If you hate crowds than I would not recommend going to Haidilao Hot Pot for dinner on a weekend. It’s packed and you’ll likely still have to wait even with a reservation. Even simple tasks like getting dipping sauces at the condiment station can be a test of patience.

Instead, visit for a weekday lunch and you’ll be treated to an oasis of calm. Simply walk-in and you’re seated. In no time you’ll have a bowl of intricately made sauce (soy sauce, crushed garlic, cilantro, green onion, a touch of sesame oil, and mushroom chili sauce is my combo) and are ready to boil away.

Additionally, their lunch combos are also a great deal. Starting at $39.90 for two people and up to $79.80 for four people, each person gets a choice of a protein (sliced beef, lamb or pork; marinated chicken or lamb; basa fish; or prawns), a grain (steamed rice, noodles, or iced tangyuan in rice wine), and a pre-selected platter of accompaniments.

With dinner, every item is priced separately but the lunch combo includes a choice of two broths for the table (normally $5-$6 per base), access to the condiment and snack station (normally $3.99 per person), and even unlimited prune or passionfruit juice (typically sold by the pitcher).

Not all the proteins are sized alike. Their sliced beef is sufficient two, but you’ll likely want two orders for any more people. Yet, with eight shrimps their prawns should be enough for any sized table.

I enjoy the individual platters, which contained items like quail eggs, imitation crab, enoki mushroom, napa cabbage, romaine lettuce, potato slices, yam vermicelli, skin of bean curd, konjac noodle bundles, fish ball with crab roe, and an egg bundle. Keep in mind that each person gets one of the pictured platters so it’s A LOT of food. You’ll leave stuffed or with takeout.

They still offer snacks like pickled radish, fruit slices, and edamame at the condiment station.

Plus, they also have a self-serve dessert station where you can make a shaved ice creation topped with a mixture of boba, jellies, and other ingredients.

My go to dessert for finishing the meal is a bowl of their Chinese porridge made from red beans and rice, topped with grass jelly, a bit of their brown sugar syrup, and vanilla ice cream (you’ll need to ask one from the servers).

Haidilao is known for their service, and they’re adequately staffed at lunch to ensure we’re attended to the broth is refilled at regular intervals and they still offer to peel your shrimp. Having visited during weekday lunch it’s a luxurious experience with no seating limits and no crowds. It’s so lovely that I’m not sure dinner is ever in the cards again.