On Wednesday, April 17, 9th Graders from Chinese 2 and Advanced Chinese 3, along with teachers Minhua Gu and Shuang Yang visited Haidilao hot pot located at Westfield Century City.
Hot pot is a very special cuisine in Chinese culture, with roots tracing back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties. In particular, hot pot is known for its communal style of dining and consistent warmth throughout the meal, which was important due to the freezing temperatures experienced during Chinese winters.
The students departed to the mall at the end of the 5th Period, where a complimentary tasting menu featuring Haidilao’s most popular items were offered to the students. The samples featured included marinated fish and beef, shrimp paste, glutinous rice cakes and complimentary soup bases such as Tom Yum, Sichuan, miso and tomato.
“A highlight was definitely the glutinous rice cakes with brown sugar,” Carina Wu ‘27 said. “I was also really surprised to learn that it was a free trip, which is extremely generous of Haidilao.”
The service also included a special noodle dance, where the waiter presented a rice noodle and performed a series of unique moves with the purpose of elongating the noodle, as long noodles symbolize longevity in Chinese culture.
Students had the opportunity to interact with staff in Chinese, as well as complete worksheets identifying various popular items in Chinese hot pot.
“I think it was a really great experience for students to use the language and be exposed to Chinese culture,” Yang said. “Going out for something like hot pot, which is very unique to China, is a valuable way to learn about the language.”
Yang also adds that she hopes to do more trips with students in the future, so students. Look out for possible field trips to 99 Ranch market, Chinatown or the Huntington Gardens.
