https://www.scmp.com/rss/502816/feed Haidilao is a chain of hotpot restaurants originally founded in China's Sichuan province. It now operates more than 1,300 stores across the country and is China's largest hotpot chain. Overseas, it has more than 100 restaurants in 11 countries under its Super Hi International spin-off. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Zhu Wenqian Zhu Wenqian Major Chinese consumer stocks listed in Hong Kong rose immediately after reporting strong full-year earnings, but retreated on Wednesday. Analysts said the results did not point to a broad recovery in the consumer market but instead underscored structural divergence and new growth drivers in mainland China consumption. Jeweller Laopu Gold posted stronger-than-expected results for 2025, with revenues of 27.3 billion yuan (US$4 billion) last year, a 221 per cent surge year on year, while net... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3347779/china-consumer-stocks-jump-strong-earnings-analysts-warn-limited-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3347779/china-consumer-stocks-jump-strong-earnings-analysts-warn-limited-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 01:39:46 +0000 Yating Yang Yating Yang A new “parenting” trend in China is seeing young women embrace “painless motherhood” by raising cotton dolls as their own children. The toy-caring fad even extends to celebrating their “children’s” birthdays at hotpot restaurants, buying expensive clothes and even taking them on holidays. The trend gained attention in October 2023, when a woman took her cotton dolls to the popular hotpot chain Haidilao and made a viral post titled: “Is Haidilao Discriminating Against Cotton Doll Owners?”. In the... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3342361/china-gen-z-nurtures-stuffed-toys-real-babies-celebrates-birthdays-shows-affection?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3342361/china-gen-z-nurtures-stuffed-toys-real-babies-celebrates-birthdays-shows-affection?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 01:00:12 +0000 Fran Lu Fran Lu The senior executive of China’s leading hotpot brand Haidilao, Yang Lijuan, has been hailed as “China’s most capable waitress” thanks to her legendary waitress-turned-CEO story. Yang, 47, started her career as an ordinary waitress at Haidilao, which used to be a small hotpot restaurant in southwestern China’s Sichuan province. In 2022 she became the restaurant chain’s CEO after its founder Zhang Yong stepped down. Now, Yang is the CEO of Haidilao’s overseas unit, Super Hi. Yang was born in... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3342196/china-most-capable-waitress-begins-career-top-hotpot-chain-becomes-overseas-unit-ceo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3342196/china-most-capable-waitress-begins-career-top-hotpot-chain-becomes-overseas-unit-ceo?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 10:00:10 +0000 Fran Lu Fran Lu A Chinese woman is facing a lawsuit after encouraging her pet dog to eat mutton rolls directly from a plate at a famous Beijing hotpot restaurant. The incident reportedly happened at a branch of Nanmen Hotpot, a Beijing-style hotpot restaurant brand, in the Chinese capital on December 16. A video posted by the dog-owning woman shows her encouraging her pet to eat directly from a plate. “Frankly speaking, I do not even know what the mutton rolls taste like because my dog has eaten them all. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3337613/china-woman-films-dog-eating-plate-restaurant-shop-vows-sue-after-brief-closure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3337613/china-woman-films-dog-eating-plate-restaurant-shop-vows-sue-after-brief-closure?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jan 2026 01:00:10 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau Singapore has long been a proven test bed for international food and beverage chains as a wealthy, brand-savvy market where new entrants can generate instant buzz – and just as quickly disappear for those who fail to cook up a storm. The first part of that pattern was on display this month, with long queues forming outside the first Asia outlet of US fast-food chain Chick-fil-A more than a week after it opened in the city state. The crowds reflect the initial pull of a well-known American brand,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3337125/singapores-unforgiving-food-scene-can-go-hot-and-cold-brands-what-keeps-them-coming?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3337125/singapores-unforgiving-food-scene-can-go-hot-and-cold-brands-what-keeps-them-coming?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 05:30:08 +0000 Yating Yang Yating Yang Two Chinese teenagers have been ordered to pay 2.2 million yuan (US$308,000) in compensation after filming themselves urinating into a hotpot dish at a popular restaurant. The pair posted a video of their “prank” online, and the outlet, one of the Haidilao nationwide chain, was forced to refund more than 4,000 diners. The incident took place on February 24, when two 17-year-olds, surnamed Tang and Wu, were dining in a private room at one of the chain’s restaurants in Shanghai. The drunken duo... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3325691/china-teens-fined-us308000-over-hotpot-pee-video-led-4000-diner-refunds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3325691/china-teens-fined-us308000-over-hotpot-pee-video-led-4000-diner-refunds?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Sep 2025 06:00:09 +0000 Yating Yang Yating Yang A South Korean barbecue restaurant has sparked controversy after posting a video of women staff performing the provocative “Terminal Dance”. Eatery bosses also promised dancing staff a bonus if the clip reached 1 million views. Controversy surrounds Gopchang House in Seoul after asking its women employees to perform a suggestive “dance service” in front of customers by mimicking the viral, so-called Terminal Dance. The restaurant filmed their provocative moves and uploaded the video to social... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3315800/critics-say-korean-eaterys-sexy-dance-move-women-staff-working-brothel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3315800/critics-say-korean-eaterys-sexy-dance-move-women-staff-working-brothel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Jul 2025 10:00:10 +0000 Alice Yan Alice Yan An unconventional wedding banquet for a young couple in northern China has gone viral on social media after inviting 140 guests to enjoy a meal at a hotpot restaurant for a modest cost of 22,000 yuan (US$3,000). The feast, organised as a buffet, finished with a bill that stretched two metres long, delighting internet users across mainland China, as reported by Sichuan Observer. The 26-year-old bride and her 27-year-old husband celebrated their nuptials at an outlet of the well-known hotpot chain... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3309929/china-couple-celebrate-wedding-hotpot-chain-us3100-attract-attention-long-bill?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3309929/china-couple-celebrate-wedding-hotpot-chain-us3100-attract-attention-long-bill?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 May 2025 10:00:12 +0000 Cao Li Cao Li Green Tea Group had a tepid trading debut in Hong Kong on Friday, as traders sidestepped its small stock sale in anticipation of the world’s largest initial public offering (IPO) so far this year next week. Shares of the Hangzhou-based restaurant chain fell to end their first trading day at HK$6.29, a decline of 12.5 per cent from the HK$7.19 offer price. The company raised HK$1.21 billion (US$154.7 million) by selling 168 million shares. Of the four IPO debuts since April 28 in Hong Kong, Green... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3310568/green-tea-makes-tepid-trading-debut-hong-kong-traders-gird-catls-ipo-next-week?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3310568/green-tea-makes-tepid-trading-debut-hong-kong-traders-gird-catls-ipo-next-week?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 May 2025 03:03:35 +0000 Zhang Shidong Zhang Shidong Hong Kong stocks rebounded on Thursday, nearly erasing the loss spurred by the threat of 245 per cent US tariffs on Chinese imports, amid optimism that Beijing will launch policies to boost domestic demand. The Hang Seng Index rose 1.6 per cent to 21,395.14 at the close, recouping most of the 1.9 per cent decline a day earlier and eking out a 2.3 per cent gain for the week. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 1.9 per cent. Hong Kong’s market is shut for public holidays on Friday and Monday. On the... https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3306847/hong-kong-stocks-rebound-traders-focus-us-tariff-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3306847/hong-kong-stocks-rebound-traders-focus-us-tariff-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Apr 2025 02:32:15 +0000 The popular hotpot chain Haidilao is in the midst of a public relations crisis, and internet users are describing the matter as “pee-gate”. Last month, two 17-year-olds were dining at a Haidilao restaurant in Shanghai and, while drunk, got up on the table and urinated directly into the pot. A video of the incident went viral earlier this month and someone reported it to police. Local police have since detained the two teenagers. Haidilao later said in a social media post that since the two... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3302861/chinas-youth-must-be-taught-bad-behaviour-will-not-be-tolerated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3302861/chinas-youth-must-be-taught-bad-behaviour-will-not-be-tolerated?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Mar 2025 01:30:08 +0000 Zhang Yong, once Singapore’s richest tycoon, has stepped down as the chief executive of Haidilao International, as the Chinese hotpot restaurant chain prepares to report its first loss in at least six years. The businessman, who co-founded the chain in 1994, will relinquish the day-to-day management to his deputy Yang Lijuan, who was ranked China’s second-wealthiest professional woman manager in 2021, according to an exchange filing late on Tuesday. Zhang will retain his role as chairman and... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3168922/haidilaos-billionaire-co-founder-steps-down-ceo-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3168922/haidilaos-billionaire-co-founder-steps-down-ceo-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Mar 2022 07:29:50 +0000 If the lingering smell of chili oil on your shirt after a night of spicy hot pot isn’t enough to show your love of mala, the Chinese hot pot chain Haidilao has the answer for you: cute little earrings shaped like miniature hot pot ingredients. They come in classics like chili peppers and star anise, two core ingredients in a Sichuan-style hot pot broth, as well as mushrooms and lotus root. But if jewelry isn’t your thing, Haidilao also has sticky notes shaped like a hot pot stove, as well as... https://www.scmp.com/food/haidilao-hot-pot-jewelry-ultimate-gift/article/3037742?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/food/haidilao-hot-pot-jewelry-ultimate-gift/article/3037742?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Nov 2019 09:36:12 +0000