Been to the Haidilao in my hometown in China many time, but this is the first time trying it out in HK... The Signature 2 x 2 hotpot designcaters for different preferences on soup bases for a group of 6~7 ppl seated in the booth - we ordered Sichuan Spicy, Tomato (highly recommended!!), and two non-spicy ones. Electronic order management system on iPad is provided to customers with menu displayed and instant ordering. We ordered popular choices for hotpot including sliced beef/fish/pork, seafood (miced seafood balls or chopped/sliced), vegetables and many feature Chinese hotpot dishes. There were also complementary fruits (watermelon, etc.) as starters displayed in the sauce bar section for grabs. While getting fruits, customers can also put together a small bowl of sauces (~15 choices for mix) to "dip" their food in, for extra flavours. We got the sauces quickly after ordering as we know the food was gonna be there pretty soon.
Then... Haidilao waiters didn't surprise us by bringing the food real fast after the orders were submitted on the electronic iPad. Dishes after dishes came to the cart and the ingredients were fresh and well presented. We all started boiling the food and eating... Nothing acts better as the climax of a hotpot dinner than some tender and appropriately-seasoned gourmet-level hotpot beef slices and fish balls dancing in your mouth...
After eating several rounds of meat, dumplings and vegetables, we ordred the La Mian noodles (a.k.a. hand-pulled noodles..). 18 HKD per serve. It's really long so we ordered 6 (or 8?) serves of noodles to be "pulled"... Then came the fantastic LaMian-making show!! The LaMian maker came over, and pulled the noodles from one dough into 2, 4, 8, 16... multiple layers such that the noodles were thin enough, with faced-paced dancing moves (kung fu???)... It was an amazing experience and felt just like watching opera or ballet sitting at the front row. Please don't miss this if you come to this place... We could almost feel the "momentum" in the noodles from his kung fu, when we ate the LaMian after boiling them in the hotpot....
One of us was having birthday over the weekend. The waitress heard us talking about it and then brought out a "Happy Birthday" board! Several staff came over and we all sang happy-birthday song for our friend. And our birthday darling got a complementary desert on the house.
We kept eating and drinking... yet at the end of our dinner, there was a masking-changing performance! Traditional Chinese music was played when the mask performer danced to it, changing his mask instantly again and again. Many customers stood up, applausing, cheering and recording the show... The restaurant was like a bar with live music all of a sudden! We also recorded it and replayed it (in slow motion, too) for many times... but just couldn't figured how he changed the masks!!
Wow factor after wow factor... So much happiness, love and laughter at Haidilao!
Really one of a kind!