Hai Di Lao (313@Somerset)

Hai Di Lao is one of those places where it is obvious that they want to win over customers not only through their food, but through the extra perks which are not available elsewhere. 

Founded in 1994 in China, Hai Di Lao serves mainly Sichuan style hotpot. While you are waiting for your turn, you get a free platter of snacks- both unhealthy and healthy. You can also arrange for a free manicure session. In my case, the screen cover on my phone was starting to have little bubbles and the staff helped to replace the sheet free of charge. Before and after the meal, the waitresses will also give you hot towels for you to freshen up.

The first thing to do is to order your soup base. In this case, we decided to go with the mushroom soup and the chicken soup ($18). I really liked their soup because of the rich flavour which didn't leave a lingering MSG taste.

We ordered half a portion of Black Pork ($9.50). Half portions are good because you can order a larger variety of food.

Of all things, the Sweet Corn ($6) was rather disappointing because it wasn't really sweet.

The Handmade Fishballs (half portion for $5) were nothing like the fishballs we are used to. Instead, it contained roe and was very bouncy. A must order.

The chicken (half portion for $6) was well marinated.

The food was definitely decent (although its price tag is on the higher side). What you are really paying for is the good service, the "freebies" and the theatric effects. We ordered the noodles ($4) and one of their staff came by and pulled the noodles before us, while attempting to "tease" us by swinging the noodles inches in front of your eyes. Next to us, there was a man who was celebrating his birthday and a waitress rolled a trolley with different fruits, LED lights of every colour and Chinese music blasting together with a trolley.  Needless to say, the staff topped this off with a loud birthday song.

Overall, an enjoyable experience although I would go to this place for special occasions because I can probably find the same quality of food at cheaper prices elsewhere.

Hai Di Lao 
313 @ Somerset
313 Orchard Road
#04-23/24
Tel No: 6835 7227 

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King Pot

Currently, there is a Groupon promotion going on for King Pot. We bought the groupon and had lunch at King Pot. Located at Big Splash (East Coast Park), it is one of the many eateries that is clamouring for the attention at Big Splash. 

Pretty chandeliers adorn the restaurants. It was pretty empty, save for a table of kids celebrating somebody's birthday.

The promotion prices do not apply if you use the Groupon. So we went for the Meatlover's Set ($39.90++) when their promotion price is $28.80 ++. You get to choose which sauces you want. I opted for the specialty sauce which was basically a lump of goodness-knows-what which you stir into the mix. Looks slighlty unappetizing and was a little too dilute for my liking. It tasted like McDonald's Curry sauce minus the oomph.

The Shabu Shabu Style Sliced Pork made me rather annoyed because there were small pieces of bones left in every piece of meat I took. It ruins the experience of being able to taste the tender pork without having to sort through the bones.

The vegetables came in a rather cute presentation. It looked like a little pot of plant. There are also mushrooms, in addition to the mushrooms in the Mushroom Soup I chose. (There are different soup bases you can choose from.)

Plated meticulously, it was a plate of food we commonly see, including Sliced Chicken Breast Thigh, Pork Ball, Beef Ball. Yong Tau Hu.

You also get to choose from coffee or tea.

The cake was the last to come. It has thick layer of cream, followed by one layer of solid chocolate, and a thin layer of chocolate cake. For those who don't mind the thick layer of cream above, the cake was quite good- I think the solid layer of chocolate had a large role to play.

Service wise- very friendly. But many inconsistencies in the way they serve and also make sure you get what your order. We had many mixed up orders, such as getting beef balls when we specifically requested not to have beef balls. They also served coffee right at the start of the meal whereas another table had it at the end of the meal. Also take note that you can choose the type of coffee you want because they didn't offer choices initially. They are very friendly and willing to cater to your needs but make sure you know what you want and what you don't. 

Food wise, if you look at what I just listed, it's food that you can easily get for much much cheaper. Unless you want somewhere with nice ambience, friendly service (not ensuring the quality of the service) and a personal hotpot, I won't really recommend it. 

King Pot 

Big Splash

902 Block B East Coast Parkway 

#01-05 

Tel No: 6348 7997

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