Haidilao Hot Pot Arcadia — Restaurant in Arcadia

I wasn't planning on writing this review until I watched a video from the YouTube channel The Try Guys. They reviewed Korean BBQ and Hai Di Lao in Arcadia. It's the same place where I had my hot pot, but the food and service I received were completely different from theirs.

I visited Hai Di Lao after watching the movie "Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms" at AMC Santa Anita 16. The location used to be a Westfield mall, but it has obviously been acquired by Chinese owners; a 99 Ranch Market recently had its grand opening there.

I've known about Hai Di Lao for a long time but never had the chance to try it. In China, Hai Di Lao is famous for its service. They offer nail polishing, ear picking, and other services while you wait for a table. The waitstaff are always attentive, listening to your small talk and fulfilling your requests.

When I was in China, I wasn't a fan of Hai Di Lao. I don't like the feeling of being spied on; I prefer to be left alone and only attended to when needed. Additionally, Hai Di Lao's Sichuan-style hot pot is too mild for my taste. I prefer the Chongqing style, which has a thicker, brighter, and spicier soup base. In LA, that means places like Shancheng Lameizi Hot Pot in Rowland Heights and Chun La Hao Chong Qing Hot Pot in Temple City.

The Hai Di Lao in Arcadia uses small personal pots instead of the traditional large square or round ones. It's more like shabu-shabu than Chinese or Chongqing hot pot. There was a poster advertising a 10-year anniversary special with meat plates priced at $1.99 and $2.99, but I was later told that this was only for lunch.

The soup base was bland and tasteless. The food was overpriced, with small portions. For example, $18.99 for 6 pieces of beef book tripe, $9.99 for duck blood that was only half the size of a tofu block, and $13.99 for 8 thin slices of beef. The only positive was that the food was fresh.

Once I was seated, the waiter gave me a pad and left me alone, not even serving water. It seemed they were understaffed, and I had to wait for the waiter to finish attending to other tables. I ordered Bo Bo Ji (鉢鉢雞), and was told that this dish would be available starting the next day. What?

I have to say, the service was non-existent. You have to find the waiter yourself and wait for them to finish serving other tables. It was a very disappointing experience.

As I was leaving Hai Di Lao, I checked the poster again. It did say the special prices were only for lunch, but the text was so small that it was...

Yes, I went back. What can I say...I'm a little masochistic when it comes to my restaurant experience and I decided to go back for more punishment. Luckily, or unluckily, this time around, my visit resulted in me actually having a meal at Hai Di Lao.

I had to bump them up to 3 stars for their effort. At least I feel that they are taking the yelp reviews more seriously and are actually doing something about the complaints. We called and the person on the phone spoke perfect English this time around. Our waiter also spoke English and they added an English menu to their iPad ordering system.

The food is crazy expensive and not worth the money. For 2 girls our bill was over $70 and we didn't even order that much food! That's with the $3 additional per person we had to pay for sauce. I have never seen anyone just eat their hot pot bland with no sauce so I'm going to think of it as paying a $3 cover to enter this joint...except there's no dancing (unless you count the little dance the noodle stretching guy does) and no alcohol.

They did go out of their way to be nice. It was so obvious that they had a pow wow about their service and this has all the sudden became their focus. Our waiter was actually genuinely nice and helpful. He also saved me from having soup spill all over the table and myself when I stupidly dumped a plate of crap into my pot all at once. I would have honestly rated them 2 stars if not for him saving my life. Saving my life = automatic +1 star bump up.

I would recommend the ox bone soup because the spicy soup is basically like drinking chili oil. You have plenty of opportunity to spice things up with selection from the sauce bar. The best sauce combination I've concocted consists of sesame sauce, meat sauce, soy sauce, seafood sauce, vinegar, minced garlic, tofu sauce, thai chili, and green onions.

Want to try to eat your money's worth? Take advantage of the Korean pears they have at the sauce station. Those things aren't cheap. Those guys were so lucky I didn't have a ziplock bag handy or I would have definitely stolen some...Asian style.

Conclusion, C for...effort? I still wouldn't come back again to waste my money. I would rather go to Lu Gi for this style hot pot and either Boiling Point or Jackpot for the individual pots. It's much cheaper...

I went to the Vancouver location last night and was blown away. We had a reservation for 7pm for 4 ppl. We were greeted at the door by a friendly young woman, checked in and invited to wait in the waiting area. There were complimentary snacks and beverages available for us.. several people checked in on us to make sure we were comfortable. After 5 minutes we were invited in and lucked out and got a private room!! That worked out great because my parents are a bit older and can't hear as well. They felt very VIP ☺️. The main room is certainly more lively but we really enjoyed the private room. Jack was our server... He was patient and kind and extremely attentive. He made suggestions for us and was very helpful and fun. There were several people he came into the room to clear plates or bring in additional food... Everyone was so polite and pleasant. The manager even checked on us as well. The selection of items was fantastic and everything was beautifully presented, extremely fresh and good quality. Snacks in addition to be hot pot including Persian cucumbers and fresh fruit. Do mice pee black ice jelly dessert and you are able to make your own sauce with tons of different options. We tried three different soups... the pork bone, the mushroom and the spicy soup and they were all delicious. I would highly recommend this hot pot experience and I will certainly go back when I am in any city that...