Hai Di Lao Hot Pot

Many people have tried Chinese Hot Pot, but it's usually a communal pot where everyone dips whatever they wish into the common broth and then everyone personalizes their dipping sauces to their taste. Hai Di Lao gives everyone an opportunity to choose their own personal broth in heated stations at the table, ranging from mushroom, to miso spicy, to spicy. There are many ways to customize each soup base ranging from level of spice to kind of spice, and in some cases adding double umami to the mushroom base. 

Their location in Arcadia is in the Santa Anita Mall and has lines on par with Din Tai Fung, so either go very early or very late. The ordering system is nearly completely automated, so you will be ordering from an iPad (with pictures) at the table, as servers bring you any drinks, extras, or perform the special custom noodle dance for you! There are aprons/bibs for everyone and they are meant to be so soft and cute that you will want to buy one...like hotel robes that are extra fluffy :) They sell several of their items both online and in the restaurant, so if you want to try making your own at home you can.

This is a high end, high quality ingredient place, so expect to pay around $50 per person. The value is good for the choices, which range from wild Mexican Shrimp to kurobuta pork on the protein side, to yam noodles and assorted exotic mushrooms.

My choice of spicy soup base (I chose MEDIUM) was so spicy I had to have it changed out the mushroom. The smart waiter saw me suffering and said, "This is your first time here?" I learned after the fact that most people never order this hot pot base and only a few use it as an extra soup base. Even after rinsing off my meat in the mushroom base later, I was still tearing up from the spice :(

One of my friends ordered the miso spicy soup which was what I would do if I wanted spice. It was hot enough for a spie lover, but still edible.

The meat was incredible! The quality was evident in every bite; we got both the pork and New Zealand Lamb

This is the full spread for 3 of us, including from the top, the assorted vegetables, egg noodles, rice cakes, New Zealand lamb, exotic mushroom assortment, Mexican Wild Shrimp, and the kurobuta pork in the center.

We also had 2 glasses of decent wine, a non alcoholic drink, and we gorged on the sauce and dessert bar, which featured everything from macaroni salad and rambutan fruit, to mini fried sesame balls. 

It was a very fun evening out, with a noodle man pulling acrobatic noodles for nearby tables (you may order him for your table), then a dragon parade and magician giving the restaurant a festive show for young and old alike. For a celebration, this is a fun place with high quality food and presentations than most hot pot places. I would not come here alone or for a quiet meal, but definitely will be back with a group for more fun and food (and we will order the noodle man)!