(Yicai Global) Jan. 14 -- Qianxi Robotic Catering Group, a unit under Chinese real estate giant Country Garden Holdings, has opened China's first fully automated restaurant in Guangzhou.

The diner, which the Guangdong province-based firm claims has 46 different types of robot and goes by the name Foodom, opened on Jan. 12. Robots welcome customers, cook their food, make their drinks, deliver their orders and take payments using technology Country Garden developed independently.

The restaurant is the first in the country that is completely automated, with robots also receiving deliveries, appropriately storing produce and selecting ingredients when needed. The likes of Alibaba's Hema Fresh, JD.Com and Haidilao run robotic restaurants but tend to focus on the customer experience.

Country Garden founded the robo-dining subsidiary in May 2019 with a 750 person strong research and development team that has created systems using 70 different machines for five restaurant styles: Chinese cuisine, hot pot, fast food, clay-pot rice diners and noodle shops.

Editor: James Boynton