Customers walking into a McDonald’s near Shanghai’s Science and Technology Museum got more than they bargained for. Behind the counter stood a row of humanoid robots dressed in the familiar red and yellow uniform, looking every bit like they had stepped straight out of a McDonald’s advertisement and ready to greet anyone who walked through the door.
Japan-based Nakai Machinery has expanded into food production, offering something completely new to busy kitchens throughout the world. Their CK-280-25 is a prime example of a machine that does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to large batches of fried rice or noodles, with no need for constant supervision. Just add the ingredients into the large drum, where they mix and cook on their own.
Gushi Cliff Coffee is located on a cliffside overlooking the surf pounding against the shore of Fuzhou, Fujian, in southern China. Crowds of people sit on small little platforms embedded straight into the side of the cliff, 70 meters above the thundering surf, with a view out over the water to the Taiwan Strait, where the islands of Matsu appear as a distant collection of small little lights in the night sky.
The Nintendo Wii still has some tricks up its sleeve; some 20 years after its initial release, a homebrew resurrection brings back one of the console’s quirkier functions, the Food Channel, and allows anyone in the United States or Canada to purchase a real Domino’s pizza from the familiar Wii menu. Nintendo released the Wii in 2006, with a channel-based system that divided routine tasks into easy clickable icons.
Metal cookie tins are stacked on shelves, waiting for the Christmas season to begin, filled with delicious gingerbread and other treats. However, when it comes time to get a cookie, those lids can be a hassle to open, especially for people who have been drinking eggnog and helping with holiday preparations. One brilliant maker in Norway devised a solution to the problem: a unique system that blasts cookies directly into your mouth on command.
Ninja’s newest CREAMi model, the Swirl (NC701), priced at $279.95 (was $349.99), expands on the pint-processing technology we all know and love by adding a convenient dispenser handle. Before you begin, prepare your bases by mixing and freezing them in the containers provided. Allow them to remain in the freezer for 24 hours before letting the machine to do the hard work for. Now for the fun part: grab a bowl or make a classic soft-serve directly into a cone.
Starbucks has been churning out lattes for years, but now they’re adding something new to their mix: the Starbucks Retro Digital Camera. Available exclusively in China, this stylish device combines the company’s characteristic flair with photography tools that you might find yourself feeling completely at ease with, just like you would in one of their cafes.
December begins with equal parts snowflakes and worry. Families are scrambling to finish décor, dinners that scorch under frantic timers, and everyone is engaging in awkward talks at gatherings. McDonald’s Netherlands tried capture the turmoil in a snappy 45-second ad titled “It’s the Most Terrible Time of the Year.”
Hot dogs have always been about simplicity. Slap one on a bun, add some ketchup / mustard / relish, and you’re ready for a quick bite. But Joel Creates took that concept and wired it for actual electricity. His most recent creation transforms the basic frankfurter into its own heat source, all housed in a device tiny enough to fit in your jacket pocket.
Circus SE out of Munich built a robot called the CA-1 that sits inside a glass box no bigger than a small bathroom. Two arms swing round at the command of a touchscreen, plucking ingredients from refrigerated bins, spooning them into a pot, cooking the whole thing on a induction burner and sliding out the finished plate to a take-out window. No human has to flip the food, wipe down the counters, or yell for the next order. This whole kitchen just runs by itself.