Game update: 21/01/15

It's Wednesday, and that means another Restaurant Story update! This week we're journeying to Asia.

Notification for Asian themed update

In particular, Korea is our destination, with a range of new content which is unlocked within the first few levels of the game. Here's the list of all the new stuff:

Tables:

• Grill Plate Table - 4 gems

Chairs:

• Cherry Wood Chair - 5,000 coins

Wall decorations:

• Classic Door - 15 gems
• Yummy Sign - 5,000 coins

Floor decorations:

• Korean Garden - 35 gems
• Fancy Wood Divider - 15,000 coins
• Seoul Tower - 60,000 coins
• Hanbok Phoebe - 35,000 coins

Counters:

• Hat Box - 3 gems

There are also three fresh recipes at your disposal on the Basic Stove. We'll take a closer look at them a little later, along with another content removal and some special sales.

For a brief look at some of the additions in action, you can take a peek at the following image from the TeamLava Blog.

Items from update as shown on TeamLava Blog

At a glance I'm not completely enamoured with this update. We've had so many Asian themes in the past, including a four week run in March 2013 and a three week stretch back in May 2012. So there's already a wealth of Asian content on the market. I feel this theme has been well catered for - there's a world out there waiting to be discovered and I don't think TeamLava are being very adventurous in returning to a region which has been covered so often previously.

Nevertheless there are some quality products in this update. Clearly the headline act is the Korean Garden. A 4x4 behemoth, this floor decoration carries some clout and can do the business as the centrepiece to any outdoor Asian theme. The choice of design means that this piece will go brilliantly with the existing Zen Garden if you've invested in it. The colours match up and so there's an opportunity to create a beautiful landscape. Likewise anyone with the Action Dining or Koi Pond from the relevant boxes might be keen to add this garden to their scenery.

The Seoul Tower is far removed from the peacefulness of the Korean Garden, as it depicts a real-life communications tower which marks the highest point in the South Korean capital. Standalone I'm not sure what this item has to offer, especially for a steep 60,000 coins. It's obviously not to scale and just looks out of place next to anything. Maybe there's an alternative use which the more creative players will find!

Another of the new floor decorations is a second figurine in as many weeks. Following on from Barista Phoebe last week, we now have Hanbok Phoebe at your service. She sure gets around! The hanbok is the traditional dress worn in Korea, and Phoebe is rocking it! I've installed this edition of the First Lady of Restaurant Story as my host, with my Captain Phoebe counterpart taking a rest in storage.

The last floor decoration up for grabs is the Fancy Wood Divider. With the Modern Asian Divider and Stacked Wood Divider already on the market it does appear at first that there is little scope for a third divider pertaining to the Asian theme. However I quite like this one. In an ambitious move I've displaced my Mahogany Dividers with these around my main section.

Main section of The Garlic Tree including Fancy Wood Dividers

At 15,000 coins each this venture did not come cheap, but I've got coins to burn so am not too worried. These dividers are so much more detailed in terms of pattern and texture than the boring Mahogany Dividers, and since they'll be a permanent addition are worth the cost in my opinion.

Now we turn our attention to the two wall items. The Classic Door is a really pretty design. It exudes a certain warmth which is very inviting, although at 15 gems I'm not sure there'll be too many takers. The Yummy Sign continues the pioneering work of the Chalk Menu from last week as it takes up two wall spaces. Once again I commend the game's developers for this innovation - it allows much more detail to be displayed in a wall decoration without it being lost due to the tiny size of so many of them. Incidentally, according to Google the word scribed on the sign is 'delicious'!

Update: A Korean poster on the TeamLava Forum has just commented that the sign isn't actually correct because of an issue with using the verb form of the word! Never rely on Google for translations!

Usually there's a new wallpaper to slap the added wall decor on, but this week that's not the case. I'm not sure why, and with no new flooring either it does leave the update looking somewhat depleted. Then again there are already a good few wallpapers and floor tiles which relate to the Asian theme, so complaints are limited!

All that remains are the table, chair and counter, which very unusually are all unrelated. The Grill Plate Table appears to include a grill embedded in the table. This is a completely new concept to me and this time Google fails to provide any explanation! Is the food supposed to cook at your table or is the grill there to keep the food warm? I tentatively suggest that TeamLava have inadvertently found a gap in the table market! Get a patent!

The Cherry Wood Chair is less eyebrow-raising, but is still a decent proposition. I like pieces which are flexible in that they work in lots of environments and this chair certainly ticks that box. And at 5,000 coins it won't break the bank for most players.

Lastly we've got the Hat Box counter. Once again I had to consult Google for some information, and it turns out that hat boxes are a genuine 'thing'! It seems they aren't something used functionally these days, but are more of an antique collectible. The one introduced to the game is a really elegant design, with gold lock and handle as well as tiny tassels. I'm not sure I'd want to ruin its look by placing a plate of grub on top!

Beyond the market, the Basic Stove has three new recipes for your cooking pleasure.

New Basic Stove recipes

The Bulgogi isn't too appetising (it looks like there are two eyes in there!) but I think that is just the way this meal tends to look. On the other hand the presentation of the other two dishes earn my approval, with the doily the Pork Belly is served on and charcoal pot the Tofu Stew resides in giving these recipes extra gravitas.

Enough with the aesthetics! The proof is in the ratings...

Bulgogi
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
2	7	1	10	10	4.5

Pork Belly
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
1	10	1	8	10	4.9

Tofu Stew
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
1	10	1	10	10	5.1

It's a mixed bag really. When it comes to profit and portions these dishes are dire with the Tofu Stew particularly underwhelming - it bottoms out as the worst recipe in the 5 hour duration for both these important categories.

Yet the XP ratings are strong! The stew falls just short of the length leading Chicken Parm Pie (Basic Oven) while the Pork Belly trumps the Cloud Cakes (Basic Oven) to become the top XP provider among 3 hour foods, and the sixth best in the duration overall.

So if you're after big XP gains then these recipes are perfect for you, but if it's profit and portions you're desperate for then stay clear, except for the mastery gems of course!

To round off the treats in this update there are a couple of notable sales. The two existing Asian themed boxes are both discounted for the next six days.

Asian Fusion Chest and Action Chef Box limited time offers

At 18 gems this is the ideal time to open the Asian Fusion Chest and Action Chef Box. Most of the prizes will complement the likes of the Zen Garden and Korean Garden nicely, so if you are planning to do some redecorating inspired by this update then these boxes are worth investigating further via the Master Box Thread over on the TeamLava Forum.

There's also another special deal in full swing, with expansions for gems available at 20% off for a limited time.

Notification for Halloween content removal

Having fully expanded this feature doesn't affect me, but if you prefer to expand using gems then this is a great opportunity to save a few bob! It's the first time such a sale has been offered, and it's perfectly plausible that it won't happen again, so get in there quick if you want to! Personally I prefer to expand using coins and save my gems for decorating, and I know that that is the way most other players go about their business. So it would be even better to get a similar discount on the expansions for coins sometime. But don't count on it!

We're almost there, but first there's another content removal to discuss. As I suspected would be the case following two weeks of Autumn removals, the focus now shifts to Halloween, with 18 spooky items being pulled from the market this coming Tuesday. Here is a list of them all, with a 20% discount already applied:

Item	Cost	Category
Spiderweb Table	11,000 coins	Tables
Skeleton Hand Table	4 gems	Tables
Spiderweb Chair	7,200 coins	Chairs
Mummy Chair	3,200 coins	Chairs
Web Window	8,000 coins	Wall decorations
Witch Wreath	10,000 coins	Wall decorations
Pumpkin Wreath	44,000 coins	Wall decorations
Mummy Pumpkin	1,600 coins	Floor decorations
Coffin Bookshelf	4,000 coins	Floor decorations
Skeleton Lamp	6,400 coins	Floor decorations
Well of Spirits	8,000 coins	Floor decorations
Expired Display	16 gems	Floor decorations
Haunted Clock Tower	24 gems	Floor decorations
Haunted Elevator	28 gems	Floor decorations
Cemetery	7,600 coins	Wallpapers
Scary Wallpaper	800 coins	Wallpapers
Kiss of Death	2 gems	Floor tiles
Haunted House Counter	8,000 coins	Counters

The only two items added for Halloween 2014 which have avoided the drop are the Cocoon Counter and Spider Stone floor tile. I cannot think of any reason why, and wouldn't be surprised if the game's developers have omitted these two by mistake.

With Halloween (almost) completely dealt with this week I'm forecasting that Christmas content will get the heave next, possibly over the course of two weeks like with the Autumn removals.

Before I sign off there's an alteration has been made to one of last week's additions. The Cash Register originally rotated in only two directions making it difficult to accommodate in some cases. But after lots of feedback the gamemakers have caved in and updated it to allow rotation in all four directions. This is as good an indicator as any that TeamLava do indeed read all the spiel left by the players on the TeamLava Forum. This is very much reassuring!

So despite not being too impressed with the theme of this update I find myself still nodding with satisfaction at the general level of the content on offer. And with three new foods, a sale on two boxes and expansions for gems reduced it turns out that I wrote off this update far too soon!