Haidilao Hot Pot — Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City

I don’t know about other Haidilao branches in the world, but the Vietnam one is famous for its varieties of random, free services. However, as a person who loves hot pot, I don’t rate this place’s food highly.

Food. You order through your table’s designated iPad. The prices are decent, not cheap but not expensive either. They offer a 10k vnd unlimited drink buffet where you can get drinks like iced tea and boba. I don’t remember what I got but notably, I got a plate of marbled “snowflake” meats. When you say marble, it’s obviously has to have parts of fat and parts of lean meat - the one brought out to us was just fat. Other side dishes like enoki mushrooms or tteokbokki have nice portion sizes. Also the way the table was situated was weird, the hot pots were in the center, and it was quite hard to get stuff because it’s a little far and inconvenient.

I have a bit of concerns about the sauce bar. The sauce bar is a buffet that is priced 40k vnd. That is fine, but I just don’t like how they try to make the sauce buffet seems “optional” because you have to pay extra, but in reality, you obviously need the sauce buffet in order to eat your hotpot. I also have concerns on how I just couldn’t understand why many people like the sauce bar here. It’s very interactive, you can basically play with it until you get your desired sauce, but I made 3 sauces - 1 my own recipe, 1 Haidilao’s recipe, 1 TikTok’s recipe - and I didn’t like ANY of them. Was it just me or were the ingredients in the sauce bar missing something? They lacked so much flavors to me like I think it was too oily and not enough sweetness and just too much?? I ended up not finishing my hotpot because I couldn’t like the sauces I made. I feel like it’s on me for not creating a nice sauce, but also I just don’t think the ingredients are great.

Back to marbled meat situation. Our server from the beginning was very very rushed. She talked in a very rushed manner, and I couldn’t understand her because she was just speaking very fast and was lowkey rude sometimes. When we asked her if we could change the meat plate because it was just fat and looked nothing like the photo, she said no and didn’t try to cooperate. We ended up talking to the manager who did give us a new plate as well as gifting us that plate of meat and a plate of fruits (which is already free at their fruit station but they’re trying to act nice ig).

They also have this nearly empty cold dessert fridge of panna cotta, which didn’t taste good but at least it was free.

So yes, overall, Haidilao’s service is great (except for that server we had). But the notable thing about Haidilao in Vietnam is that they offer so many random, free services you can get. They do your gel nails, they give you free drinks, snacks, and ice cream for waiting guests, they even have a photo printing machine that I loved because printing photos in the US is not free!

Overall, nice service with random, free amenities. I wouldn’t recommend it if you like a simple hot pot place with pre-made sauce and cheaper prices (it’s not super expensive, but there are more...

Dear Haidilao Vincom Team,

I want to bring to your attention the exceptional service I received at your restaurant last Thursday. My friends and I had dinner at your restaurant and after we finished, I found myself in a difficult situation when I couldn't pay for the parking fee with my credit card or e-payment. I was in a panic and didn't know what to do next.

Ms. Nhung, the Restaurant Manager, came to my rescue. She kindly offered me 50,000 VND in cash to pay for the parking fee and didn't expect me to transfer the money back. She explained that this was a budget from the restaurant to support customers, and it was so touching and generous of her.

I cannot express how much I appreciate Ms. Nhung's kind gesture and the exceptional service she provided. She went above and beyond her duty to help me, and it was beyond my expectations. Her attitude, concern, and kindness made a significant difference in an otherwise stressful situation. I am truly grateful for everything she did to assist me.

I have been a regular patron of Haidilao Vincom for a long time, and this kind of exemplary service is why I keep coming back. Ms. Nhung is an asset to your team, and her dedication to providing excellent customer service is admirable. I am confident that she is a valuable member of your team, and I am grateful for her help.

Once again, thank you for the fantastic service provided by Ms. Nhung and the team. Keep up the excellent work, and I look forward to my next visit to your...

The best HDL I have ever visited. The price is slightly cheaper when compared to HDL in other countries, but the service is beyond anything I've experienced. There are also some unique soup bases and menu items that I've never tried before. I always get the Spicy Soup Base, which is always consistent between all HDLs. Here, I find it was a bit less spicy.

All the vegetables and meat were fresh and great value. I highly recommend the sliced pork, if you eat pork. The self-serve dipping bar is a must-order and boasts my favourite sauce ever - the HDL Seafood Sauce. They also have some unique Vietnamese side dishes to try there. I was a big fan of the mango dessert.

Of course, I will give a last shout out to the staff here - they were always on top of the ball and refilled our beverages constantly. They also checked up on us frequently and reminded us how long to cook each dish. While every HDL is technically supposed to have this level of service, this is the first one that actually met the standard. Due to its well deserved popularity, expect to wait 45mins - 1hr if you come during peak meal time. When I came at 5:30 I walked right in, but at 5:45 I was quoted 45 mins. It's certainly a...