Throwback Thursday: Beijing vs Shanghai in ‘Battle of the Fatburger’

This week our archrivals down south and our only true mainland China competition in Who Can Have the Most Fattening Overseas Franchises – Shanghai – are celebrating the opening of their very first Fatburger restaurant.

Alas, you backward southern folk, we've had Fatburger up here in Beijing since 2008 ... or at least that was what we were promised back in January of Beijing's Olympic year, though it took another two years before it actually launched.

And not only that, Shanghai suckers, you may be enjoying your piddling one branch of Fatburger now, but we're getting 15 more to add to the two that currently exist (in the Grand Summit and Gemdale Plaza).

The deal for more fatty goodness in Beijing was inked last month, with Beijing Haisiyamei Restaurant Management Co., Ltd. taking the lead in delivering fat slabs of juicy, succulent, and grilled beef to each corner of the city. The idea alone makes one wonder where all of China’s heifers are hidden away. I have literally never seen a live cow in China – have you? Best not to ask these kind of questions, right, Shanghai?

According to a Fatburger press release, Andy Wiederhorn, CEO of Fatburger, had this to say about the deal: “We are continuously looking for ways to cultivate our brand internationally and are grateful to work with an exceptional company like Beijing Haisiyamei Restaurant Management Co., Ltd. to expand our presence in the China market.”

Unfortunately we can’t vouch for the “exceptional” quality of Beijing Haisiyamei because we could not find a single morsel of information about them online, in English or Chinese. Luckily for us Beijingers we’re used to putting things in our mouths whose origins can’t be accounted for every day.

It seems like Fatburger's machinations don't stop in Shanghai or Beijing either, with over 350 new chains to crop up across the world in the coming years, ensuring that we'll all become useless Wall-E-esque blobs in no time and securing Isis' victory against the free, and not-so-free, worlds.

Anyway, back to crux of this blog: Beijing or Shanghai? Well, in all truth, the only winner here is Fatburger who will drive me to eat a piece of cow tonight either way. Sorry Leonardo.

If you’d like to join me in stuffing your face with a Fatburger (not really, I keep work and feeding strictly separate), check our directory on where to do so here.

More stories by this author here.

Email: tomarnstein@thebeijinger.com
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Photo: Fatburger