July 5th
Typically when I think of Chinese food, I imagine a huge table with a glass spin pan that is packed with all different dishes. The entire experience is rushed, kind of hectic but not in a bad way, and familiar.
Today, twelve of us went to a very well known hot-pot restaurant called HaiDiLao. It was pretty amazing. Because it was so amazing, I will be dedicating this blog post to the HaiDiLao experience.
We made our reservation at around 10am and arrived at 12pm. The waitress brought us to our table immediately, which is normally a really good thing, but we all wished we could’ve waited a little bit. This might sound confusing. I will clarify.
HaiDiLao is a great hot-pot restaurant and pretty much every soul knows this chain in Beijing (maybe even China). But what distinguishes them from their competitors is not actually the quality of their food, but rather the quality of their service. If you get to HaiDiLao without a reservation or at a busy time, the spacey waiting room is a great place to be. There are snacks (so good, by the way), drinks, and even Chinese checkers for you and your friends to play. But the craziest part is that, at some locations, you can get your nails done or shoes shined for free while waiting. ANDD if you’re there alone, I heard they give you a stuffed animal to eat with. Very cute.
After you sit, they greet you with hot towels (which are replaced like every 30 minutes) and an iPad so you can order. At the self-service station, you can make your hot-pot sauce but you can also grab a plate and fill it with complimentary fruits, side dishes, and porridge. Then, they give you really nice aprons so your clothes don’t stain and a little baggie to put your phone in.
Ordering is really simple since there are pictures next to everything. You just tap tap tap and next thing you know there’s food on the table!
Half way through lunch, a man in costume came out for a traditional face-changing performance. It was super random but also super exciting. I got a keychain out of it too (thank you Dan). Other exciting parts of the experience include the way our noodles were made. An employee, dressed in all white, literally did a ribbon dance with a piece of dough until it stretched into one looooong noodle.
When we thought we were done, our server came to our table and asked if we wanted to tour the kitchen. What? We said OF COURSE. They brought us in three at a time and had us put on hair masks and wash our hands before stepping in. The kitchen was huge and clean and almost futuristic—automatic doors, high tech recycling, and this countertop thing that would scan every food container put on top of it for the expiration date. At the end, they asked us to give feedback in this little booklet they kept. We were thoroughly amazed.
I wish I took more pictures but it was so easy to forget about life there. Highly recommend.
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