Even robots can't save us: Wok A.I closes its Margaret Drive hawker stall amid manpower issues

Despite having an AI robot cooking its hokkien mee, Wok A.I closed its hawker stall because it couldn’t find manpower

Singaporean F&B brand Wok A.I has closed its hawker stall at Margaret Drive in Sept 2025 for the most ironic reason: manpower issues.

The business caused quite a stir on social media when it first opened in Nov 2024, due to its concept of having an AI robot cooking hokkien mee. The idea even sparked debates over whether a robot could match the skill of human hawkers in Singapore.

The frying machine, which cost S$14,000 to purchase, has a simple way to navigate it: the employee needs to add the ingredients—noodles, garlic, prawns, eggs, and pork belly—according to the instructions provided to the machine. The robot does all the work, as it has a chamber that contains a rotating arm that stir-fries the noodles.

While the AI robot has helped ensure consistency in terms of taste, it turns out that manpower is still needed to do the mise en place, like cooking the stock and preparing the prawns. 53-year-old Ang Chip Hong, the owner of Wok A.I, shared in an interview withMothership that he has tried to find manpower for one and a half months, but to no avail.

In fact, it was what drove him to use robots to cook the noodle dishes in the first place—he could not find a chef, even after offering monthly salaries of S$4,000 to S$5,000. “This means that the demand is low, so I felt that I needed to rely on robots to assist,” said Ang in an interview with CNA.

Despite the Margaret Drive stall closure, Wok A.I.’s second outlet, located at NUS Yusof Ishak House, remains open.

Robotics in F&B: Not a one-size-fits-all solution

Robots are becoming a common feature in F&B establishments in recent years, taking over tasks like cooking. Some businesses have successfully integrated robotics to improve efficiency.

A notable example is South Korean pizza chain GOPIZZA, whose GOBOT station assists staff with multiple tasks, including pizza slicing. By combining robotics, automation, and AI, the chain has cut preparation time from 10 to 15 minutes to just four to five minutes per pizza, optimised labour use, and maximised space efficiency.

Still, GOPIZZA continues to rely on human manpower for overall operations, showing that even advanced robotics cannot fully replace humans and are sometimes not yet ready for full deployment.

When the tray return robots were introduced in local food courts in 2016, they were touted as a solution to make it more convenient for diners to return their trays—but these robots ended up becoming a hindrance during busy periods and still required cleaning when diners spilt their dishes.

Some even broke down, and the cost of repairs was enough to hire additional cleaning staff, ultimately proving that human workers were more effective.

These instances, combined with Wok A.I’s shutdown, show that while robots can assist, human involvement remains essential, and technology should be leveraged to improve, not replace, operations.

Featured Image Credit: Winston Wong, Pohboon Yeo via Google Images

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