To the handful of you who noticed my absence:
I stopped writing because I moved across the Pacific and back to California. A few months after settling into my new home, also I popped out a kid. I’ve been busy with the baby – which means I haven’t been able to write play-by-plays, try new indie games, or run around trying local eats.
I’ll probably be back with another update by May.
Thanks for stopping by.
The opening of the freshly renovated Lee Tung Avenue in Wan Chai came with a lot of new restaurants, one of which was Yuan Yang. If you’re familiar with the popular chain Tsui Wah, you’ll know that it’s a glorified cha chaan teng, aka tea cafe. Yuan Yang is just a glorified Tsui Wah with even fancier decorations and an even pricier menu. Though they have lunch sets, they currently lack dinner sets, so everything must be ordered a la carte if you’re not here for lunch. That means you have to pay in full for their premiumly-priced dishes. Was it worth it? (more…)
Landale Street is a Wan Chai tiny road packed with restaurants. We’ve already visited Dalat Vietnamese Restaurant on that road – this time we’re at Odelice!, a casual French and western eatery that also sells wine. The resto has two other branches in Shanghai, and this one’s their newest establishment. I haven’t tried any of their wines, but I have tried a variety of items off their menu.
Week 4, Day 2: Thursday, February 4
ahq e-Sports Club vs Midnight Sun e-Sports, Game 1
| ahq | MSE | |
| Bans |    |
   |
| Team Gold | 56.8k | 52.7k |
| Towers | 7 | 4 |
| Dragons/Barons | 0 D / 0 B | 3 D / 0 B |
| Role | ahq | Pick | Kills: 10 | Kills: 6 | Pick | MSE |
| Top |  Ziv |
5 | 2/0/4 | 0/2/2 | 4 | Ninuo  |
| Jng |  Mountain |
3 | 4/1/6 | 1/2/2 | 4 | Wulala  |
| Mid |  Westdoor |
3 | 1/1/7 | 1/1/0 | 2 | M1ssion  |
| Adc |  AN |
5 | 3/3/6 | 3/3/1 | 2 | CorGi  |
| Spt |  Albis |
1 | 0/1/7 | 1/2/4 | 6 | Kaiwing  |
Midnight Sun had a strong start to the game by picking up more kills and dragons than ahq, but were unable to stay ahead and lost their lead in a poorly-chosen mid-game fight.
Week 5, Day 1: Thursday, February 18
Hong Kong Esports vs eXtreme Gamers eSports Club, Game 2
| XG | HKE | |
| Bans |    |
   |
| Team Gold | 75.5k | 84.8k |
| Towers | 4 | 9 |
| Dragons/Barons | 1 D / 0 B | 4 D / 1 B |
| Role | XG | Pick | Kills: 21 | Kills: 30 | Pick | HKE |
| Top | Nexus |
1 | 4/8/11 | 4/7/8 | 4 | MapleSnow  |
| Jng |  Yo |
3 | 2/8/15 | 4/4/13 | 2 | Dinter  |
| Mid |  SuwaKo |
5 | 7/3/3 | 9/5/7 | 6 | Rokenia |
| Adc |  LBB |
3 | 6/5/11 | 10/2/12 | 2 | GodKwai |
| Spt | SuKi |
5 | 2/6/11 | 3/3/10 | 4 | Olleh  |
First blood: Dinter with MapleSnow on 
Nexus at 3:15
XGamers and Hong Kong Esports played a rare action-packed, high-casualty game that stayed pretty even until the very end. HKE was able to snowball their way to a victory.
Year of the monkey it is! Have some delicious food and pick up some red packets (:
This spotlight is all about Dinosaur Polo Club, an indie game dev duo who made the hit game Mini Metro. Released on Steam almost three months ago, the game has received a favorable score of 80/100 on Metacritic.com, garnered positive reviews from the likes of Rock Paper Shotgun and Kotaku, and is a finalist for four Independent Games Festival awards this year. They’re currently working on a mobile version of the game.
Chicken broth ramen with two slices of house special chashu, bonito flakes, soft-boiled egg, black fungus, and green onions
Ramen is one of the foods you can find everywhere in Hong Kong. But ramen with really good chashu? Kuroganeya is my first stop.
Week 2, Day 2: Friday, January 22
Taipei Assassins vs Flash Wolves, Game 1
| TPA | FW | |
| Bans |  |
   |
| Team Gold | 64.4k | 68.6k |
| Towers | 5 | 9 |
| Dragons/Barons | 1 D / 2 B | 2 D / 0 B |
| Role | TPA | Pick | Kills: 11 | Kills:16 | Pick | FW |
| Top |  Morning |
5 | 2/2/8 | 9/2/5 | 6 | Rins |
| Jng | REFRA1N |
3 | 2/4/6 | 1/2/6 | 4 | Karsa  |
| Mid | FoFo |
1 | 3/3/5 | 0/3/13 | 2 | Maple  |
| Adc | BeBe |
3 | 4/4/7 | 6/2/5 | 4 | NL  |
| Spt | Jay |
5 | 0/3/10 | 0/2/15 | 2 | SwordArT |
Taipei Assassins held a slight advantage over Flash Wolves for the first half of the game, but lost it all in a misplaced fight triggered by REFRA1N‘s poor positioning. Rins got two triple kills in three minutes, TPA made two desperate and poor Baron calls, and the Wolves snowballed the game from there.
Moreish 