The global powerhouse HaiDiLao, dubbed the “Ferrari of Chinese Hot Pot Restaurants” by the late food writer Jonathan Gold, filed papers early to open its first Las Vegas location on the Las Vegas Strip. The restaurant plans to take over an existing, empty shell in the Resorts World and thus join more than 40 existing food and drink options. Eight more are already planned for this winter. So far, HaiDiLao has not disclosed a location at the new resort on the north end of the Strip.
Also known as Hai Di Lao, the Sichuan-style restaurant has grown to an imposing 1,597 locations on three continents since 1994, offering quality and rarely seen ingredients, a higher price than its competitors, and a very heavy emphasis on customer service. The restaurant arrived at Westfield Santa Anita, California, in 2013, and the U.S. expansion includes Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, and New York. To keep customers entertained and kept busy while they waited for a table, the east coast branch previously offered free hand treatments, shoe shine, games, massage chairs, a kids’ play area, and a stuffed mascot named Mr. Tomato who can sit across from the single diner to make them feel less lonely.
HaiDiLao tables are equipped with four metal pots in which spicy broths bubble up. With an iPad, customers can order ingredients from the long menu to cook and cook in their place. In addition to well-known hot pot offers and package deals, HaiDiLao also serves beef tripe, duck feet, boneless fish, noodles, pork brain, lamb, mutton, quail egg, sausage, squid and tilapia,
Named after a lucky move in the game of mahjong in which a player wins with the last tile in the game, no details about the outpost in Las Vegas have been disclosed.
