox too :'D

[czarny.livejournal.com]

I think that was more because they don't find that kind of music appealing having grown up without anything even vaguely resembling pop music, and they don't find the idea of bishonen type guys attractive either living in a militaristic society. To be honest I was surprised they didn't look more shocked lol, imagine hearing strange noise and people dancing around then them calling it music and then seeing girls with yellow hair and short skirts. XD Probably as if they came from another planet to them.

[czarny.livejournal.com]

I forgot to mention they're not allowed to like anything from the South either so even if there was a newly made kpop fan in there somewhere they'd best keep shut if they want to keep their head.

[distortedinpink.livejournal.com]

They let SK's into NK?


.... I thought that wasn't allowed?

[distortedinpink.livejournal.com]

Wait I just watched this...
what the hell? awkwarrrrrd

[polyurethane.livejournal.com]

The audience reminds me of that video of Super Junior performing Don't Don at this quiet banquet thing. The audience was like "..." the whole time.

[neumi.livejournal.com]

huh where what banquet plz more info thanks

[polyurethane.livejournal.com]

I'll find it for you later today when I'm off work.

It's funny and everyone needs to see it.

[jaded-skys.livejournal.com]

oh god, that was the most hilarious thing ever, because you could tell that they found it awkward that everyone was so completely quiet and still. XD

[polyurethane.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was so awkward.

I'm still confused as to why they didn't pick one of the ballads, you know?

[v-rosesandwine.livejournal.com]

my reaction the whole time was
'OUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCH."


north koreans are scary...

[neumi.livejournal.com]

LMFAO @ the old guys chit chatting during the perf. I'm sure the audience was told to look displeased, so as to represent the great nation well, and fight against the republic's loose morality. Also, they were all probably forced to be there and were hungry.

[schizofragile.livejournal.com]

Go NK woot.

LMFAO. I'm supposed to do a report about this and then I suddenly see omona's post about it. How prection. :O

[wenzi.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of Waffletown. It's a FASTFOOD CHAIN in SINGAPORE? D:

[gabbeeee.livejournal.com]

Its not a chain i think. Theres one opposite ACS Barker. The chicken and waffles are good!

[brokenbarbies.livejournal.com]

It's a really old-school fast food outlet at balmoral; used to be at bukit timah plaza. i think it's got quite a bit of history.

[czarny.livejournal.com]

It's in Scotland? =/

[brokenbarbies.livejournal.com]

haha oops. not the balmoral in scotland, but balmoral plaza, a shopping mall in singapore!

[czarny.livejournal.com]

Ohh whoops XD I wanna go there!

[nonpareildoll.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Waffletown even opened in Ngee Ann Poly's new canteen.
I like the old man that serves the food at Balmoral though.

[vanny92.livejournal.com]

I'm studying at NP and hardly anyone eats there. :\

[adliboverplay.livejournal.com]

the only waffletown i know in singapore is the one at balmoral plaza. and yeap its across acs barker.
its alright. not that bad, but not that good that you'll crave it.

[missklutz16.livejournal.com]

i want to go there just to say i ate at a place called waffletown, negl.

[spread.livejournal.com]

HAHAHA IA.
I could die happy then~

Belgium style!

[angelonair.livejournal.com]

crispy Belgian waffles in north korea?

[umbrella-smile.livejournal.com]

What do they call hot dogs? "Whatever's left over sticks"?

[rainysakura.livejournal.com]

I really LOLed IRL. xD

[remy-hahn.livejournal.com]

First ice fluffy things, and now minced beef and bread? XD

Oh North Korea.

[crisketch.livejournal.com]

Yeah MTE.

[catchmyambition.livejournal.com]

lol exactly

[ashiva.livejournal.com]

Not that many, but some yes - Some travel agencies arrange tourist trips there, and some people do actual business trips there like Singaporean Soh mentioned in the article, some countries also have an embassy there, and "dear leader" has some foreign staff. (And of course NK occasionally kidnaps people from neighbouring countries, especially Japan, though those poor people probably end up in some concentration camp)

[neumi.livejournal.com]

MM North Korean Chicken n Waffles! Now with 30% more chicken!

[despair26.livejournal.com]

LOL
"Waffletown USA" that would have gone down well...
sighs, watch out NK! change is a brewin'