China Opens Unofficial League of Legends Restaurant

[Steven Bogos]

China Opens Unofficial League of Legends Restaurant

"Deep Fried Skarner" (scorpion) and "Braised Cassiopia," (snake meat) are the speciality dishes of China's latest videogame-themed eatery.

China is infamous for cheap knock-offs and imitation brands. The country is difficult for American copyright lawyers to reach, so they get away with things like the opening in Chongqing, China. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/88032-World-Of-Warcraft-Restaurant-Opens-In-Beijing] The restaurant is decorated with tons of League of Legends paraphernalia, the wait staff are dressed as League of Legends characters, and the menu features many dishes inspired by League of Legends champions.

Among the most bizarre of the menu items are "Deep Fried Skarners," a dish of actual deep fried scorpions, which are considered a delicacy in many parts of China. "Braised Cassiopeia" is made from snake meat, which is valued in China for its supposed medicinal qualities. Other strange items include "Braised Rammus" (turtle), "Braised Renekton Thigh" (crocodile) and "Water Cooked Fizz" (frog). Some slightly less outlandish dishes include the "Alistar T-Bone Steak" and the "Anivia Roasted Chicken".

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There is a station set up where customers can play League of Legends for a chance to win discounts on their meal as well as other prizes. Gamers can now legitimately claim that their gaming habit "puts food on the table." The restaurant also features a full bar, with alcoholic cocktails based on the game's health and mana potions. According to a local news article, the owners have invested around $160,000 USD getting the restaurant up and running.

Source & Images: MMO Culture [http://www.mmoculture.com/2013/02/league-of-legends-themed-restaurant-opens-in-china/]

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[Some_weirdGuy]

That's pretty awesome. Though I find it slightly unsettling to think of those poor champions ending up on someone's plate XD


Is Anivia served cold?

 

[Best of the 3]

If I consume them do I get their powers?

 

[kajinking]

Do Cease and Desist Orders simply not exist in China?

 

[VladG]

Do Cease and Desist Orders simply not exist in China?

Not really, no.

OT

Rammus is NOT a turtle!

 

[JaceArveduin]

Do Cease and Desist Orders simply not exist in China?

I'm pretty sure they do, but only for Chinese companies.

 

[Eri]

Oh look, A Chinese company/person opening a store/park with no regard for who actually owns the IP. How surprising.

 

[kouriichi]

Id fly out there right now if they promised me Shyvana would serve me a nice steak dinner...

 

[Dandark]

That is great XD

I am glad that copyright lawyers can't reach China.
One question though? Alistar T-bone steak? Can you milk those now?

 

[pointless vandalism]

I'd eat there, ya know, if I ever wanted to visit a communist authoritarian country. I like the menu though...

 

[Deathfish15]

Like Dandark, I'm also glad that copyright lawyers cannot reach China. I think they've gone completely overboard in the US, where companies are just bullshitting other companies for the sake of trying to make a quick buck. If they were in the US, I'm sure that Riot would get a portion of the money, but I'd hope that they'd actually allow such a place for the entertainment and advertisement purposes.

 

[Zombie Sodomy]

Dammit America! Get on-board; you can't afford to lose all your nerds to China. Speaking of which, how much is a plane ticket these days?

 

[Kyber]

I truly wish that they have a Mordekaiser meal which is just a chunk of metal.

 

[ResonanceSD]

Oh look, A Chinese company/person opening a store/park with no regard for who actually owns the IP. How surprising.

This has never happened before. not even once.

Ever.

 

[Easton Dark]

I'd like the giant steampunk style robot guy to be my server.

 

[Chemical Alia]

Oh look, A Chinese company/person opening a store/park with no regard for who actually owns the IP. How surprising.

In my hometown of Easton, Pennsylvania, there is an unlicensed Pez museum called for legal reasons the Museum of Pez rather than the Pez Museum. It's scandalous!

 

[Risingblade]

Teemo burgers! D:

 

[bananafishtoday]

Do Cease and Desist Orders simply not exist in China?

I dunno what the actual laws are like, but China has very different cultural notions about things like piracy/intellectual property/etc. The prevailing belief is that production of culture belongs to the public as a whole: if you write a book or make a movie or whatever, you have no right to deny access to it based on money. While Western culture takes a "You made it, it's yours and yours alone, and you have the right to control access to to it" view, China's take is more along the lines of "You made it, it's part of our communal culture, it would be unjust and damaging to society to only allow those with enough money to partake." Allowing everyone to experience culture regardless of whether they're rich or poor trumps allowing the content creator a monopoly on production.

One can agree or disagree (personally, it's an idea I can get behind), but yeah. It's just silly that so many people assume China actually gives a shit about enforcing Western notions of "intellectual property": they have a domineering enough govt that if they wanted to, they could.

Edit: Not that the cafe is contributing to any kind of meaningful culture, I'm just talking about the general case.

 

[heroicbob]

you might say people go there to get fed