There’s a new automated restaurant right outside the Ximen MRT station gates. Thanks to a collaboration between Taipei Metro and robot manufacturers, customers can order their meal through a machine and enjoy freshly cooked ramen. Beside it, a robotic arm mixes fresh drinks, even waving to customers after serving them.
Two slices of chashu pork and spring onions complete this steaming bowl of ramen. You wouldn’t know it, but it’s actually made by an automated machine.
Customer
These noodles are firmer, I like noodles like this that are a little harder. The pork is pretty good. It’s really delicious!
Customer
It tastes about the same as Japanese ramen, and it’s convenient to get it in the station.
More customers are trying this ramen, which is prepared in 90 seconds and tastes like it was made by a real chef. Automated ramen machines were invented in Taiwan and have returned to Ximen after becoming popular worldwide. There is even an automated drink shop next to it to quench customers’ thirst.
AI reads the order and then a robotic arm picks up the cup, the ice, and the ingredients, mixing the drink in one go. After serving the drink, the arm even waves to say goodbye.
Meng Chia-mei
FTV reporter
I bet you’ve never tried a drink like this! It’s mixed by a robot and the ice level can even be customized.
Taipei Metro is cooperating with different industries to utilize free space in stations and increase their revenue.
In addition to the automated ramen and drink machines added in August, Taipei Metro previously launched the Breakfast Festival, selling breakfast at 50 stations and allowing restaurants to set up stalls at four major transfer spaces. Last year, ancillary revenue from ventures like these reached over NT$2 billion.
From physical stores to automated restaurants, businesses are capitalizing on the flow of people through the Taipei MRT and turning the labor shortage crisis into an opportunity.
Lin Ying
VP of automated restaurants
Due to rising prices, labor shortages, and the increasing cost of raw materials globally, restaurants have found it hard to stay in business. So, as we had been planning before, we decided to open automated restaurants to align with current global trends.
Automated restaurants have reached Japan and the US, and are now returning home with new stores at Ximen station. They cater to the Taiwanese market while capitalizing on foreign tourist traffic.
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