AI robot restaurant begins trial operations in east China's Hangzhou

A fully robotic restaurant where AI-powered robots prepare and serve a full range of dishes, drinks, and desserts started its trial operations in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang after the province's first robot restaurant began trial operations.

Inside the restaurant, a cooking robot can be seen preparing popular Chinese dish Three-Cup Chicken. Following pre-set programs, the cooking robot would add ingredients and seasonings to the cooking pot in sequence, while its robotic arms would stir, toss and adjust flavor automatically. Within minutes, a freshly cooked dish is completed.

"The food tastes good and suits my preferences. It would be even better if it were a bit more tender," said a customer.

Another customer said the restaurant just brings his childhood imagination to life.

"When I was young, I saw robots cooking in cartoons. Now it feels like a childhood dream has come true," said the customer.

According to staff from the restaurant, the cooking robot has a built-in menu of more than 100 dishes, mainly featuring the Hangzhou cuisine known for its light, fresh and delicate flavors. The restaurant's development team has also designed 24 seasonal specialty dishes inspired by China's traditional 24 solar terms, blending modern technology with traditional dietary concepts.

The 24 solar terms, consisting of 12 major solar terms and 12 minor solar terms, were created thousands of years ago by the ancient Chinese to guide agricultural production. Today, the culture behind the terms provides useful guidance to people's lives as each term features special food, cultural ceremonies and healthy living tips.

Moreover, the noodle-cooking robot in the restaurant can prepare three different types of noodles simultaneously, with each order taking about three minutes to complete.

More than 10 robots are currently in operation at the restaurant, including cooking, noodle-making, coffee-making and floor-cleaning robots, covering multiple stages such as food preparation, serving and cleaning.

The legitimate rights of the Palestinian people must be respected and protected, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday.

Mao made the remarks in response to a media query about the reports that the Israeli parliament recently adopted a new law introducing death penalty for Palestinians, and countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have expressed strong condemnation, saying such practice is "entrenching a system of apartheid."

"All legislation must conform to legal principles such as the principle of legality, fairness and justice, and must not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, nationality or political view. The legitimate rights of the Palestinian people must be respected and protected. Relevant party’s actions that escalate tensions and exacerbate confrontation must stop," said Mao.