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Xiaolongkan is China’s third largest hotpot restaurant chain, according to China Hospitality Association last year. Photo: Handout

Popular Chinese hotpot chain sets its sights on US, to open first outlet in New York early next year

  • Xiaolongkan was ranked as the third-largest hotpot chain in China, trailing only Haidilao and Xiabu Xiabu
  • New shop to open in the first quarter of 2020 in Flushing, New York

Xiaolongkan, one of China’s largest hotpot chains, will open its first shop in the US in early 2020 and add nine more restaurants overseas in the next two years, the latest indication of the Chinese hotpot industry’s global ambition.

The Sichuan-based chain is bringing its famous spicy hotpot to New York as soon as the first quarter of next year, company officials said. It has just signed a lease for a 500 square metre space in a new commercial complex named Tangram located in Flushing, also known as Chinatown.

Xiaolongkan, with over 800 outlets in China, is also planning shops in cities including Los Angeles, Houston, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Auckland. It currently has 10 overseas shops in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

“The US is an important market that we are focusing on right now,” said Liu Yin, director of operations at Chengdu Xiaolongkan Catering Management, operator of Xiaolongkan restaurants. “The market potential is huge.”

Xiaolongkan opened its first restaurant in Singapore in March 2018. Photo: Handout

In China, hotpot accounts for 14 per cent of the 4 trillion yuan (US$578 billion) dining sector, making it the largest segment in formal dining, according to a report by consulting firm iiMedia Research.

Founded just five years ago, Xiaolongkan has expanded rapidly and was ranked the third largest hotpot chain in the country by trade group China Hospitality Association last year, trailing only Hong Kong-listed Haidilao and Xiabu Xiabu.

It is so popular that customers on Dianping, China’s Yelp, report several hours of waiting during peak time at its Chengdu shops, which are said to have the most authentic taste.

After reaping success in the domestic market, many hotpot chains like Xiaolongkan are setting their eyes beyond China. Haidilao, the industry’s leading player, said developing the overseas market will become a focus when it raised nearly US$1 billion from a Hong Kong IPO last year.

Liu sees great demand for authentic, high-quality Chinese hotpot in the US, even among smaller cities like Austin in Texas.

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“It’s not just hotpot – the whole Chinese food dining is just beginning to experience an upgrade in consumption,” he said. From New York to LA, posh, high-end Chinese restaurants with trendy decor are starting to spring up, replacing the typical cheap, family-owned eateries.

Chinese celebrity and actress Qi Wei, who Xiaolongkan says is a loyal customer. Photo: Handout

Liu said diners at Xiaolongkan’s restaurants in big Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai usually spend around 110 yuan (US$16) per person on a meal. Most customers are white-collar workers and young professionals in the 25 to 35 age group.

Xiaolongkan’s overseas shops will start with targeting Chinese people living abroad, and eventually aim to win over the foreign palate, he said.

Hotpot lacks ‘cultural significance’? Not in imperial China

The restaurant is prepared to meet the stringent food safety and hygiene standards overseas, he said, after it had to shut three shops in China last year when it was found to have reused leftover meat and recycled cooking oil.

“We will absolutely and strictly abide by the local regulation and laws to provide safe, delicious and authentic Sichuan-style hotpot,” Liu said.

The new shops will feature a transparent kitchen with surveillance cameras installed from every angle that broadcast the activities inside to customers in real time, he said.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: China hotpot chain targets ‘huge potential’ of US
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