This sushi restaurant might just be the future of the dining
experience delivering custom orders to your table and replacing
human personnel for automation.
I'm in Hong Kong visiting this chain,
Genki Sushi.
It first started in Japan and is rapidly expanding
across Asia.
I'm determined to see if I can go an entire
meal without any human interaction at all.
And let's just say for this extrovert, it
might just be a challenge.
There's a little wait, so, I input my information in
this kiosk and take a number.
My number is soon called and I'm escorted to my seat.
Okay, already interacting with a human, but to be fair,
he didn't say a word to me and I didn't say
anything either.
I sit down and quickly figure out how to order
sushi on the tablet.
Every seat or table has its own.
All items on the menu are delivered by an
automated train. And I mean everything.
The only drinks available are hot water, with the
option to turn it into green tea.
I have my very own dispenser at my seat.
The sushi menu includes all types of items
even hand rolls and noodle dishes.
And whether you order just one piece or a few
rolls, the trains, which are operating on 3 different
tracks, can handle it all.
When I pick up my food, I press a button
so the train knows to head back to the station
Err -- the kitchen.
The food in the back is presumably made by
humans, though, it's hard to tell.
I look around the restaurant.
There's not exactly a lack of staff, but a
lack of things to do for the staff.
From the moment I sit down to when I
get up, there wasn't really anything that needed
to be done by humans.
The staff helps with any issues
and clears the numerous amounts
of plates in between customers.
And you know that feeling at a restaurant
when you're hungry, you think you see
your entre coming, but it actually just
goest to another table?
Well that problem still exists here, except it
comes in the form of a train, instead of
a person.
I order cheesecake from the tablet, again,
that arrives by train.
It's time to pay.
There's no payment option on the tablet.
I proceed to what appears to be a standard cash
register to finalize the bill.
Sure enough, it's operated by a human where the
transaction is just like any other.
It's my first time speaking to anyone this meal.
So, my mission to have lunch without any human
interaction, ultimately comes up short for now, but, maybe
that's actually a good thing.