Beijing Haidilao hotpot: Good reasons to dine in on your China tour

A China tour is hardly complete if you haven’t imbibed the incredibly diverse food offerings that are available in the cities of every region.

From peking duck to dumplings , there is quite literally, a whole new world to explore.

Among the hundreds of traditional dishes, are some that you simply have to try if you’re venturing to China. A traditional Chinese hotpot is one such dish.

What is Haidilao hotpot?

Now there are hotpots – and there are Haidilao hotpots. For those just cutting their Chinese cuisine teeth, hotpot dining involves cooking raw meats, fish, tofu, vegetables, and noodles in broth or oil, which is placed at the centre of the table.

There are different soup bases: tomato, mushroom, clear oil spicy, chicken, and pickled Chinese cabbage, as well as various dishes and noodles that are cooked in the broth. Feeling hungry? Well, you get more than a meal at Haidilao.

Find the best customer service at Haidilao hotpot

Considered by locals to the best hotpot restaurant, Haidilao is not only favoured for its wonderful food. It’s also appreciated for its outstanding customer service. At a time when genuine service is a rarity anywhere in the world, Haidilao surprises and delights even those who are hard to please.

Don’t believe us? Here are just a few examples of the way Haidilao impresses its guests.

• Arrive early and waiting for your table? No problem. You’ll enjoy a free manicure or some time in one of the relaxing massage chairs found in the foyer to the restaurant.
• Cold outside? In winter, expect to be greeted with wipes to clear you classes of the fog.
• Want to avert a smartphone disaster? That’s easy. Every customer receives a zip lock bag for safe keeping of mobile phones.

It might sound over the top, but it seems like people can’t say enough good things about Haidilao.

Is it unforgettable? Well, yes, we think so. Do they provide unique and memorable customer experiences? A hundred percent.

But there’s even more to make Haidilao a place to visit.

New Beijing Haidilao restaurant is out of this world

Apart from the delicious food, a visit to Haidilao is a must if you’re a western traveler on tour in China. And although there are Haidilao restaurants all over China, if your China tour stops in Beijing , make a point of visiting their newest outlet there, located at B1-04, building E, Zhongjun World City, No. 8-9, Jinhui Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing.

Known as a dining amusement park, this restaurant took three years to build from planning to completion and required an investment of more than 14 million US dollars.

Here’s what you’ll find there.

Haidilao’s first smart restaurant

Haidilao is definitely at the forefront of technology, making their Beijing flagship store it’s first smart restaurant. Think Jetson-style technology in a dining environment.

The Beijing restaurant has integrated an intelligent kitchen based on AI, as well as intelligent serving that helps improve food safety standards. It seems Haidilao has thought of everything because there is even ‘intelligent customization’ allowing customers to create an exclusive hotpot broth. The power to personalize is in the hands of customers who can download the Haidilao app and create an exclusive broth file for themselves and share it with family and friends.

A visit to Haidilao is more than a meal; it’s a chance to unleash your creativity.

A waiting room with a difference

While reservations for this innovative new restaurant can be made online or by telephone, there may still be a slight wait on arrival. But don’t be concerned. The standard manicure and massage have been upgraded to a super-sized screen on which an interactive game can be played. Simply enter the game by scanning the code with their Haidilao app.

Accommodating 80 people at once, the giant screen makes waiting for your dinner a truly memorable experience, especially when you’re served pre-meal snacks.

Dining that’s a total immersion experience

The experience only intensifies when you enter the restaurant. Haidilao has gone all out to create a 360 audio visual hotpot immersion experience. Six different visual themes are projected onto the walls of the restaurant. At any time you’ll be treated to rich imagery that will surely surprise and delight. Starry sky, peach garden wonderland, and snowy mountain are just a sample of what’s in store.

The future of table service

A standout feature of the Beijing Haidilao smart restaurant are the robots that deliver meals. The future of table service really is here.

Taking just three minutes from the time an order is placed on an iPad to the moment dishes arrive at the table, the intelligent service certainly is speedy.

It’s all part of the smart restaurant model where every ingredient has its own unique RFID code, which is equivalent to ‘ID card’. When guests order through the intelligent ordering system, the robot matches the dishes. Its flexible robot arm can touch the top shelf which is more than two meters high. Prepared dishes are transported to the delivery robot or ‘waiter’ standing by in the restaurant.

After collecting the meal, the robot will automatically take meals to the right table. Once this job is done, it returns to wait for it’s next task.

After the meal, or when dishes have piled up, guests can call the waiter to collect them. The robot will automatically move to the table and help staff to remove the empty dishes. When the empty disks are returned to the kitchen, it will automatically report: “Empty dishes have arrived, please take them away as soon as possible.”

Dining here isn’t all robots though. At the end of the meal, enjoy the experience of watching a noodle master performing amazing traditional noodle making techniques. It seems robots can’t handle noodles yet!

Intelligent kitchen that has no need for master chefs

Another feature of this smart restaurant is the ‘intelligent kitchen’.

All dishes are prepared in the automatically temperature controlled and super clean food warehouse environment.

Food is directly delivered to the store through specially designed logistics before entering the automatic vegetable machine. There is also a large monitoring screen in the kitchen, which is used to observe the machine’s operations. On the screen outside the pantry, the remaining dishes are monitored in real time，allowing for accurate control of food shelf life. Expired products are discarded automatically. In addition, the kitchen is also equipped with intelligent equipment, such as an automatic dishwasher and meat cutter.

What people say about Haidilao hotpot

Here are just a few comments from people who’ve loved their Haidilao experience.

When it comes to Haidilao and its customers, it seems like there are no limits to the lengths their team will go to create a comfortable, enjoyable experience.

Their premium service concept has been enhanced with advanced technologies that make a meal at Haidilao more than a dining experience.

Looking for more AI experiences in Beijing? Why not visit HEMA Fresh, the new wave in supermarkets located just ten minutes from Haidilao.

Although ChinaTours.com does not have any affiliation with Haidilao Hotpot, we share their commitment to providing exceptional customer experiences. On all our China tours, we provide our customers with the flexibility to choose their meals for lunch and dinner. This means you have the opportunity explore the fabulous dining options, which are available in every region in the country. Haidilao Hotpot is just one example, but there are many others and we’d love to share them with you. When you travel with us, part of the experience is about ensuring you achieve what you set out to do on your travel adventure – and we’re here to help make that happen. Curious and like to know more about creating beautiful travel food memories? Enquire via our contact form  and we’ll respond within 24 hours.