A netizen bought hot pot beef slices from Costco to eat at Haidilao, and the staff even helped plate them with ice cubes.

▲Haidilao announces all outlets are now open to customers bringing their own favorite ingredients. (Photo / Nurse Who Burned the Midnight Oil)

Reported by Huang Shiyuan / Taipei

Recently, Haidilao Taiwan announced that all its outlets are now fully open to customers bringing their own favorite ingredients to add to their meals, whether food or drinks, with no extra charges. One netizen went to Costco and bought boneless hot pot beef slices, frozen cooked scallops, a mushroom combo, and baby corn. After entering the restaurant, they handed the items to the staff, who reacted as if it were totally normal, then processed, cleaned, and plated the brought-in ingredients before serving them.


▲Netizen “Hua’an and His Minions” brought their own Costco beef slices to Haidilao. (Photo /Hua’an and His Minionsprovided)

After Haidilao Taiwan announced the option to bring your own ingredients, more people started visiting the restaurants, making it harder to get through on reservation hotlines at various branches. One netizen “Hua’an and His Minions” shared their experience of bringing their own ingredients in the “Costco Product Experiences, Told Straight” group. They brought boneless hot pot beef slices, frozen cooked scallops, a mushroom combo, and baby corn to the meal. After being seated, they told the staff they had brought their own ingredients and asked if they could provide plates. The staff, after checking the items, said they’d handle it and even asked if the mushrooms needed to be washed.

Netizen “Hua’an and His Minions” also mentioned that the staff didn’t show any reaction like “wow, someone actually brought their own ingredients.”However, the netizen emphasized that they only asked if there were plates available and didn’t request the staff to plate or wash the ingredients—Haidilao did it all voluntarily.


▲The netizen had their Costco beef slices plated and iced by staff. (Photo / Provided by Hua’an and His Minions)


▲The scallops were also plated and iced. (Photo / Provided by Hua’an and His Minions)

Besides bringing their own ingredients, netizen “Hua’an and His Minions” also ordered plenty of items at Haidilao, including soup base, noodles, handmade shrimp balls, signature shrimp paste, rice cake, and pig’s blood cube, with a total bill of NT$3,413. The cost of the self-brought ingredients was NT$3,322.

From the photos shared by the netizen, Haidilao not only plated the ingredients but also placed ice cubes under the beef, going above and beyond. After this post was shared, it quickly drew numerous comments. Some said, “They even iced and plated it for you—so generous,” others commented, “Haidilao’s service attitude is really amazing,” and some joked, “The service is so good it scared me into eating with my hands.” However, some also expressed concern this might encourage entitled customer behavior in Taiwan, with one asking, “Will someone next time bring a whole slab of beef and ask for it to be frozen, sliced, and plated all in one go?”

However, those planning to bring their own ingredients are reminded of a few things: First, Haidilao’s spicy soup base only includes the “broth”—no youtiao (Chinese crullers) or pig’s blood, which need to be ordered separately. Second, sauces and drinks also come at an additional cost.