McDonald's is one of the fastest growing franchises in China, with new restaurants opening up every day. China loves Western brands, and Chinese youth love Western fast food (which is one reason why they are getting fatter and fatter right now!).

The only company who is competing with McDonald's is KFC right now - introducing beef burgers to China has been quite a hard task because the normal diet has never included this sort of food - however chicken (especially eating around the bones of chicken!) has been a part of China's diet almost as long as rice!

Anyway, the biggest users of McDonald's delivery service are westerners - and the service that they offer is unbeatable. The prices of meals relative to their western coutnerparts are amazingly cheap - and they often have offers on their products which can make them even cheaper. Delivery is usually around 7rmb (about $1) for as much as you can order!

So, how do you order McDonald's delivery in China? First, you need to make sure that there is a restaurant near you that offers the 24hr delivery service. To do this, you need to call their phone number!

Step 1 - Call the number

Call their delivery hotline phone number from any home phone or mobile phone - the McDonald's phone number is: 4008-517-517

Step 2 - English service

Don't worry about the fact that a Chinese person will answer! You can get English service just by pressing the '2' button. After you press it the phone will ring and then someone will answer the phone and talk in English! From now on, you can check whether the area that you are in offers a 24hr delivery service, and also how long it will take for them to deliver to you.

Step 3 - Address registration

The next thing you need to do before you can order McDonald's Shanghai delivery is register your address on their system. Registration is quick and easy, and it just involves you telling the person on the phone where you live and which number you're calling from. After they have registered your address they will confirm where you live, and that you have a restaurant near you. When this is done, you're ready to order!

Step 4 - Ordering

So now you are ready to place your first order! Everything that you usually order at McDonald's is available by delivery, including Big Mac's, fries, chicken wings, ice cream and milkshakes. If you order anythign from the frozen department it will arrive in a cold-box which will make sure that it hasn't melted when it arrives. The first time that you order they will bring you a menu too - so you will know more about the products on offer. Dont' forget to tell them about any sauces you want (ketchup, bbq etc) and they will pack them too.

Step 5 - Price confirmation

They will now add up all of the prices of the products and repeat them all to you. Even if you interrupt them they will keep going, so just stay quiet and wait. Eventually they will finish, tell you the total price and the delivery charge and then send your stuff.

Step 6 - Eat!

The food usually arrives within 30 minutes, although they usually say 45 minutes just to make sure that you're not disappointed with the service!

Stay tuned for more information about ordering fast food in China in coming weeks!