There’s a fast food chain that is freaking huge, huge to a degree that it has over 20,000 locations. The chances are, though, that you’ve never heard of it. And it is Wallace Burger and Chicken in China!
Why have you not heard of it, I hear you scream? Well, that is because fast food in China has a very strict hierarchy. This means that while Wallace Burger is huge, it is huge in the boonies of China. Yep, you won’t see it in downtown Beijing — you gotta get out in the sticks to eat Wallace Burger.
Table of Contents
The Wallace Burger Story
The first Wallace restaurant opened in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, in January 2001. It was founded by brothers Hua Huaiqing and Hua Huaiyu, who initially tried to compete with KFC and McDonald’s using similar menus and prices.
This was, to put it bluntly, a massive failure for a number of reasons. Firstly, the product and menu were not as good as McDonald’s or KFC, and secondly, if the price was the same, why would you buy a Wallace Burger?
So they changed tack and instead just became the cheap, nasty option. Initially, this meant ¥1 Coke, a ¥2 piece of chicken and a ¥3 burger. And lastly, they saw their place in the Chinese fast food hierarchy.
Click to see which countries have McDonald’s.
Chinese Fast Food Hierarchy
This is something I could, and maybe will, do a whole article about, but basically, big cities have McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King and even weirder, more obscure international franchises.
Before Chinese cities are ready for a big international franchise, they get Dicos, the homegrown KFC knock-off. This duly leads the way for KFC, McDonald’s and the rest to come.
Underneath this, you get cities that have maybe one or two of their own burger restaurants or franchises before Wallace comes into town. This is largely the bottom rung of Chinese locales and, dare I say, the poorest ones. If your town does not even have a Wallace, it really is a poor place. So, while some present this as smart marketing, in fact, Wallace Burger comes into places that can’t afford good fast food and offers a cheaper option. This is comparable to 5 Star in Cambodia.
As such, I have seen this restaurant in places as diverse as Shende and Genhe. Yep, you’ve never heard of them, right? I have, though, never seen them in a big city like Beijing or Shenzhen.
Example Cities with Wallace Burger
- Genhe (根河) — Inner Mongolia
- Manzhouli (满洲里) — Inner Mongolia
- Suifenhe (绥芬河) — Heilongjiang
- Qinyang (沁阳) — Henan
- Jiange County (剑阁县) — Sichuan
- Junxian County (浚县) — Henan
- Tiaobingshan (调兵山) — Liaoning
- Wen County (温县) — Henan
- Jianhe County (剑河县) — Guizhou
- Yongtai County (永泰县) — Fujian
I told you they were obscure right! I personally just rediscovered it in Genhe, the coldest place in China. Alas I went an even more obscure burger restaurant opposite it.
What is the Wallace Burger Menu?
It is basically a Chinese take on what they think Western franchises are like. This includes the following.
Burgers
- Spicy chicken leg burger (香辣鸡腿堡): around ¥9–¥11 (US$1.25–US$1.55).
- Grilled chicken burger (秘制板烧堡): around ¥9–¥11 (US$1.25–US$1.55).
- Beef burger (牛肉堡): around ¥10–¥12 (US$1.40–US$1.70).
- Fish burger (鳕鱼堡): around ¥9–¥12 (US$1.25–US$1.70).
Fried Chicken and Sides
- Crispy whole chicken (脆皮全鸡): around ¥15–¥25 (US$2.10–US$3.50).
- Honey-glazed roast chicken (蜜汁手扒鸡): around ¥20–¥25 (US$2.80–US$3.50).
- Spicy chicken wings (香辣鸡翅): around ¥6–¥12 per portion (US$0.85–US$1.70).
- Popcorn chicken (鸡米花): around ¥7–¥10 (US$1.00–US$1.40).
- Black pepper chicken nuggets (黑椒鸡块): around ¥6–¥8 (US$0.85–US$1.10).
- French fries (薯条): around ¥6–¥9 (US$0.85–US$1.25).
- Chicken wrap (辣味鸡肉卷): around ¥9–¥11 (US$1.25–US$1.55).
Drinks and Meal Deals
- Coke or other soft drinks: around ¥3–¥7 (US$0.40–US$1.00).
- Burger, side and drink meal deals: around ¥10–¥20 (US$1.40–US$2.80).
These are just overarching examples rather than exact menus, as despite the fact that this is a franchise, owners are allowed to go rogue.
What is the Food Like at Wallace Burger?
It is a cheap facsimile of what Chinese people think Western food is like, so this means really bad fries with ketchup that really does not taste like ketchup. The fried chicken, again, is just bad. This is very much Chinese fried chicken, with the coating basically tasting like cardboard.
On a plus point, the fountain colas are decent, and the whole baked chicken, while tasting a bit like chemicals, is decent enough and filling. And then there are the burgers! The chicken ones do a job, while the beef burgers are actually OK. This is because, unlike in other franchises, they seem real rather than processed. You know, like the burger, cheese and lettuce have been put together by a human rather than a conveyor belt.
So, overall, Wallace Burger and Chicken will not change your life, BUT if you are in the Chinese boonies and need some Western food, it does a one-off job.
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