Haidilao Hot Pot Century City — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Wait time is crazy.

As your party is called through a text message, your will be asked to wait for your server on the side, where you will be welcomed with a complimentary self serving water, tea and coffee.

A few minutes later you will be invited into the dining area. Spacious, with large tables and technological top to bottom room, that you will be escorted through by a host, who will guide you to the table.

Does the menu come next? Not yet!

The next thing on the list is washable personal apron, to keep yourself clean, and allow yourself to enjoy the meal to the fullest.

As soon as you figure out how to tie that apron you may finally proceed with the first stage of the order. I hope you are hungry, and if you haven’t had hotpot before, you are in for a treat. Your table is equipped with an iPad, so no need to wait for a waiter. Click, click - the first step is choosing broth for your soup. Depending on how many people are there in your party you may choose 1 to 4 types of broths per pot. I love to get myself a separate one, because I love to keep it “one thing at a time” type thing, however, some members of the group will enjoy a more “salad of anything and everything” approach. So it is up to your imagination.

Let’s take a look at the broths I got to try and rate.

Spicy Pork Bone - A classic broth, spicy would be perfect for a spice junkie. 4 stars. I personally thought it was spicy just to be spicy.

Tomato - a vegan option truly made delicious. Usually tomato broth comes tasteless, but this one has pleasantly surprised me. 4 stars.

Mushroom - another vegan option that has pleasantly surprised me. 4 stars.

Tom Yum - A Thai cuisine inspired broth was an absolute star of the show. Rich in flavor, consistent… Although not the most authentic choice for a classic Chinese HotPot, we were all in agreement that it was the best, richest, and perfect fusion. 5 stars.

Water - Another not authentic, great borrowed example. If your party has a group of 3 you will have to get a free water side, in order to have 3 broths, but that isn’t its only purpose. In fact is has been borrowed from Japan. In fact Japanese Hot Pot is served with simple water. Not mention, if you are more sensitive to salts, and/or flavors, or have dietary restrictions, water broth will be your best friend at this restaurant.

Once everyone has made up their mind, don’t forget to click send. That is it! Your first part of the meal is on its way. It is now time to get to part 2.

Part 2 is making your own, personal sauce. Yes, that is what I always craves, to chose how much salt I put in my food. The restaurant is equipped with a few sauce stations. You may approach any, pick up a small bowl and start experimenting. My favorite mix would be a large portion of sesame sauce mixed with mushroom sauce (which was really oily btw), with small adds of scallions, oyster sauce, and garlic. 4 stars to the selection. A great variety, however my favorite part (mushroom sauce) was way too oily.

Part 3. By the time you come back to your table, your steaming broth will be expecting you, starting to boil. It is time to return to the IPad and order some foods. Let’s go over my personal top choices I would stick to.

Park Belly - was my favorite meat.

Tofu assorted plate.

Mushroom assorted plate.

Bok Choy. Corn.

You have to try a rice cake with brown sugar. Just trust me on that one.

The udon noodle pulled in front of you.

Start dipping your food into your broth for 1-5 minutes and glide it over that sauce of yours right before it goes to your mouth. Enjoy, what is probably the best meal of the day (at very least). You will never leave hungry.

After your meal do not run away, once you settle your bill there is a part 4. A tiny mint candy. I don’t know where that get those, but that was the best mint candy of the entire Christmas.

The conclude I would like to mention that despite us not having a need to ever speak to a waiter, our water was also full! This place was definitely worth the wait time in a cold mall, and...

I'm so glad this finally opened! I've been waiting 2 years for this day! A little disappointed that we weren't able to get the rabbit dessert that was shown in pictures though (I think they might not be doing them anymore?).

We got here at 6 on a weekday and there was no line at all! It definitely started to fill up at around 7 though.

I appreciate that this location had sauce recipes at the sauce bar! Some other locations I've had to try mixing sauces together myself and hope that it worked out.

Broths: Pork Bone (5/5): This is my favorite - it provides enough flavor to the meat without overwhelming it. Comes with broccoli & corn in it too, so you can have extra vegetables! Miso (4/5): It's good if you like miso, but I feel like it adds too much miso flavor to the meat Mushroom (4/5): The soup is delicious, but again I feel like it adds too much of its own flavor to the meat - I personally prefer being able to add taste to the meat using the sauces instead Ma-La Spicy (4/5): Be warned: it's VERY spicy. I think I'd prefer adding spiciness with the sauce instead of through the soup, but I also don't think you'd be able to get anything remotely as spicy as this broth with just sauce alone.

Protein: Lamb Shoulder (5/5): You can never go wrong with lamb shoulder Kurobuta Pork (5/5): Not as good as the lamb, but lamb is hard to beat. A good second option! Beef Belly (4/5): Was also pretty good, but I think the lamb & pork beat everything else out

Other: Egg Noodles (5/5): Was hoping that they would have the thicker udon noodles but this was the only option - and it pleasantly surprised me! Normally I've found that thin noodles overcook really easily, but these noodles had a really nice texture even after being in the soup for a while Dried Tofu (5/5): I didn't see any tofu on the menu, but dried tofu is also always such a treat! Be careful when eating it though - it absorbs a LOT of the broth and gets super hot Napa Cabbage (5/5): I only order this to feel healthy, but the cabbage here was so fresh that it even...

This was my first time at a hot pot style restaurant. I went with a group of people and they accommodated about 16 of us. We were given cute aprons to wear and enjoy our meals. The service was very quick. It was definitely an experience. I appreciate my friend who is Chinese to help guide us to eat. They brought several different seasoned liquids or you can cook your meats and veggies by boiling it in the broth. They had many different types of meats and vegetables We also ordered other menu items that were not hot pot such as orange chicken and some wings. We also got some rice to go with it. The hot black tea was included in the price. They had many drinks including alcoholic beverages on the menu. They had a bar where you can prepare your condiments that you want to make a sauce to add to your meal and some fruits as well. The server was very professional and friendly and they also had a robot that brought out the meats or trays of things. We also had a performance with the dancing noodle which was great to watch and then eat. I recommend definitely trying it out for the experience. Also, I want to caution those who have allergies or diet restrictions, it can be a little bit challenging to eat hot pot especially in a large group. I don't eat red meat or pork, and my friend cooked other meat before the chicken. I was ok with this as the meat flavor broth didn't affect me. But if you're allergic to seafood, you might want to proceed with caution on when to cook it in the hot pot. I thought the food was ok. I definitely loved the experience and the service. The bathrooms were also clean. In the women's bathroom, they had hair ties which came in handy. There is a paid...