墨西哥卷餅能讓洋快餐在中國收復失地嗎？

SHANGHAI — Until he was appointed manager of a Taco Bell in China, Will Cao had never seen a taco before. When confronted with its hard, U-shaped shell in Los Angeles last June, he wondered: How do you eat it?

上海——在被任命為一家塔可貝爾(Taco Bell)店經(jīng)理之前，曹偉君從沒見過墨西哥煎玉米卷。去年6月在洛杉磯見到它U形的硬殼時，他很納悶：“這東西怎么吃呢?”

“Everything was spilling all over the place,” said Mr. Cao, a 31-year-old Shanghai resident. “Then I looked at the other customers to learn that, actually, you are supposed to tilt your neck to eat it.”

“這個不太好吃，東西會掉，”這位31歲的上海居民說。“然后的話看到一些伙伴，就是其他的一些，那些顧客才知道，原來要歪著脖子這樣吃。”

Mr. Cao’s employer is betting that other Chinese diners will figure it out. Yum China, the company behind KFC there, last month opened the first Taco Bell in China in years, and says it plans to open an unspecified number more. The company is turning to double-layered tacos and overstuffed quesadillas in hopes of regaining ground in a market where its fried chicken has shown the limits of its appeal.

曹偉君的雇主在押注其他中國顧客也能弄明白這點。中國的肯德基餐廳所屬的百勝中國公司上個月在中國開了這里數(shù)年來的第一家塔可貝爾餐廳，并表示計劃開設(shè)多家，但沒有透露具體數(shù)目。這家公司將目光投向雙層煎玉米卷和塞得滿滿的芝士烤餅，以期在一個其炸雞的吸引力已經(jīng)達到極限的市場奪回失去的陣地。

It won’t be easy. First, there is the matter of what’s on the menu: Mexican food. Tacos and burritos are virtually unknown in China, where many diners prize aspirational noshes from America, Japan and Europe and look skeptically at what they see as poorer fare from other developing countries.

這不容易。首先，這里有一個菜單問題：墨西哥食物。中國實際上沒多少人知道墨西哥煎玉米卷和布里特卷，在那里，許多就餐者看重受人追捧的美國、日本和歐洲快餐，而對來自其他發(fā)展中國家被他們看作更差飲食的東西持懷疑態(tài)度。

Then there is Taco Bell’s very American take on Mexican meals. Even among fans, many of its more artery-hardening menu items are best considered late-night guilty pleasures. “It’s like a dirty thing that I love Taco Bell so much,” the actress Anna Kendrick once said on Conan O’Brien’s talk show, adding, “it has to be under cover of darkness in my car.”

此外，還有塔可貝爾在墨西哥食物上非常美式的改造。即便是在粉絲中，它那些更容易導致動脈硬化的菜單選項充其量被認為是在深夜帶來負疚快感的食物。“我這么熱愛塔可貝爾就好像是一件見不得人的事，”女演員安娜·肯德里克(Anna Kendrick)曾在科南·奧布萊恩(Conan O’Brien)的脫口秀節(jié)目上這樣講道，她還表示，“不得不在夜幕的掩護下躲在車里吃。”

For its new store in Shanghai, Taco Bell is leaving behind some of those greasy American favorites, such as taco shells made out of Doritos or fried chicken cutlets. Instead, as it once successfully did with KFC, Yum China is tailoring the menu to local tastes. It is offering basic, understandable Tex-Mex fare such as a crunchy taco supreme and a chicken quesadilla. Other dishes made for the Chinese market include a shrimp and avocado burrito and a spicy fried chicken dish, a meal that has broader appeal with the Chinese.

在上海的新店里，塔可貝爾拋棄了美國人最喜歡的一些油膩食物，比如用多力多滋(Doritos)或煎雞排做的煎玉米卷。相反，就像它曾經(jīng)在肯德基成功做到的一樣，百勝中國在依據(jù)本地口味調(diào)整菜單。它在提供基本的、容易接受的德州—墨西哥食物，比如松脆的煎玉米卷和雞肉芝士烤餅。為中國市場設(shè)計的其他菜品還包括鮮蝦牛油果布里特卷和香辣炸雞，后者是一道對中國人有更廣泛吸引力的菜品。

And in a feature rare in America — perhaps for good reason — the China store offers Japanese beer and alcoholic slushes.

還有一個在美國很少見的特色——或許有充分的理由——中國店提供日本啤酒和含酒精的冰沙。

Yum China is aware of the magnitude of the challenge. Micky Pant, its chief executive, says eating a taco is “a whole new way of learning.”

百勝中國很清楚這個挑戰(zhàn)有多么巨大。首席執(zhí)行官米基·潘特(Micky Pant)表示吃墨西哥煎玉米卷是“一種全新的學習方式”。

The company is learning its own lessons. In the 1990s, Chinese consumers flocked to KFC and other Western fast-food chains, drawn by their clean bathrooms and air-conditioning — a novelty in China at that time. But restaurants like McDonald’s and KFC have since struggled against increasing competition from quick-service Chinese restaurant chains and a shift toward healthier eating.

中國公司在吸取自己的經(jīng)驗教訓。上世紀90年代，中國顧客受干凈的洗手間和空調(diào)環(huán)境——在當時的中國還比較少見——吸引，紛紛涌入肯德基及其他西式快餐連鎖店。但自那之后，麥當勞和肯德基等餐廳就一直在艱難應對日趨激烈的競爭，它們來自中國快餐店，也源于人們?nèi)諠u轉(zhuǎn)向更健康的飲食。

While China is still a lucrative market for companies including Apple, Nike and Starbucks, other American firms are finding the going tougher than it used to be. The once seemingly insatiable appetite for all things foreign has stalled in a marketplace where domestic brands are catching up and consumers are richer, with more choices than ever.

盡管對包括蘋果(Apple)、耐克(Nike)和星巴克(Starbucks)在內(nèi)的公司而言，中國依然是一個誘人的市場，但其他公司發(fā)現(xiàn)情況正在變得比過去更加艱難。在一個國內(nèi)品牌逐漸趕上，消費者越來越富裕、選擇前所未有之多的市場，對外國食物一度看似無盡的需求停滯不前了。

Big American fast-food chains are now distancing themselves from their China operations. Yum Brands divested Yum China last year, while McDonald’s is selling a controlling stake in its business to a locally led investor group.

目前，美國大型快餐連鎖集團正和他們的在華業(yè)務(wù)保持距離。去年，百勝餐飲集團(Yum Brands)剝離了百勝中國，而麥當勞也在把中國業(yè)務(wù)的控股權(quán)賣給一個本地投資者領(lǐng)銜的投資集團。

That led to Yum China’s gamble on Taco Bell. Instead of Taco Bell’s American approach — quick, cheap, often unabashedly junky — the Shanghai restaurant seems intent on easing Chinese diners into ordering. The menu in China features enlarged images of foods on a lighted board and a transparent kitchen, where skeptical customers can watch their food being assembled.

這促使百勝中國把賭注壓在了塔可貝爾餐廳上。上海的這家餐廳沒有采用塔可貝爾的美國經(jīng)營方式——快速、廉價，不以提供垃圾食物為恥——而是似乎打算讓中國顧客放心點餐。它在用燈光照亮的板上展示放大的食物圖片，還設(shè)立了透明廚房，不大放心的顧客可以觀看食物的制作過程。

Yum dropped fajitas because focus groups said Chinese people did not like the “peppery type of spiciness that Westerners like,” said Jimmy Chen, senior director of Yum China’s brand development division. Chinese consumers wanted warm cheese on their tacos, not the cold grated variety offered in the United States. They asked for alcohol to be offered.

百勝中國的品牌開發(fā)部高級總監(jiān)吉米·陳(Jimmy Chen)表示，百勝放棄了法士達(fajitas)，因為焦點組認為中國人“不像西方人那樣喜歡胡椒的辣味”。中國顧客喜歡在煎玉米夾餅里放入溫熱的奶酪，而非美國那些磨碎的冷奶酪。他們還希望提供酒精飲料。

The bean burrito was “controversial,” Mr. Chen said; while some Chinese who had studied abroad considered it a must, others found two types of starches layered on top of one another unfamiliar. Ultimately the bean burrito was booted.

陳說，豆子玉米卷餅“有爭議”。雖然曾在海外留學的一些中國人認為它是必點食物，但其他人認為兩種淀粉疊加在一起很不常見。最終，豆子玉米卷餅被排除在外。

Said Mr. Chen, “We just need a little more time.”

陳說，“我們還需要一點時間。”

Yum has tried Taco Bell in China before. In 2003 it opened full-service restaurants called “Taco Bell Grande” in Shanghai, then in the southern city of Shenzhen, offering higher-end fare like steaks and fajitas. But it pulled out five years later.

百勝之前嘗試過在中國開設(shè)塔可貝爾餐廳。2003年，它在上海開設(shè)了幾家名為“塔可鐘墨西哥風情餐廳”(Taco Bell Grande)的全服務(wù)連鎖餐廳，而后在中國南方城市深圳開設(shè)了幾家，后者提供牛排和法士達等更高端的食物。不過公司在五年后撤店。

“They had little Chinese girls with sombreros on them looking ridiculous,” said Joel Silverstein, president of the consultancy East West Hospitality Group and a former senior executive with PepsiCo restaurants, the onetime parent of Yum Brands. “That was a complete disaster.”

“小巧的中國女孩戴著寬沿帽，看起來很滑稽，”咨詢公司東西友好集團(East West Hospitality Group)總裁、前百事餐廳(PepsiCo.)高級主管喬爾·西爾弗斯坦(Joel Silverstein)說。百事曾是百勝餐飲集團的母公司。“那次嘗試是徹底的失敗。”

Still, Yum once seemed to have cracked the China code. Since opening its first KFC near Tiananmen Square in 1987, Yum has grown into the biggest Western fast-food chain in the country, with more than 7,300 stores in over 1,100 cities, three times that of its rival McDonald’s. Part of the secret was localization: KFC offered fried dough sticks and congee for breakfast, while its sister brand Pizza Hut served pizzas topped with seafood and durian, a pungent fruit from Southeast Asia.

不過，百勝似乎破解了中國密碼。自1987年在天安門廣場附近開設(shè)第一家肯德基餐廳以來，百勝發(fā)展成為該國最大的西方快餐連鎖集團，在超過1100個城市擁有7300多家餐廳，是競爭對手麥當勞的3倍。它的一個秘訣是本土化：肯德基早餐提供油條和粥，它的姐妹餐廳必勝客提供含有海鮮和榴蓮頂料的披薩——榴蓮是東南亞的一種味道濃烈的水果。

But in recent years Yum has grappled with a series of food-quality scandals in China.

不過近些年，百勝在中國遭遇了一系列與食品質(zhì)量相關(guān)的丑聞。

In 2012, Chinese news media reported that KFC chicken suppliers used antibiotics and growth hormones in their meat, news that hurt sales and prompted Yum to cut its number of suppliers. The company emphasized that its food was safe. Two years later, a Chinese state-run broadcaster reported that a meat supplier used by Yum was suspected of selling expired meat. Yum terminated the supplier, which was later fined about $3.5 million by regulators in Shanghai. Sales growth weakened after both episodes, and by 2015 sales at stores that had been open for at least a year continued to decline.

2012年，中國新聞媒體報道，肯德基的雞肉供應商在養(yǎng)雞過程中使用抗生素和生長激素，這些新聞導致肯德基的營業(yè)額急劇下滑，迫使百勝減少了其供應商的數(shù)量。該公司強調(diào)自己的食物是安全的。兩年后，中國的一家官方新聞機構(gòu)報道稱，百勝的一個肉類供應商疑似銷售過期肉類。百勝停用了該供應商，后者后來被上海的監(jiān)管機構(gòu)罰款約350萬美元。兩起事件后，銷售增長勢頭開始減弱，到2015年，開業(yè)一年以上的餐廳的營業(yè)額繼續(xù)下滑。

Adding to the decline: an increasingly sophisticated customer base that eschews Western fast food for other options. “The biggest challenge is making the connection with the younger generation,” said Ye Liyan, marketing director in China for Pizza Hut.

雪上加霜的是，見識越來越多的顧客開始避開西方快餐，選擇其他菜系。“最大的挑戰(zhàn)是與更年輕的一代建立聯(lián)系，”必勝客中國的企劃總監(jiān)葉麗燕說。

In its own effort to refurbish, Pizza Hut is rolling out “concept stores” across China — in Shanghai, one features a robot waiter and a table with a built-in screen for customers to build their own pizzas.

為了重振雄風，必勝客正在中國各地推出“概念餐廳”——上海的一家必勝客餐廳配備了機器人服務(wù)員，餐桌上設(shè)有內(nèi)嵌式屏幕，顧客可以自己配制披薩。

Taco Bell may be an unlikely restaurant to connect. “Chinese people have mostly admired things from Europe and the United States,” said Darcy Zhang, a food blogger based in Shanghai. “But Mexico itself is a developing country, and so many Chinese people would wonder why they would have to try Mexican food.”

塔可貝爾似乎不太像一個能引起年輕人興趣的餐廳。“我覺得中國人一貫比較崇尚歐美，歐洲和美國的東西，”上海美食博主張雅軒說，“但墨西哥本身是一個發(fā)展中國家，大部分中國人很可能在想為什么要吃墨西哥食物。”

Yum China formally opened the Taco Bell on Jan. 9 in Shanghai’s prime Lujiazui area, a popular tourist spot. The former basketball star Shaquille O’Neal, who made the famous “Taco Neck” commercial in 1995, participated in a taco-eating competition.

1月9日，百勝中國的塔可貝爾餐廳在上海觀光勝地陸家嘴正式開業(yè)。退役籃球明星沙奎爾·奧尼爾(Shaquille O’Neal)在開業(yè)典禮上參加了一個吃煎玉米夾餅的比賽。他曾于1995年拍攝了著名的“塔可脖”(Taco Neck)廣告。

On a recent Tuesday, the store was packed at lunch, with a 15-minute wait to get a table. Diners sat on chairs below surfboards suspended from ceilings. Workers in polo shirts served margaritas and draft beer.

前不久一個周二的午餐時間，這家餐廳滿座，要等15分鐘才有座位。天花板上懸掛著沖浪板，食客們坐在下面的椅子上。穿著馬球衫的員工們在給顧客們上瑪格麗塔雞尾酒和生啤。

“If you didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t even know this was Mexican food,” said Zang Jing, 30, a bank clerk, adding that she thought the food was “not bad.”

“你不說我都不知道是墨西哥菜，”30歲的銀行職員臧菁說。她還說她覺得這里的食物“不錯”。

Liu Xiaoyi, chief editor of a local food guide, said she believed Mexican food could take off in China because people are “willing to try new things.”

一本當?shù)孛朗持改系闹骶巹砸夥Q，她認為墨西哥菜能在中國興起，因為人們“愿意嘗試新鮮的事物”。

“They are willing to listen to people telling them, ‘You have to look at it from a different angle to appreciate it, it’s not the same as a Chinese meal but it’s also delicious,’” she said after photographing her burrito.

“他們愿意聽一些人告訴他們說，‘這個東西可能是這樣的。你要換一個角度去欣賞它，它跟中國餐不一樣，但是它也是好吃的’，”她拍完自己的布里特卷后說。

Her friend, Zhu Li, disagreed. “It really does not look good when you eat it,” said Ms. Zhu, 45, an insurance agent.

她的朋友朱黎不這么認為。“因為這樣的東西，吃起來真的不好看，”45歲的朱女士說。她是一名保險代理人。

“It’s all over your hands and dripping on the table. It just makes me uncomfortable.”

“弄得滿手都是，還會滴在桌子上。我真的看得很不舒服。”