Hai Di Lao
Hai Di Lao3D River Valley Road
#02-04 Clarke Quay
313 Orchard Road
#04-23 313@Somerset
2 Jurong East Street 21
#03-01 IMM
1 Harbourfront Walk
#03-09 VivoCity
311 New Upper Changi Road
#01-13 Bedok Mall
103 Irrawaddy Road
#06-01 Royal Square
68 Orchard Road
#04-20 Plaza Singapura
33 Sengkang West Avenue
#03-36 The Seletar Mall
http://www.haidilao.com/sg/
 |
| Hai Di Lao Meal |
Excellent Premium Ala-Carte Hot Pot
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 9
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 10
Value for Money: 8
Spent about SGD $43 per person.
.....
I've fond memories of excellent dining experiences at Hai Di Lao in Beijing, China, so when Hai Di Lao opened in Singapore in September 2012, I was keen to see if they maintained the same standard of excellence. They did. And, they still do, even after expanding to several outlets in the last few years.
Ambience at Hai Di Lao exudes an elegant opulence. The fittings appear luxurious in shades of black, wood, white, red, and gold, the neatly lined comfortable cushioned booths with privacy screens being warmly lit by elegant chandeliers overhead. Intricate oriental artwork adorn the walls. For those visiting on weekends, there are scheduled Chinese operatic performances that occur during peak hours for your entertainment. Befitting of a premium hot pot restaurant. In addition, they also offer free snacks and drinks while waiting, and free manicure services, as queues can stretch up to 1 - 2 hours or more.
Service at Hai Di Lao remains excellent. In fact, their service is the best component about dining here, more so than the food or ambience, which is easily replicated. The warm, friendly, engaging, and attentive service is what keeps us, and most diners, coming back time after time. It's the personalised attention that staff display, along with good product knowledge, efficiency in fulfilling orders or clearing tables, proactiveness in meeting needs, or just making diners feel really comfortable and welcome.
Food at Hai Di Lao is Chinese steamboat / hot pot cuisine, where you cook a variety of ingredients, including meat, seafood, vegetable, and staples, in a steaming bowl of soup / broth base. Quality of ingredients is above average, and more importantly, fresh. Delicious and tasty too. While portions are nicely sized for sharing between 2 - 4 people, everything is ala-carte here, there is no buffet option, so prices tend to be higher than usual. Budget about SGD $43 per person for a meal here.
.....
 |
| Hai Di Lao Signage |
 |
| Hai Di Lao Signage |
 |
| Hai Di Lao Exterior |
 |
| Hai Di Lao Interior |
 |
| Waiting Area |
 |
| Waiting Area |
 |
| Seating |
 |
| Seating |
 |
| Seating |
 |
| Table Setting |
 |
| Free Manicure Area |
 |
| Breath Mints & Toothpicks |
 |
| Sauce Recipes |
Sampled the Soup Base Duo - Chicken & Mushroom (SGD $23) on a visit. The Soup Base Mushroom is thin with an earthy sweet herbal flavour, while the Soup Base Chicken is light with a sweet savoury salty herbal flavour. Both are good, but I prefer the chicken soup / broth.
On another occasion, we got the Soup Base Quadruple - Seafood, Tomato, Chicken, Sichuan Mala. The Soup Base Seafood is creamy with a sweet oceany flavour, the Soup Base Tomato is fragrant with a fruity vegetal sweet flavour, and the Soup Base Sichuan Mala has a sharp but short savoury peppery spicy burn that entices the palate.
 |
| Soup Base Duo - Chicken & Mushroom (SGD $23) |
 |
| Soup Base Duo - Chicken & Mushroom |
 |
| Soup Base Quadruple - Seafood, Tomato, Chicken, Sichuan Mala |
 |
| Soup Base Mushroom |
 |
| Soup Base Chicken |
 |
| Soup Base Tomato |
 |
| Soup Base Sichuan Mala |
 |
| Soup Base Seafood |
The DIY Sauce (SGD $4 per person for all sauces & desserts) allows you to customise your own dipping sauce from a range of 25 different ingredients. My personal sauce mix includes the sesame sauce, sesame seeds, bird's eye chili, spring onions, and paprika powder. Sometimes, I also add garlic, chili oil, or crushed peanuts.
 |
| DIY Sauce (SGD $4 per person for all sauces & desserts) |
While water is complimentary, any other drinks and beverages, like the Winter Melon Tea (SGD $3 per person, refillable), is chargable per person.
 |
| Winter Melon Tea (SGD $3 per person, refillable) |
For ingredients, my personal favourites include the Raw Sliced Fish (SGD $8.50 half portion), the Raw Marinated Beef (SGD $16 full portion), the Raw Pork & Corn Meat Balls (SGD $4 half portion), and the Raw Fish Balls With Roe (SGD $4 half portion).
 |
| Raw Mushrooms - Shiitake, Straw, King Trumpet, Golden (SGD $9 half portion) |
 |
| Raw Corn (SGD $3 half portion) |
 |
| Raw Spinach (SGD $6 full portion) |
 |
| Raw Lettuce (SGD $6 full portion) |
 |
| Raw Pumpkin (SGD $3 half portion) |
 |
| Raw Sliced Fish (SGD $8.50 half portion) |
 |
| Raw Pork Belly (SGD $15 full portion) |
 |
| Raw Black Pork (SGD $19 full portion) |
 |
| Raw U.S. Beef Slices (SGD $22 ful portion) |
 |
| Raw Marinated Beef (SGD $16 full portion) |
 |
| Raw Pig's Intestines (SGD $6.50 half portion) |
 |
| Raw Salmon Cheese Sausage (SGD $5 half portion) |
 |
| Raw Luncheon Meat (SGD $4 half portion) |
 |
| Raw Hand Made Shrimp Cakes (SGD $8 half portion) |
 |
| Raw Hand Made Cuttlefish Cakes (SGD $7 half portion) |
 |
| Raw Pork Meat Balls (SGD $6 half portion) |
 |
| Raw Pork & Corn Meat Balls (SGD $4 half portion) |
 |
| Raw Fish Balls With Roe (SGD $4 half portion) |
Staff will offer to assist in cooking and serving, though you can also do it yourself. While it's ala-carte, the sharing portions are sufficient enough, and will fill you up quickly.
 |
| Cooked Mushrooms - Shiitake, King Trumpet, Shrimp Cake, Cuttlefish Cake, Pork Meat Ball, Pork & Corn Meat Ball |
 |
| Cooked Spinach, Sliced Fish, Marinated Beef, Luncheon Meat |
 |
| Cooked Fish Ball With Roe, Pig's Intestine, Salmon Cheese Sausage |
 |
| Cooked Fish Ball With Roe Inside |
 |
| Cooked Mushrooms - Straw, Black Pork, Hand Pulled Noodles |
 |
| Cooked Corn |
 |
| Dessert Watermelon (SGD $4 per person for all sauces & desserts) |
 |
| Dessert Lime Sorbet |
.....
.....
