SPECIAL DELIVERY
Robotic waiter at Hilliard restaurant serves with machine-like efficiency
This is one waiter who won’t be pushed around, insulted or become frazzled when things get busy.
It’s almost, well, inhuman.
At Mala Hotpot, at 3777 Park Mill Run Drive in Hilliard, Keenon Robotics’ automated androids deliver the food and drinks.
Of course, good help is hard to find and doesn’t come cheap: One Keenon unit is $13,000, said Jay Yang, owner of
Mala and CAM International Market next door, and a distributor of the robots.
“Right now, the advantage is to greatly reduce human-to-human contact,” Yang said.
After downloading the digital menu on their iphones, or an ipad supplied by the restaurant, customers place their orders directly to the kitchen and bar.
They can choose from a number of raw proteins – beef, pork and seafood – as well as tofu, vegetables and noodles,
which are cooked individually at the table.
Because hot pot involves scorching broth, the stock is brought out by servers and kept hot on individual burners under a ceramic table top.
The table locations are pre-programmed in the robot, and the kitchen loads up to four trays worth of food and sends the machine to the destination. Guests then hit the OK button and the robots amble their way back to the kitchen. Same deal with the bar. The robots have sensors so as not to run into walls, booths or people.
The floating human servers check on tables to ensure an enjoyable experience, said Yang, an electrical engineer by training and owner of a CAM and Mala Hot Pot in Cincinnati and another CAM in Cleveland.
With COVID-19 infections on the rise and possible vaccinations months away, the robots provide a sense of security for those who want a sit-down meal but want to maintain as much social distancing as possible, Yang said.
Hot pot is still a relative novelty in Columbus, with only a handful of restaurants offering some version of the ancient Chinese meal.
Mala – ma, meaning numbness from peppercorns, and la, meaning hot – offers four soup bases and ingredients that make hot-pot dining a communal affair.
Guests can lower their ingredients into the boiling liquid and cook them as long as they see fit.
“It’s always a very good opportunity for people to gather together,” Yang said. “Sometimes it’s a little slower pace.”
Mala offers pre-selected combos, starting at $17.99, and a la carte items, along with several dipping sauces.
The interior is entirely booths, separated by plexiglass shields.
Hours are 3 to 9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday, and closed Tuesday. For more information, call 614-971-3045.
How delightful: New African restaurant
African Delights, specializing in the flavors of Ghana, is opening in Worthington.
The restaurant, at 6116 Huntley Road, will have myriad dishes from the region: jollof rice, whaakey (beans and rice), peanut butter soup, okra soup, goat stew, grilled tilapia, fried plantains and meat pies, owner Emelia Saka said.
A January opening is planned for African Delights in the Huntley Square, at the corner of Huntley and East DublinGranville Road.
Saka said she went to culinary school in her native Ghana but decided to stick with the cuisine with which she was most familiar.
“I know how to do everything,” she said.
The restaurant will offer homemade pastries and fruit drinks, among other beverages, but no alcohol.
Reaching across the aisle: Charleys in W
You want fries with that hair spray? Charleys Philly Steaks has opened its first eatery inside a Walmart, at 3990 Morse Road, with plans for 10 additional Walmart locations in 2021.
The store marks the brand’s pilot program with Walmart, as further expansions across the country are planned.
Limited seating is available within the restaurant’s dining space, and the store offers online ordering, curbside pickup and third-party delivery, as well as the brand’s newly launched mobile app and rewards program.
Dispatch restaurant reporter Gary Seman Jr. can be reached at onrestau rants@dispatch.com