I’m lovin’ it :)

French fries which are deliciously crispy and salty on the outside, warm and soft on the inside. Burgers which have brown golden crisp chicken patties sandwiched between two warm buns sprinkled with sesame seeds on top, mayo which oozes out when u take a bite and lots of lettuce mixed up between all this. A large pepsi to complement all this solid food, lots of tomato ketchup on the side, the arousing aroma and a nice conversation.

That is my usual at McDonalds. Something I look forward to every now and then, ever since my dad got me my first burger back in 7^th. Reminds me of a lot of things. Reminds me of my sister, quietly nudging me with her elbow on spotting the McDonalds sign. How I would try and tell her that we just had one last week and should probably wait for a while to eat junk again. How she would then seem to agree but later tell dad (just as we are about to pass by it) about how much her sister craved for McDonalds. Reminds me of the car which used to be filled with McDonalds heavenly aroma shortly after, the ride back home with paper bags containing 2 spicy chicken burgers and 1 large fries and the contended look on both our faces.

Even back at home we always had a routine. The paper bag would be temporarily, but always put on the dining table while my sister and I fished out two big glasses to put the pepsi in and sometimes 2 cubes of ice if the weather demanded. Mom and dad meanwhile would get their dinner ready. How we would all then stretch out our legs on the sofa with burgers on our laps and glasses safely on the side table on top of a coaster. We even had our own particular ways of eating it. I had to make sure to get rid of the excess mayo and all the lettuce protruding out by carefully removing it and eating it first and only when I had made sure that nothing is going to drop down from the sides do I proceed with my first bite.

There was always some music in the background, lots of laughter in the foreground and a yummy meal in between. Always.

These are usually the things which I get when I buy a meal at McDonalds. Not anymore. Last week at Forum’s McDonalds, I found one more to add to that list.

Me and my friend were traveling back home when we suddenly decided to take a detour to McDonalds. The idea seemed excellent, both of us were starved and I could smell the burgers already. But the moment we entered Forum, the idea started to fluctuate between good and terrible. Good cos of all the things associated with McDonalds and TERRIBLE cos of the long queue. Gosh! There were easily 30 people standing in front of me!

Somehow in between me making a long face and complaining about the time it would take to finally have the burger in my hand, I heard a lady’s voice asking me what I would like to order. But I was still at the end of the queue! Order already? Anyway, I gave my usual order and Shana gave hers and we were promptly handed a slip of paper indicating our orders. There were 3 counters, 3 people tending to those counters, 2-3 more to assemble the orders on the trays, a waiter directing us towards the next counter which would be vacant, another who took our order and numerous people inside working in a sort of frenzy. Within minutes I was at the bill counter where the employee just took that sheet of paper containing our order, confirmed it and billed it with ease. No confusion, no waste of time, no complaints. I was asked to wait for some time while Shana was asked to wait outside the queue to reduce the congestion in the line. A minute later I had the order and Shana had found a seat. I was impressed! Fast food was actually FAST food. 15-20 minutes later we were out, contended, satisfied and full.

Few things I forgot to mention. I did not have to get up and go for more ketchup or tissue or straw to the crowded, busy part of the restaurant. I simply had to call one of the people who work there for it and out it came from the pockets of his apron. I had never noticed that before and so that was, to me, another demonstration of efficiency.

Also, in spite of all the rush and the busy atmosphere of the place, while I was waiting in the queue, a waiter actually took time out to say “Hey baby! How are you?”

I’m lovin’ it :)

p.s - The quoted sentence was directed at a 3 yr old girl standing in front of me.