Unmanned Platform with a Small Restaurant Concept Inside a Rest Area
Yukgaejang Noodles, Tonkotsu Ramen, Meat Jjamppong, etc.
Pulmuone Food & Culture, a food service specialist company under Pulmuone, announced on the 12th that it has introduced the smart unmanned vending machine 'Chulchul Box Robot Chef,' which is operated by robots, at seven highway rest areas nationwide and will offer five menu items including premium noodle dishes made with fresh noodles.
Operated under the concept of a small smart restaurant within rest areas, the Robot Chef is an unmanned instant cooking vending machine that prepares frozen food products immediately upon order in 90 seconds. The device measures 1.9m in height and 1.0m in width, and consists of a 27-inch screen for video display, a 15.6-inch touch-operated menu selection screen, a cooking chamber that automatically opens and closes when the product is ready, and a utensil holder.
When a menu is selected and payment is made, the robot inside the device cooks the food at high temperature on the spot, providing restaurant-level dishes. It offers the advantage of allowing customers to dine at the rest area anytime regardless of operating hours.
The menu includes four premium noodle dishes made with pure fresh noodles: 'Yukgaejang Guksu' (spicy beef soup noodles), 'Tonkotsu Ramen,' 'Gogi Jjamppong' (spicy seafood and meat noodle soup), and 'Beef Gomtang Guksu' (beef bone soup noodles), each priced at 8,500 KRW. Additionally, rice dishes such as 'Yukgaejang Gukbap' (spicy beef soup with rice) and 'Naju-style Gomtang' are sold at 8,900 KRW each. Pulmuone Food & Culture plans to introduce various Korean dishes in the future.
The Robot Chef is currently installed and operating at five highway rest areas nationwide, including Honam Expressway Iseo Rest Area (Cheonan/Suncheon direction), Osu Rest Area (Suncheon/Wanju direction), and Seohaean Expressway Hampyeong Cheonji Rest Area. Within this month, the Robot Chef will also be installed at Gongju Rest Area (Daejeon/Dangjin direction) on the Seosan-Yeongdeok Expressway. At Iseo Rest Area (Cheonan/Suncheon direction), in addition to the 'Robot Chef,' customers can also find the unmanned system Pulmuone Zone (365 Food Zone), which sells various Pulmuone meals, snacks, and ramen.
Lee Dong-hoon, CEO of Pulmuone Food & Culture, said, "We aim to provide customers visiting rest areas with a new experience through the Robot Chef," and added, "We hope customers enjoy safe and convenient meals and rest 24 hours a day at rest areas operated by Pulmuone Food & Culture."
Pulmuone Food & Culture is continuously innovating rest areas into future-oriented spaces by integrating food tech throughout the rest areas to offer unique experiences to customers. At Ansan Complex Rest Area on Yeongdong Expressway, it introduced an unmanned delivery service that delivers mini gimbap through cooking robots 'Robot Work' and 'Gisonggwan,' and has also introduced untact services using digital technology such as a coffee specialty drive-thru (DT, Drive Thru) and a robot barista system.
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