Ha Noi fast food

The rise of Ha Noi fast food

Hanoi has always been seen as a tough market to crack for western-style fast food companies but now kids in the capital city are happily eating hamburgers and fries.

Do Kim Khanh, a businessman from Hanoi often lets his two kids choose what they will have for dinner, if they are heading out for a meal. The kids’ first choice is usually the KFC restaurant on Nguyen Thai Hoc street for Colonel Sander’s finger lickin’ good-fried chicken and chips.

“We used to never go to fast food restaurants, but now we do most weekends,” says Khanh. But today, his kids are trying to mix it up. Khanh and his family are sitting in the newly-opened BBQ Chicken, a South Korean chain, also located on Nguyen Thai Hoc. “We wanted to have a change and we love the South Korean food here,” says Khanh.

Pham Thi Mai, Khanh’s wife, says even on the occasion of Mid-Autumn festival (Tet Trung Thu), the family went to KFC to celebrate. “Of course my husband and I would have preferred to eat some traditional Vietnamese food, but the kids wanted to eat fried chicken and hamburgers,” she says. “Most adults don’t like this kind of food, but the kids love it.” “I don’t know why you don’t like fast-food,” chimes in Bach, Mai and Khanh’s son. “It’s delicious. I could eat it everyday!”

Competitive market

Western style fast food is undoubtedly gaining popularity in the capital city, which was once seen as a tough nut to crack by fast food companies in comparison to Ho chi minh city Hoang Xuan Cuong, head of the kitchen in BBQ Chicken on Nguyen Thai Hoc street, says the newly opened shop reeled in more than VND30 million ($1.875) in less than 24 hours after opening its doors for the first time.

With music blaring out from loudspeakers and hip looking staff in colourful uniforms outside distributing fliers, it was obvious what market they were aiming for. “We don’t know exactly how many customers we had, but there were hundreds and most of them were young,” he says.

The fast-food industry in Hanoi is still a nascent one but if the city’s more youthful demographics are getting a taste for hamburgers and fries then big bucks are about to be made across the board. “Most of the Vietnamese population is very young and that’s our target market for expanding fast food restaurants here. People from 10 to 30 years old tend to prefer fast food,” Cuong points out.

In 2006, fast food was still an unfamiliar concept to most people in the capital city. But just one year later, fast food restaurants mushroomed up. BBQ Chicken now has 10 restaurants in Hanoi and there will be over 30 in Vietnam by the year’s end and more than 100 by 2010. Meanwhile, KFC came to Vietnam in 1997 and has set up 47 restaurants in Vietnam with seven restaurants in the capital city. Le Hoai Nam, KFC Vietnam’s marketing manager, says that there will be more than 100 nationwide by 2010.

“Our direct rival in Hanoi is KFC, not Rich & Brown or Lotteria,” admits Cuong from BBQ Vietnam. South Korean Lotteria now has some 40 fast-food restaurants nationwide with six in Hanoi. Meanwhile, Pizza Hut, an American chain, has opened up restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi and plans to have 20 nationwide by 2010.

Change of pace and diet

The rise of fast food in Vietnam is an indicator of the massive social changes that the country is undergoing. Vietnam’s culinary culture has been directly impacted by the nation’s foreign investment policy. Hanoi is clearly on the map for foreign fast food companies, even though 10 years ago you would have been hard pushed to sell western food here.

One of the major attractions is that you can get a hot cooked meal so quickly. Vietnamese people are busier than ever before and in this market economy time is money. “Definitely, I like eating in fast food restaurants as it helps save a lot of time. It takes just 10 minutes for a quick meal,” says 17-year-old Pham Ngoc Van, a pupil from Hanoi-based Chu Van An High School.

Then there’s the taste. “I have never eaten industrially-raised chicken before, but the way it’s cooked here in different styles it’s really delicious,” says Van. Pham Van Canh, a law student, says eating at fast food shops is a healthy option, a remark that would no doubt surprise many of timeout’s western readers.

“I know it’s healthy as it is produced by a famous chain, while around the city there are growing concerns over food hygiene and safety,” says Canh, while adding that he doesn’t just eat hamburgers and fries. “I can also order Vietnamese traditional food or South Korean food such as rice served with chicken, fish, beef or fried rice” Not everyone is happy with this explosion of fast food however.

“Fast food makes young people lazier. These days they don’t know how to cook a decent meal. This is a dangerous trend and will loosen the ties between family members,” says 58-year-old Ho Minh Chuc, who works in a state-owned company in Hanoi.

Chuc also just doesn’t care for the taste of it: “I tried it once but it was too greasy.” For Phi Van, a rubbish collector cleaning up the street outside the KFC restaurant on Ton Duc Thang street, although she doesn’t articulate it as such, the restaurant is a symbol of Vietnam’s growing economic gulf. “The price of the food here is too high. I will never have a chance to enjoy it,” she says ruefully.

Fatty food nation

Health care experts warn that the nutrition levels of fast food are not healthy. Most fast food is over-soaked in cooking oil, which results in a high fat and starch content. “The more you eat fast food, the faster you will get fat,” says Do Ngoc The, a doctor from the Hanoi-based Military Hospital No. 108.

“Overweight and obesity can lead to other health problems – high blood pressure or diabetes, for example.” Most westerners are well aware of the dangers of eating too much fast food. But these are uncharted waters for Vietnamese customers. The country’s dietary habits are changing at a time when adults are more commonly working sedentary jobs and kids are just as, if not more, likely to play computer games for hours on end rather than play outside.

Much of the public needs to get the message that if they want to eat fast food they must be careful not to over indulge and that everyone, no matter how young, needs a balanced diet and plenty of exercise in their life. Vietnam is still far from a fast food nation but at the current rate of restaurant openings in 10 years time it will be. Rumour has it that McDonald’s will be entering the fray before the end of the year and no doubt will be followed closely by its main rivals.

(Source:Timeout)

Tag: Culture , Festival , Ha Noi , Hanoi , Ho Chi Minh , Investment , Vietnam , Vietnamese

The rise of Ha Noi fast food

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