盘点全球五花八门的自动售货机vending machine
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爱思英语编者按：在许多公共场合，你都能见到自动售货机的身影。你可能觉得在那儿你只能买到些冷饮和零食。其实并不然，下面就来领略一下各种稀奇古怪的自动售货机吧！ You probably don’t pay much attention to vending machines, except when you’re thirsty or want a quick snack. Usually you can only choose from a small selection of fizzy drinks and packed, processed snacks. In other words: boring and not very healthy. But vending machines are evolving and some now offer a variety of foods that are freshly prepared, just for you. Whether it’s a cold, sweet treat, a hot meal, or even fresh cooking ingredients, there’s something to satisfy everyone’s desires. Hairy selection Where: China What: hairy crabs How much: 10-45 yuan In Nanjing, consumers can buy fresh, live crabs from a vending machine. To keep them alive, the machine has an internal temperature of 5 C, which keeps the crabs in a state of hibernation. Five different varieties of crabs are available and according to an Associated Press report the machine sells up to 200 of them a day. If anyone receives a dead crab, the company compensates consumers with three live ones.
Automatic meal Where: The Netherlands What: automat restaurant How much: 1.60-6.50 euros (15-55 yuan) In the Netherlands there is a restaurant chain that serves food exclusively out of vending machines, or automats. Open 24 hours a day, FEBO is popular among tourists and locals out late. It offers a Dutch menu including croquettes, frikandels (a deep-fried sausage) and kaassouffles (a melted-cheese snack). But rather than being prepared in the vending machines, the food is prepared by humans in a kitchen behind the machines.
Creative treat Where: US What: ice cream How much: $3 (18 yuan) An ice-cream machine may not sound like anything special, but the MooBella Ice Creamery Machine certainly is! Using a touchscreen panel, customers can design their own ice cream in three easy steps. A total of 12 flavors are available, but a choice of special mix-ins, including chocolate chips and cookies, means 96 different combinations are possible. Each portion is freshly mixed in just 40 seconds.
Lazy indulgence Where: Singapore What: mashed potato How much: S$1 (5 yuan) Making mashed potato is a long, laborious process. But thanks to Maggi, a Swiss food and condiment company, it can be as simple as just adding hot water to a packet of mashed potato powder. In Singapore, however, not even that is necessary anymore. Many 7-Eleven stores there now have Maggi mashed potato machines. All hungry customers need to do is place a cup under the machine’s nozzle, push a button and mashed potato comes pouring out. You can even add chicken gravy sauce if you like.
High-tech chef Where: Italy What: pizza How much: 3-4.5 euros (25-35 yuan) Italians invented the pizza, so it was only a matter of time until they invented a pizza-making machine. Let’s Pizza prepares fresh pizza in less then three minutes and allows the customer to watch the whole process through a window. It kneads the dough, spreads the sauce on it, adds a choice of four toppings and then bakes the pizza. The machine can make up to 100 26-centimeter pizzas before it needs to be refilled. |
