Hotpot chain Haidilao on fire ahead of Hong Kong listing

It has a reputation for keeping customers waiting for more than two hours for a table, and has suffered a couple of very high profile food scandals in China and in Singapore.

But the Beijing-based hotpot chain Haidilao, which has outlets from the US to Japan, has been raising eyebrows for another reason this week.

The firm has priced its shares at the top end of the indicated range – HK$17.80 – and analysts say it might end up with a market valuation of as much as $12bn.

All this of course depends on how Haidilao’s shares perform in the coming months.

Well, it’s a pretty common meal in China and across other parts of Asia.

Funnily enough, it involves a very big hot pot of broth, which is usually positioned or sunk into the middle of a table.

A lot of other fresh and raw ingredients are available to then cook in the broth, including finely cut meats, vegetables, eggs, tofu and seafood, to name just a few.

Diners delight in popping their choice of ingredients and spices into the hotpot, cooking it up, and sharing it around the table.

Haidilao’s restaurants are so popular here in Singapore that several outlets have become renowned for keeping customers waiting for hours – and hours – for a table.

That’s not necessarily a good thing, but the international chain has also now become well known for entertaining customers while they wait to eat.

Manicurists are employed to offer a complimentary nail service, there are play areas for children, masseurs offer neck rubs, and some restaurants even have photo booths to print pictures while you wait.

And despite their infamous waiting times, Haidilao reckons it still seats more than 100 million guests a year around the world.

The growth that Mr Zhang’s hotpot chain, which he started in 1994 in China’s Sichuan Province, has seen in recent years is also quite something.

“As of the latest practicable date, we owned and operated 363 restaurants, which comprised 332 restaurants [on mainland China], and 31 restaurants in Taiwan, Hong Kong and internationally in Singapore, South Korea, Japan and the United States,” the firm said in a statement this week.

Mr Zhang meanwhile seems determined to keep expanding the chain.