Woman in China ‘addicted’ to hotpot, dined at Haidilao 627 times over 9 years
She’s hooked on hotpot.
A woman in Nanjing, China, has dined 627 times over the past nine years at Haidilao, spending over 270,000 yuan (S$50,000) there.
The 32-year-old hotel manager has garnered attention in the mainland after her love for the hotpot chain was revealed on social media.
Ms Kong, who called herself a foodie, told Yangtze Evening News on Nov 20: “I can’t cook, and I don’t have any other hobbies. I don’t care about fashion or put on make-up... I just like to eat.”
She described Haidilao as the only “costly” restaurant she goes to.
Ms Kong said she became addicted to hotpot after first tasting it at Haidilao as the ingredients were fresh and tasty. She once visited the hotpot chain 12 times in a week, reported Chinese media.
Her frequent visits to its restaurants – she has dined at 78 outlets across 20 cities in China – also gained her a Black Sea membership, the highest tier at Haidilao.
Ms Kong said she was not only a fan of the restaurant chain’s food, but its service, reported the South China Morning Post.
She recounted how she once visited a Haidilao outlet in Shanxi while on a business trip. As she feared missing her early flight if she slept in her hotel room, she asked one of the staff if she could sleep in the restaurant instead.
She felt touched when the staff member obliged and even gave her a pillow and blanket.
According to Yangtze Evening News, Ms Kong said that her family knows she loves hotpot, but doesn’t know how often she eats it.
She shared that she has a hotpot “buddy” who has accompanied her to Haidilao on more than 100 occasions.
But all that hotpot – and milk tea – has caused her to gain 13.5kg, she confessed, so she’s trying to cut down on such meals.
She said: “For the past few years, the results of my health examinations have not been as good as before.
“I used to eat it two or three times a week without getting tired of it, but now I only eat it once a week.”
Nutritionists advise eating hotpot only “once or twice a month”, especially for steamboats with spicy broths and ingredients high in fat and sodium.
A typical hotpot broth has more than 7,000mg of sodium per serving, which is over three times an adult’s recommended daily allowance of 2,000mg.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
