Comparison and Contrast Essay

By Megavia Noor Iman (K3-5A/0517040020)

Warung and Fast Food Restaurant

Warung is a place that offers food and drinks. We can find warung almost everywhere
and in various places, ranging from rural to urban areas. From mountain to sea, and from Sabang
to Merauke. For Indonesians, eating at warung is part of the culture. Nowadays, the culinary
world has developed and we have many choice of places that offer various types of food. Now
we have fast food restaurant that provides and offers specific type of cuisine and unlike warung,
it has minimal table service. Not only in the terms of service, warung and fast food restaurants
have a lot of differences. Even so, both places have a lot in common and both are widespread and
easy to find.

One of the similarities between warung and fast food restaurant is their speed of serving
the food. Both kind of places prepare food quickly and easily. The food is usually has been
cooked in bulk or in some kind of pot and kept hot by reheating it. In Indonesia, fast food
restaurants have a special warmer that keeps the rice or other menus hot, by setting a specific
temperature. The food from both places is usually available for take away, and just need to be
packaged or wrapped.

The other similarity is both kind of places are loved by various people, ranging from
young to old. To some people in the countryside or rural areas, warung is sometimes used as a
hangout place. In urban areas, warung is definitely the cheapest and easiest choice of place to eat
for college students. Fast food restaurants are often located in big cities, in strategic locations,
and loved by workers and students because it saves their time. It is also an option for those who
needs to work on their assignments because it usually provides free Wi-Fi.

However, there are many differences in other terms. Warung usually offers traditional
food whose price tend to be a lot cheaper than the food in fast food restaurants because the
ingredients are commonly found in traditional markets. Fast food restaurants are typically part of
a restaurant chain or a franchise, so the ingredients are standardized and delivered by a supply
channel, which makes the price of food more expensive. The other factor that may affect the
price is the quality of the place and the facilities. Warung usually takes place in a modest and
ordinary building or a part of the owner’s house, while fast food restaurants are usually more
luxurious and look more decent.

Both places have very different cuisine choices. Warung have a common and popular
menu choices for Indonesians, and it provides typical dishes that are consumed daily by
Indonesians. Fast food restaurants offers menus that are typically part of “meat-sweet diet” (food
that contains processed meat, pre-packaged foods, a lot of butter, and usually fried). The menus
adapt from western cuisine where the main food is not rice, although in Indonesia it has been
adjusted and most of fast food restaurants serve rice.

Although both places have differences from many sides, they are important parts of our
lives. Without a place to eat, surely many people will have difficulty because they have to
prepare meals in between their tight schedules. Both of eating places are very helpful choices,
depending on your needs, your budget, and what kind of food you love to eat.