Ho Tam, Bowl with golden arch emblem (FC-024) (2025)

Ho Tam  
Bowl with golden arch emblem (FC-024) 
2025  
inkjet on glossy photo paper  
edition of 5  
22 x 17 inches
unframed
 
 
The golden arches depicted on the rice bowl is the logo of McDonald’s Corporation, the world’s largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in the United States, it serves 68 million customers daily in 119 countries.
 
In the eyes of the Chinese, McDonald’s represents Americana and the promise of modernization. The success of the transnational food chains also symbolizes equality and democracy, looked upon as a new model of business. Despite a rich culinary tradition of its own, many Chinese, especially the younger generation, are big fans of MacDonald’s.
 
In face of competitors like Kentucky Fried Chicken which has adapted its menu to appeal to local taste, McDonald’s began to introduce items such as rice wraps and rice bowls in July 2013. In China along with many other Asian countries where rice is the staple grain, many people still feel a meal is incomplete without rice.
 
Since McDonald’s opened its first fast-food restaurant in the city of Shenzhen in 1991, there are now close to 2,000 outlets all over China.