It’s official. The robots are taking over. But when they’re serving me unlimited Chinese grub, I actually don’t even mind. Providing a pretty unique service in Bury, Bolton and Wigan, the BellaBots form The Chinese Buffet’s USP – which allows guests to enjoy a completely digital service when dining in their restaurants.
It’s a concept I can totally get on board with, being the introvert that I am, made even better by the fact that the lengthy menu is all-you-can-eat.
Cooked up fresh in the kitchen by The Chinese Buffet’s team of human employees, guests can dig into a menu packed full of traditional Chinese cuisine, with dishes such as spring rolls, Kung Po chicken, Sichuan beef and so much more on offer. Each dish is brought over by the restaurant’s robot waiter, BellaBot, which you can grab your plates off when it swings by your table. It’s an absolute dream come true for the socially awkward, with no human interaction required when ordering your food.
But Bella is so much more than just a serving trolley on wheels. Operated by a bespoke app, Bella can also interact with customers, singing “Happy Birthday” as well as making funny remarks such as “stop touching my ear!”.
Costing just £12.50pp for lunch and £20.99 for the ‘Grand Buffet’ later on, The Chinese Buffet allows guests to place as many orders as they’d like while dining at the restaurant, meaning dishes are completely bottomless for the duration of the session. The best part? You don’t even need to get out of your seat once to enjoy the buffet.
The buffet includes starters and desserts, too, with plenty of irresistible options (despite how full you are already!) such as cheesecake, profiteroles and chocolate fudge cake. It’s a stretchy pants jobby for sure.
Speaking about their BellaBots, Paolo Hu, TCB Managing Director said: “The hospitality industry is facing unprecedented challenges in recruiting staff at the moment, so anything we can do to make team members feel more valued and their jobs easier goes a long way towards keeping staff motivated and happy.
“We are definitely the first place with robots in Bolton, there isn’t anyone doing this here and soon all of our branches will have at least two robots. If you look at Star Wars many years ago, there were robots running around and now it’s happening in real life.”
“Bella Bot is a great new addition to the team, making it possible for front of house staff to spend more time attending to the needs of our customers. Bella never tires, she just keeps on going, making the return journey between kitchen and tables, literally hundreds of times a day, so our people can spend more time helping our customers have a great time.”
The Chinese Buffet can be found in Bolton, Wigan and Bury and you can find out more here.