Haidilao Hotpot - Emporium — Restaurant in Melbourne

You don’t come to Haidilao just for the food, you come here for the experience.

The food is really good hotpot fare. You would get similar portions, similar selections, and even similar flavours at other hotpot joints around the city. But you come here for the experience.

Right as you walk in, the staff gives you a warm welcome. If you have to wait, their sitting area has complimentary snacks and a milk tea stand on site. Using their Q Menu, you can book a manicure before or after your meal. They have really thought this through.

As you sit at your table, you’re given some fruit to cleanse your palette. You can refill this at the sauce station to eat during your meal or have as your dessert.

Speaking of the sauce station: This has got to be the best sauce station at any hotpot place anywhere. Until I see otherwise, I declare this is true. They have tutorials on making the best sauce combinations—I believe there are forums online dedicated to Haidilao sauce recipes—it’s its own world.

Then you pick out your soup base or bases. Choose 1, 2, or 4 flavours, just make sure one of them is the signature tomato broth. Pick your meats, seafood, and veg, and off you go on the best hotpot, nay, best dining experiences you’ll have in a while.

Some notable touches: They give you an apron so you don’t get hotpot juice on your clothes; There’s a ziploc bag for your mask so that it doesn’t end up smelling like Haidilao for the rest of the day; Order some raw shrimp and they peel it for you at your table! Order some hand-pulled noodles and get a free dance show to go with it! If you’re dining alone, they have a set meal and separate booths for you to enjoy your meal in peace.

At the end of your meal, you can order some fruit or milk tea to take on your way out. Just caps off the meal nicely. If that’s not your fancy and you’ve had some of the free fruits or ordered some other dessert, have a free mint to freshen up your breath a little.

That’s it for Haidilao. You don’t just come here for the food. It’s a whole...

I’ve visited Haidilao (HDL) in multiple countries, and their service has always been consistently top-notch—until I came to this outlet. If you’re expecting the usual HDL friendly and efficient service experience, you’ll likely be disappointed.

The food was okay, but the service really let the experience down. The staff member serving our table showed little attentiveness. She didn’t check on our soup base if it’s reaching the end of the pot and I had to call her over to get a refill. Even then, she only topped up two out of our three soup bases, completely missing the mala base. When she did return, she used cold water at the side instead of the proper soup stock—something that’s never happened at any other HDL location I’ve been to. It wasn’t until I voiced my frustration out loud that she finally started checking in more often on our table which by then we have already completed our meals.

HDL is known for its high service standards, and this outlet fell far short. This is honest feedback from someone who has dined at HDL across various countries. I truly hope HDL HQ sends someone down to quality-check this location.

*Update: Shortly after posting this review, I was contacted via WhatsApp by Joly, the Lobby Manager of Haidilao Emporium. I am unsure how she obtained my contact details, though I believe it was through her staff, who had added me into the membership system without my consent. Joly shared that she was overseas during the incident and has since submitted a self-reflection report regarding the feedback.

While I acknowledge her sincerity and efforts to understand the situation, it does not change the experience I had during my visit—my rating remains based on how I genuinely felt dining at the location. This update is simply to inform viewers that the lobby manager has committed to taking this feedback seriously and will work on strengthening staff training...

First of all... WELL DONE to Haidilao Emporium ! You guys did the best services on providing tip top quality hospitality as always which make us feel like home !