Skip to main content

Food Technology: Robots in Restaurants & Vending Machines that Sell Live Crabs

Image
By
Today’s two short MSNBC videos are about food technology. Video I shows a restaurant in Jinan China that uses robots to serve food. To me, these robots look no more than just some “moving food carts,” but it is an interesting concept. At least, the restaurant has put itself on the news. I personally like the e-menu concept better.

Video II is about vending machines in Nanjing China that sell live hairy crabs. It seems that technology has allowed us to sell almost anything in vending machines (we talked about selling fresh fruit and vegetables in vending machines before). Isn’t it amazing? Actually, selling live crabs in vending machines is easier than what many people may assume. Crabs are in “habitation” under cold temperature. In Syracuse, I buy live blue shell crabs in the morning and usually keep them in the fridge before I cook them for dinner. They will be alive but remain very “calm” in the fridge. So, it is feasible to sell live hairy crabs in refrigerated vending machines. However, why do Chinese want to buy live crabs? Well, because Chinese can be very sophisticated in their meals and only want “fresh” ingredients. It costs ¥15 RMB (about $2.5 USD) for each live hairy crab that is sold in vending machines.

I guess I need to visit China in the fall for some delicious crabs as fall is the best season for hairy crabs. Before that, I am glad to see the food technology in China. What new food technology do you see?

Video I: Robot-Servers in a Restaurant


Video II: Vending Machines that Sell Live Hairy Crabs

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

United Airlines pushes economy-class travelers away with a new frequent flyer program

By
United Airlines just revealed massive changes to its MileagePlus Program. How much a traveler spends on the tickets is the only thing that matters in the airline’s new frequent flyer program.

Not long ago, United quietly switched from a distance-based reward program to a fare-based frequent flyer program. Since 2015, people earn mileages based on how much they spend on the air tickets instead of how far they fly. 

For example, I typically earn about 4,000 reward miles for a round-trip ticket between Los Angeles and Asia, even though the distance of the trip usually ranges from 10,000 to 12,000 miles. Nevertheless, the distance I fly still matters because it will be counted towards the “qualified miles” for elite status. 

Now, the airline wants to take a big step further to (only) reward those top-spending travelers as their elite customers.

The terms used in the current MileagePlus Program

There are four elite statuses in the United Airlines MileagePlus Program, including Premier Silver, …
1 comment
Read more

Promoting student success in the STR Student Market Study Competition

By
I was in New York City (NYC) over the Veterans Day weekend for the HX: The Hotel Experience 2019, one of the most important trade shows in the lodging industry. Similar to last year’s trade show, the HX 2019 also entailed four components, including HX: The Marketplace, HX: The Conference, Boutique Design New York, and the STR (Smith Travel Research) Student Market Study Competition.  

STR is the leading data analytics provider for the lodging industry. Since its debut in 2015, the STR Student Market Study Competition (the STR Competition hereafter) has received significant attention from the hospitality programs around the world.

This year, over 20 students from the Collins College of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona traveled to NYC for HX 2019. Moreover, six of them also participated in the STR Competition for the first time.

In the end, the Cal Poly Pomona team won the 2nd Prize among the 25 competing colleges and universities. The other winning teams include Michigan State …
Post a Comment
Read more

Want a job at McDonald’s? Now, it is as easy as talking to Alexa

By
McDonald’s Corporation introduced the world’s first voice-initiated job application process called McDonald’s Apply Thru. Now, job seekers can initiate the job application process through McDonald’s Apply Thru by taking to either Alexa or Google Assistant.

How McDonald’s Apply Thru works
The job application process begins with the applicants saying:
“Alexa, help me get a job at McDonald’s.” 
or
“Google, help me get a job at McDonald’s.”
Then, the job applicants will need to answer a few basic questions, including their name, job of interest, and the location where they want to work.
Afterward, the job applicants will receive a text message with a hyperlink that will take the applicants to continue the rest of the application process.  
Where McDonald’s Apply Thru serve
McDonald’s Apply Thru is now available in nine countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Spain. It will be made available to other countries in the coming months.
Why McDona…
1 comment
Read more