I think we all have a lot to learn from China. Not only eating....and we have something to give back. ALL countries:-)
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I cannot imagine a more jarring and unpleasant environment than that shown and described in this article for pleasurable dining. Hopefully the expansion misses Canada. If they do come to Canada count me out.
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Being a Chinese tourist in America is difficult. I ask friends returning from abroad where they find Chinese when traveling as each nation seems to localize what they offer their customers for cause.
A common response is ‘after a while always make a trip to the kitchen for a chat first.’ Probably would not work at very commercial spots like Haidilao’s but Hot Pot lessens ‘the problem’ as well, where they exist. The hot pot was first seen in the US at newly opened Beijing (or Peking) restaurants, unknown in more common Cantonese of Fujian establishments in the 1960’s.
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NY Chinatown Cantonese restaurants had long had hotpots, but served primarily in winter and typically with simple more healthy chicken or seafood soup bases. The influx of Sichuan restaurants in the last 20 years introduced the more greasy hot oil Chengdu versions. Traditional Beijing hotpots are more simple and similar to their southern cousins.
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@Beijingers
Fifty years ago fits long ago I guess. NYC China Town was like SF's primarily populated with Guangdong and Fujians and then Sichuan, Hunan, Shanghai and Beijing signs began to appear. Must have been a reason or many. But hot pot was thought to be 'northern'. Now cooking styles definitely overlap more than they did, I guess.
Have a Changsha friend who carries bought package noodles when has to go to Guangzhou - Canton.
Haidiliao had their rat moment a couple of years ago, when a video of a rat scurrying around a kitchen went viral. But guess that's nothing compared to scooping up a dead rat in the hotpot at Xiabu Xiabu and live rats and droppings are common occurrences in kitchens all over the world, even in NY............
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The one thing they’re missing? Haidilao is RIDICULOUSLY expensive!!! Like shockingly so. Here in Seoul, they have a daytime set price (35 USD) or a night time after 11 set (18$). Obviously, we stuck it out for the late night set. The basic set, plus the shrimp balls, a beer, and a small bottle of cheap baijou was almost 80$...and certainly not enough food. I’d be scared to see the daytime price.
China has the population numbers to support anything. Other places don’t.
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Our family is not a fan of eating out for hot pot. The ingredients for hot pot are mostly humble and fairly cheap (although one can certainly splurge for fresh seafood and prime cuts of beef), and it doesn't take a particularly skilled chef to throw together a hot pot party. Why pay for something that is typically a cheap, intimate, family meal? Many of the amenities cited are what Chinese families worldwide consider normal at a home hotpot party: child care, entertainment (a Raptor game or Superbowl pregame?), and strange performances (uncle's alcohol fueled singing). Taken outside the home and into a commercial space, it mutates into something over-the-top and grotesque --as noted in the article, manicures and pedicures while eating? Yuck!
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Looking at the photograph of the manicures, it's obvious that they're not taking place while people are eating, but in an separate area.
The article confirms that these services take place while people are waiting for a table, not at the table itself.
I know of at least two Haidilao's in California, one in Arcadia (Los Angeles area) and one in Cupertino (Silicon Valley area).
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I've eaten there a couple times when travelling on business in China. It was tasty and definitely a good time. Great service and good entertainment. Second time though there were oysters at the bottom of a soup that was supposed to be "seafood free". That was my last time going there.
I'd be more concerned about the fact that Americans can't be bothered to wait around to cook their food at the table! This is a country where "fast casual" is on the rise, we're always inventing new things to put in a taco or wrap, and we eat a shocking portion of our meals in a car. Good luck selling Americans on slowing down to eat!
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It seems the Haidilao chain actually followed through on their promises to overhaul food safety in all its restaurants. By allowing customers to watch a live-stream video of the kitchen from a flat-screen television hung on the wall or to personally observe the food being prepared they are forcing themselves to constantly have high standards. Do our restaurants and food trucks match or exceed those standards, and how often?
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I am mystified by the concerns that foreigners would find the service creepy...has no one been to a restaurant/club with attendants in the restrooms before?
I no longer have toddlers, but as a single mom I would have been delighted to visit a non-fast food restaurant that accommodated my children while eating out with friends. I will be curious when Haidilao comes here and will definitely check it out.
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