Hai Di Lao Huo Guo

Treated Like Royalty By A Restaurant With A Heart For People

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 9
Ambience & Setting: 9
Food & Beverage: 10
Service: 10
Value for Money: 10
Spent about CNY $88 / SGD $18 per person.


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Hai Di Lao Huo Guo, otherwise known as Deep Sea Fishing Steamboat Hot Pot, is a famous franchise chain of steamboat hot pot restaurants, which originated from Sichuan Province, in China in 1994. Hai Di Lao Huo Guo achieved fame for their rich and flavourful soup stock, their professional and friendly service, their caring attitude towards both customers and staff, and their openess to innovation and technology. As a result, Hai Di Lao Huo Guo has gained many international awards, and have since expanded all over China to cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Nanjing, as well as opening outlets around the world in many major cities.

Hai Di Lao Huo Guo is well known for their caring attitude towards their own staff. Besides undergoing a comprehensive training program to educate staff on service basics and handling nasty customers, Hai Di Lao Huo Guo staff are also taught to respect themselves, and always strive to be better. Promotion in Hai Di Lao Huo Guo is based on merit and hard work, not on connections, and many of the senior staff in Hai Di Lao Huo Guo today were once servers or janitors. Staff are well taken care off, and Hai Di Lao Huo Guo provides them good benefits. Staff are even encouraged to recommend their family and friends to work in Hai Di Lao Huo Guo.

Ambience at Hai Di Lao Huo Guo is their low point, although it's still pretty good as compared to others. Furniture is comfortable, lighting is bright, bathrooms and corridors are clean and well maintained, and the floor layout is spacious. Ambient noise tends to be slightly loud though, and despite the well ventilated interior, the smell of cooking still sticks to your clothes. But all this is only a minor inconvenience... Hai Di Lao Huo Guo more than makes up for the ambience in other areas.

Service at Hai Di Lao Huo Guo is exceptional, one of the best I've ever experienced. A dizzying array of items are prepared and presented to you even before you begin your meal, including hot towels, spectacle cleaners with the Hai Di Lao Huo Guo logo, fresh Mandarin oranges, jacket covers, and apron bibs. Ordering is done through an iPad, or in person with a check sheet. Food arrives quickly, and staff perform the initial serving to all diners. I found the Hai Di Lao Huo Guo staff to be attentive, observant, friendly and efficient. In fact, several companies take Hai Di Lao Huo Guo as a role model for service, wishing to learn how they achieve such remarkable customer satisfaction and highly motivated staff.

It is highly recommended to make reservations at Hai Di Lao Huo Guo, as the waiting time / queue can stretch up to 3 hours! However, to make waiting more bearable, Hai Di Lao Huo Guo actually offers free flow of drinks and snacks while you wait, as well as several board games / card games to pass the time, including Chinese Chess, Chinese Checkers, Reversi, and more. Furthermore, Hai Di Lao Huo Guo also provides in-house manicures and pedicures! It is also located close to several hair and beauty treatment shops, and customers are known to get a queue number first, then proceed for a haircut, beauty treatment, or massage.

Food at Hai Di Lao Huo Guo is ala-carte style, not buffet. There is a good range of options available, and all the ingredients are fresh, and of good / high quality. Price are cheap for the quality and value you get. Hai Di Lao Huo Guo is particulary known for their tasty soup stocks / base, of which 2 stand out; the chicken soup stock, and the mala Sichuan pepper soup stock, which is well known for its spicy, mouth numbing effect. There is also a variety of mix-your-own dipping sauces available, as well as free flow of fresh fruits.


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The brightly lit, big signage makes this place unmissable, even at night.










Interior is clean and well maintained, and relatively well-ventilated. Ordering is done in advance, while waiting, through an iPad. Food is ala-carte, not buffet style, but portions are enough for all.














Service here is truely outstanding. All staff are taught to put customers requests first, and even if you ask the janitor cleaning the toilet to assist you, they will stop whatever they're doing, and come and help you first. Staff are also encourage to show initiative and think of ideas to improve the business, one such idea from a wait staff resulted in the creation of a ladle stand, which allows customers to cook food in a ladle without having to hold it themselves, they just hang it on the ladle stand.














The La Mian / Noodles come with a free performance. There are 2 - 3 staff trained at each outlet, dedicated specifically to perform theatrics while preparing the noodles. Order at least 2 bowls, because the trained staff / noodle masters are able to perform 2 different theatrics showcase.










Waiting tables are equipped with various types of games, and you can request for other games or cards. Free flow of snacks and drinks are provided as well.








Choose from either a single soup stock / base, or the double soup stock / base. Most people choose the double. The most popular options for soup stock / base is the chicken soup stock, and the mala Sichuan pepper soup stock.



















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