Long before Hai Di Lao became a listed company on Hong Kong stock market, this hotpot restaurant has caught my attention.
Every Hai Di Lao restaurant that I have passed by is packed with people with a long queue waiting outside. Moreover, from what I gather from friends who have tried Hai Di Lao, Hai Di Lao is more expensive than the Bugis BBQ & Hotpot Buffet that I have recently visited.
What is so special about Hai Di Lao that makes people willing to spend hours waiting dispute its relatively expensive prices?
After trying out Hai Di Lao (Royal Square) for myself, I think I can understand a little what all the fuss is about. I have listed 5 possible reasons why Hai Di Lao is so successful.
1. Queuing is no longer tiresome and boring
I am sure all of us have had the experience of queuing up. You cannot go anywhere else and you have nothing else to do besides scrolling through your handphone.
Queuing at Hai Di Lao is whole new experience.
Not only do you have chairs to sit on, there is free-flow of drinks and snacks. The Hai Di Lao outlet at Royal Square has free-flow ice-cream too, but I am not sure if this is true for the other outlets.
Hai Di Lao also provides free manicure to queuing customers. If the long queue prevents you from getting your manicure before dining, Hai Di Lao staff will present you with a manicure card. This manicure card allows you to get a free manicure regardless of whether you dine in on that day. On Mondays to Thursdays only, you can even call in to book your manicure slot in advance.
While you are queuing, why not use this time to earn yourself some free dishes? If you can solve the Rubik’s cube or fold 30 paper cranes while you are queuing, Hai Di Lao will give you a free $6 dish.
2. Hai Di Lao staff treat you like VIP
Hai Di Lao definitely took the business mantra “customer is king” to heart. You can expect exceptional customer service at Hai Di Lao.
Once you are seated, the staff will serve you a hot towel to clean your hands. This kind of service is normally only found in fine-dining restaurants, so I was pleasantly surprised.
Hai Di Lao also provides hairband, apron and handphone cover to make sure that you enjoy yourselve.
3. Special and tasty soup bases
Hai Di Lao offers 6 soup bases – Ma La, Tomato, Ma La Xiang Guo, Mushroom, Shrimp and Clear Soup.
Many of my friend swears that Hai Di Lao’s Ma La soup base is the best they have ever had. Other friends love their Shrimp soup base.
I personally have only been to Hai Di Lao once and I have only tried the Ma La and Mushroom soup bases. A word of advice, if you are not a spicy-lover, do not go for the Ma La soup base. It is just as its name suggest, numbing (ma) and spicy (la).
You can now also buy Hai Di Lao soup bases in supermarkets and online. You can find all the information you need in this discoversg.com post.
4. Extensive and fresh ingredients
Hai Di Lao offers 105 ingredients including meats, vegetables and other hotpot items. (Yes, I actually counted it myself.) All the ingredients are prepared fresh upon order.
There are also 15 cooked food dishes available to order, if you want to have something to munch on while your hotpot cooks.
5. Late opening hours
Hai Di Lao is the only restaurant I know that opens until 6am. The long opening hours makes it the perfect dining destination for night owls.
Haidilao Hot Pot (Royal Square @ Novena)
Address: 103 Irrawaddy Road, Royal Square @ Novena #06-01/02, Singapore 329566
Telephone: 65655567 / 65657767
Opening Hours: Daily 10.3am – 6am
Haidilao Hot Pot (Plaza Singapura)
Address: 68 Orchard Road, Plaza Singapura #04-01, Singapore 238839
Telephone: 62500330 / 62500990
Opening Hours: Daily 10.30am – 4am
Haidilao Hot Pot (VivoCity)
Address: 1 Harbourfront Walk, VivoCity #03-09, Singapore 098585
Telephone: 6250 7557 / 6250 7667
Opening Hours: 10:30am – 6am
Haidilao Hot Pot (Clarke Quay)
Address: 3D River Valley Road, Clark Quay #02-04, Singapore 179023
Telephone: 6337 8626 / 6337 8627
Opening Hours: 10:30am – 6am
Haidilao Hot Pot (313@Somerset)
Address: 313 Orchard Road, 313@Somerset #04-23/24, Singapore 238895
Telephone: 6835 7227 / 6835 7337
Opening Hours: 10:30am – 6am
Haidilao Hot Pot (IMM)
Address: 2 Jurong East Street 21, IMM #03-01, Singapore 609601
Telephone: 6896 4111 / 6896 4222
Opening Hours: 10:30am – 4am
