There is no denying that HoYoverse has been hard at work expanding its brands as of late, and now they are opening up a limited-time Honkai Star Rail theme restaurant here in Malaysia in collaboration with La Juiceria Superfoods.
As part of the Honkai Star Rail Time to Feast Astral Express Pit Stop event, a special theme restaurant is open up at the La Juiceria Superfoods, Kuala Lumpur from 11 October 2023 to 14 November 2023.
Here, we got an opportunity to visit the venue and experience a cozy rainy evening with a warm meal in a place plastered with all things Honkai Star Rail.
Astral Express Canteen
As we walked towards the restaurant that is situated in the busy parts of Kuala Lumpur, the bright Honkai Star Rail logo and the various store decorations in front of the store immediately stood out. This is not any of your regular collaborations with one or two cardboard stands and some merchandise.
Instead, you can feel the great effort HoYoverse has put into transforming the once normal-looking eatery into a completely themed restaurant, from its counters to the walls and furniture.
Is as though you are walking into the Astral Express itself and there is even an inflatable prop of Pom-Pom, the train conductor mascot standing directly near the doors, greeting you in.
Slowly, we made our way into the restaurant, greeted by the friendly staff as well as walls and cardboard stands of the beautifully illustrated Honkai Star Rail characters. While inside, it is quite endearing to see fans going around taking photographs with a smile on their face as they point towards their favorite characters.
Every corner of the restaurant is indeed decorated with something Honkai Star Rail, such as the windows with stickers of March 7th, Wubbawoos, and Pom-Pom, or the ceiling edges with rows of pennant flags with various chibi-fied characters.
What is a cozy restaurant without some soothing melodies, and the venue does not disappoint, playing some of the most recognizable soundtracks from not only Honkai Star Rail but also other HoYoverse games like Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact 3rd.
Seems like HoYoverse knows that the collaboration event will not only attract Honkai Star Rail fans but also fans of their other games.
Consumable Synthesized
When seated, comes our meal, served with a set of merchandise. For our meal, we had the first 2 combo sets on the menu as well as some side dishes. Each dish on the menu is named after a consumable in the game, and we get to try the Cosmic Fried Rice and Comfort Food for our mains.
The Cosmic Fried Rice, as the name may suggest, is a bowl of fried rice with a subtle sweetness to it and filled with corn, peas, and slices of chicken on the side. Meanwhile, Comfort Food is a bowl of thin kway teow noodles in a thick flavorful broth.
For the sides, we had 4 different dishes, from appetizers to desserts. In Combo A, we got the Snapper Jam Appetizer, a fried fish fillet complemented with sweet chili sauce. On the other hand, Combo B comes with the Grande Rejuvepill, a small bowl of sweet potato balls with sugary powder on the top for more flavor.
Another set of side dishes we got to try is the Fruitwood-Grilled Shantak Moa Drumettes, a plate of chicken wings with thick sweet sauce, as well as the Steamed Puffergoat Milk, a little bottle of custard with some caramel.
Overall, all the dishes we got to try tasted flavorful, each with its own distinct aroma, and each presented well for your social media photoshoot session.
Of course, once you are done with your meal, there is also a small merchandise store set up near the entrance for you to spend your money on such as acrylic stands and pins of various characters, Pom-Pom headbands, and more.
Impression
In general, the experience was a rather positive one, and fans of Honkai Star Rail will definitely enjoy the atmosphere and environment HoYoverse has set up.
While I do think that the dishes may not be for everyone, as they each have a varied yet strong flavor to them and I doubt anyone shares the same taste buds as I do.
Even so, if you are a fan of Honkai Star Rail, it is worth dining in once and admiring all the characters now in large wallpaper sizes, as well as taking some photos to spark jealousy among your Trailblazer friends.
All in all, the Honkai Star Rail Time to Feast! event came at the right time, celebrating the launch of the Version 1.4 update as well as the release of the PlayStation 5 version with some delicious food and giant-sized Jingliu and Topaz wallpapers.
If you are a fan of Honkai Star Rail, it does feel like a blessing how much HoYoverse is pushing the franchise with various collaborations and giving you a chance to grab some merchandise to remind yourself of how much you lost your life to immerse into the Interstellar adventure.
And as a fan myself, I mean it in a good way. Who knows, maybe your luck might amplify when pulling for Jingliu beside the cardboard Jingliu.
If you are planning to dine at La Juiceria Superfoods for the Honkai Star Rail Time to Feast! theme restaurant, do consider making a reservation as tables are limited. For more information about the events, whether in Malaysia or in your respective countries, you can visit here.