BCIT recently welcomed a couple new additions to the Burnaby Campus. Located at the SE6 building, BCIT students, faculty, staff, and the larger community can now enjoy brand new bento box and All-in-one Beverage Machines courtesy of G&A Robot.
While new vending machines are not usually head-turning occurrences, BCIT celebrates the installation of these two new vending machines on the Burnaby Campus. Especially at a time where the cost of living continues to increase in Vancouver and across Canada, the need for affordable and quality food has never been higher.
Today, I explored the quality and the price of the bento box and a cup of coffee from G&A Robot.
About G&A Robot
G&A Robot is a Vancouver based full-service vending machine company, ranging from ice cream and pizza to coffee, teas, and bento. For BCIT, we have their special beverage and bento box machines.
G&A Robot has a vision to revolutionize the food industry by reducing the operating costs of a restaurant, while providing affordable and convenient food service. This makes it easy for students and faculty to grab a quick snack before class, or grab a coffee to keep them going throughout the day.
How does it work?
The machines are quite simple to use, and their user-friendly design makes it easy for first time students to use in a rush. Both machines have a touchscreen which lists all the meals available. All you have to do is click on an option of your choice, and then the machine will ask you if you want it heated. After, you can pay for the meal using card, and wait for the machine to bring your meal out.
Specifically for the bento box machine, it doesn’t work like a regular machine, since dropping food from the top shelf would create a mess. Instead, they have an elevator type arm that grabs the food and lowers it into the heating space. If you chose not to heat up your food, it will dispense through a second output tray at the bottom.
You can now enjoy your bento box (or coffee)!
How much does it cost?
Currently, G&A Robot serves a variety of international cuisines offered in the bento vending machine. G&A Robot works with local restaurants who package the meals for the machine. There are smaller portion meals including dumplings and boa buns under $7. There are also larger and more filling lunches for under $10. While prices may vary from time to time, meals are mostly aimed to be under $10.
I personally ordered a Cheesy Char Siu Bao Bun, which is one of the cheaper options offered by the vending. There is another bao bun available, but mainly they have lunch options such as Shrimp Fried Rice and Chicken Fried Rice.
The bento box machine has two organically sourced options, and one veggie option, the Veggie Biryani.
The bao buns are really cheap, since you can grab one for just over $6, and it should work as a lunch for the day. Additionally, you can order any of the other options for under $12, so the price isn’t that much more than a bao bun.
As for coffee, it depends on the type of coffee and what your syrup and ice level look like. For example, the caramel mocha is $3.69, but there are 31 other options for coffee. The ice and syrup options are each broken into 3 levels, which decide how much of each you would like. They start at $2, and max out at just under $4 for the coffee.
What’s the quality of the food and drink like?
Personally, I felt that the Bao Bun provided enough energy to get me through the morning. The portion is about half of what the rice box would be, which explains the price difference, but is still sufficient for a morning snack.
The quality was decent, about as good as you can reasonably expect from a vending machine, but it was very tasty once you hit the middle of the bun. The outside of the bun was a bit spongey for me, (I’ve never had a bao bun, maybe they’re supposed to be like that) but once you open up the middle, the flavour really endures.
While I usually don’t heat my leftover food because I don’t like the inconsistency, I figured I should try it today. The heat mechanism does a fantastic job, because it comes out extremely warm. Almost too warm to touch. Next time I will try it cold and see how it turns out.
The coffee was pretty impressive. I don’t usually drink coffee, but it had a good flavour in it, and it was nice to choose how much ice you would like in your drink so you don’t end up with 80% water. Don’t forget to mix your coffee with the stirring sticks provided!
Final verdict
To summarize, the bento box and all-in-one beverage machine are live and ready to get you through your day. Located in the SE6 building, these machines provide affordable and convenient access for the BCIT community.
BCIT Food Services will be looking at future locations in order to continue providing these types of services to the community across BCIT campuses.
Stay tuned!