Termineater Kenny at city’s robot restaurant

T H E wa it ress eases towards the table with piping hot food and a cool drink nestling on trays.

It’s my favourite Chinese dish and ready to be washed down with a bubbling glass of Irn-Bru.

But as the figure draws closer and our eyes meet, there is a little chill running down my spine.

It’s not big date nerves, it’s the fact the waitress is a robot.

As tall as me and, dare I say it, almost as heavy as me – maybe after a byte or two too many at the buffet.

The robot service is the latest novelty in the restaurant trade and it has rolled up in Dundee at the newly opened Yamm eaterie in Whitehall Street.

Children love the two robots in the “world buffet” and have been getting pictured with both models which are believed to be the first in Scotland.

The icy white eyes are a bit spooky close up and seeing the meal and glass gliding to the table was a bit unnerving at first.

But there was no need for concern, the waitress never spilled anything and that eerie atmosphere quickly evaporated especially when the smell of the dish on display tantalises your senses.

The Yamm restaurant opened its doors yesterday at noon and the 16 staff put in a real shift as the lunchtime trade filed through for first sittings.

And when the business eased up slightly in late afternoon, staff began preparing for the evening rush while manager Kenny Chng saluted the first day’s trade.

He said it was good to see so many diners in the venue, but hoped it was more for their lunchtime fare than the robots.

An earlier report online with the Tele previewing the opening had prompted a few critics, citing jobs being lost.

But Kenny insisted: “Nobody lost a job with the robots coming in.

“We had our staff selected and brought in the robots for a bit of fun.”

And director Shan Gu said: “The robots are very popular.

“I don’t know how much they cost and we don’t have names for them yet, but we may even run a competition for that. There are a lots of robots serving

in China.”

Chips with that, sir? Reporter Kenny gets ready to tuck in to his food, which was served by a robot waitress.