Top restaurant with no diners still packed out

WHILE there were no diners at the hall, the kitchen of a famous restaurant in east China’s Anhui Province was bustling, as chefs wearing masks were busy cooking and delivery staff were packing the meals quickly.

“Our restaurant remained closed due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. We established four WeChat groups for our customers and cooperated with the online food delivery platform Meituan Dianping to offer takeout service,” said Fang Xiaoming, manager of the restaurant.

As businesses remain shuttered in many cities and people have been confined to their homes either by choice or order to curb the spread of the epidemic, online services backed by big data, artificial intelligence and modern logistics are lending a hand.

Lin Meng, a millennial living in Hefei, capital of Anhui, purchases all fresh food on the e-commerce platform Taobao.com. “The online supermarket has abundant products, and they can be delivered to your doorstep soon after you complete the payment,” she said.

According to a report released by Meituan Dianping on February 19, the sales of various ingredients including vegetables, meat and seafood surged 200 percent month on month, while leafy vegetables were top-sellers with a total sale of over 8.1 million.

Cooped up at home amid the sudden outbreak, many Chinese are rolling up their sleeves and starting a new career in the kitchen.

Thanks to online services, people are turning their living rooms and bedrooms into offices, classrooms and even museums and clinics.

Mukun Technology Co Ltd, a company focusing on smart campuses, said it had made full use of video conferences after its staff started to work online since January 25.

“By working from home, the operating costs including heating and electricity can be lowered by 30 percent,” said Sun Shuhui, chairman of the company.

(Xinhua)