With the advancement of science and technology, culinary enjoyment is enhanced with new and unique experiences, stimulating the curiosity and desire to explore of diners. In particular, the application of AI technology, using robots to replace humans in culinary processing and serving customers is attracting the attention of many countries in the world, including Vietnam.
Restaurant Robots - Enhancing the Culinary Tourism Experience
Restaurant robots (also known as automated restaurants) are built to make the food industry safer, more personalized and more efficient, while also providing new experiences that appeal to diners. In the world, restaurant robots are no longer strange in many countries including: UK, USA, China, Korea..., taking on different roles such as: Taking orders, delivering, serving at tables, processing food, drinks...
In Vietnam, robots have recently been put into service in the breakfast restaurant area of Premier Pearl Hotel (Vung Tau City) since October 2024. Two robots were imported by the hotel, capable of serving food and drinks, clearing dishes at the restaurant, serving water and cold towels to guests at the reception hall...
With the main programming language in English, the robot can be set to speak many different languages, including basic Vietnamese sentences such as: Hello, thank you, enjoy your meal... In addition, the robot can work continuously for 13 hours without rest, significantly supporting work at the restaurant.
Previously, since 2023, a Vietnamese pho restaurant called Pho Ever 21 in Stevens Point (Wisconsin, USA) has used robots to help bring pho, drinks and other Asian dishes to customers in the store.
The robots are named Yoyogi and Tezibear. Minh Nguyen, a Vietnamese restaurant owner, said children love being served by robots.
“The kids always want to touch the robots, play with them and take pictures with them. They always get excited when they see the robots and say, ‘Oh, it’s a robot,’” he said.
The restaurant owner added that the robots can lift heavy objects and serve 10 bowls of pho at a time. Therefore, they help ensure that food is delivered to customers quickly, accurately and save manpower.
Restaurant robots are capable of much more than just taking orders and serving food. Since 2017, at the bar on Royal Caribbean’s superyacht, guests have been able to drink cocktails mixed by robots.
At the bar called "Biotech Bar", robots can mix 30 types of cocktails and customers can choose their drinks on a tablet. Visitors can choose the flavor of the drink, the way they like to mix it, stir it or shake it with a pitcher, pour it slowly into a glass...
Cocktails are served in a classic or creative way, depending on the customer's choice. And not only enjoying the drinks, guests are also very excited with the new and unprecedented service experience on the super yacht. It is also a way for Royal Caribbean to promote its modern, unique and classy service to the public and potential customers.
No loss of tradition
Along with the advancement of science and technology, Vietnam has also gradually updated the latest technologies in culinary tourism, contributing to attracting domestic and international tourists.
Typically, from November 29 to December 1, the Hanoi Food Culture Festival 2024 will feature the “Pho So Ha Thanh” program to honor Hanoi’s traditional pho dish. Here, smart robots will be used to prepare each bowl of pho, from cooking the broth to serving customers at the dining table.
Robots will assist humans in production and service, creating a unique culinary experience that can spread more widely.
Sharing with Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Quynh - General Secretary of the Vietnam Chefs Association, stated that with the ability to optimize and improve labor productivity in the tourism and culinary industry, the application of high-quality AI technology in the future is inevitable.
Mr. Quynh commented: “Currently, the application of technological solutions to the development of culinary tourism is having a clear effect, and is widely promoted on social networking platforms. Technological solutions also help us reach more customers, measure the needs of tourists and can create new trends, leading the market.”
According to experts, customers who come to culinary tourism are very diverse. Tourists mainly come to explore new, classy, and quality experiences. However, only large companies and units with good financial potential can invest and develop this modern technology.
On the other hand, restaurant robots also have many weaknesses such as simple operations, repetitive work according to programming, no emotions... Tourists who initially come out of curiosity will hardly have the opportunity to come back to experience again. Therefore, it is necessary to continuously improve technology, exploit the full potential of restaurant robots to retain customers. At the same time, the tradition in culinary tourism is something that cannot be erased.
Mr. Do Dinh Hong - Director of Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports assessed that the use of robots in developing culinary tourism is a good idea, in line with modern development trends. However, robots only replace humans in certain stages, helping to enhance the experience of diners and reduce human resources.
“For example, digital pho is just a step forward in the application of digital technology, robots cannot replace humans in the entire pho cooking process. Therefore, this does not affect the heritage of traditional Vietnamese pho,” Mr. Hong emphasized.
According to the Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, the most important thing for a delicious bowl of pho is the recipe and the hands of the person who cooks it. Modern applications and technologies are just “spices” that should be added to make the bowl of pho more interesting, which is already imbued with tradition and heritage that has been cherished for thousands of years.
