April is the month of fashion weeks across the globe. Not to miss out on this opportunity, Chinese hot pot chain Haidilao teamed up with Harper’s Bazaar magazine for a “food-shion week” (食装周) event and fashion show on 11 April. This followed the 31-year-old chain’s “birthday month” in March, where they provided fans with an “immersive” culinary experience.
The collaboration is centred on Haidilao’s spring menu. It also includes a Teochew (潮州, sometimes Chiu Chow) style congee hot pot base. The congee base was co-developed with Lung Dai (戴龍), the Hong Kong chef who inspired the Stephen Chow (周星馳) film The God of Cookery (食神, 1996). Other highlights include seasonal delicacies for the spring, from fish skin, bamboo shoot salad, matcha tiramisu and a Yunnan “sour papaya” (Chinese quince) drink.
The event and fashion show were focused on the theme of “songchigan” (松弛感, chillax) in the spring, and was livestreamed on Haidilao’s social platforms. It sees Dai discuss the menu with the hosts, while the fashion on the catwalk was more conceptual, inspired by the ingredients of the menu. Harper’s Bazaar also released its fashion shoot with the models and food cutouts for props. On WeChat, China’s Twitter equivalent, the topic “Haidilao spring food-shion week” has amassed a whopping 190 million views since launch.
Haidilao has been providing smaller portions and lower prices for those eating alone or wanting more variety. The latest menu also includes smaller portioned dishes. With its punny collaboration with Harper’s Bazaar and chef-designed menu, Haidilao is trying to harness the power of the social media-savvy foodies.
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