Eaten at 313 Sometset outlet
This was my first HDL experience. We got the chicken, mushroom, and mala soup base options. The last one is just clear water with some radish and dates which we mainly used to “clean” our chopsticks after touching raw food, so as to avoid/minimise cross-contamination.
First off, the price of the overall meal was definitely on the steeper side. However, this can be explained by the quality of the food and the level of service offered by HDL. The high quality of service is known to be very consistent over all their outlets, including nail polish services to keep you entertained while waiting for a table, small apron/bibs to avoid splatter on your clothes, and even wet wipes to clean your spectacles. This is in addition to the level of attention they pay to the table, constantly asking if you need hot towels (to the point where it got a little hilarious) and refilling of your empty tea cup.
We tried a plate of pork and beef, which I felt was very thin and perfect for shabu shabu / hotpot. Another key item we tried was the prawn paste, which the waitress helped to place into the hotpot as small prawn balls. The prawn balls were very soft and much better than expected. Then again, I don’t really know what I expected, but it was all very good.
To top off their great service and food, they even had free ice cream and tauhuay (a.k.a. tofu pudding, soybean pudding) that tastes really good and similar to laoban douhua’s.
HDL is really a great place for family and friends who have a little higher budget. It’s definitely not the everyday place, but good to try and experience at least once if you can.
Notes:
1) There are many videos online with tips and tricks. (e.g. ordering the fried tofu skin as half portion gets you 4 pieces, but full portion gets you 7.)
2) Cost about $130 for 3 people. We were more or less full from it but could have probably eaten more if we really wanted to.
3) If eating dinner, come earlier to avoid the crowd. Just sit down and eat slowly. They didn’t seem to even try rushing us towards the end of our meal when we just sat there and chit-chatted while eating dessert.
Final Verdict:
Will definitely bring my parents here, at least to experience it once.
zerocaloriesonly 