“Thank you so much, Monster Hunter!” says Nepalese restaurant in west Tokyo.

All else equal, you’d expect the launch of a massively popular video game to put a bit of a dent in restaurant sales, right? Especially with a title as huge as Capcom’s Monster Hunter Wilds, which came out on February 28 and is the first installment in the franchise designed for top-tier consoles/PCs since 2018’s Monster Hunter: World. Like its predecessors, Monster Hunter Wilds’ gameplay is focused on online co-op takedowns of giant bosses, and with over 8 million copies already sold no doubt there are a lot of fans who’ve stockpiled cup ramen and other instant foods so they can run to their kitchen for a very quick meal and then get right back to hunting ASAP.

However, one restaurant in Tokyo’s Suginami Ward has reported that it’s seen a gigantic boost in the number of orders it’s getting for one particular menu item since Wilds came out, and in fact credits the spike in sales to the game. So just what is it that diners are clamoring for at Nepalese eatery Salam Namaste?

Cheese naan.

For the uninitiated, naan is a kind of fluffy flatbread and is offered at Nepalese and Indian restaurants in Japan in a variety of variations, with cheese naan being a not uncommon one. Its popularity has really exploded at Salam Namaste since the release of Monster Hunter Wilds, with the restaurant’s above tweet from March 3 saying:

“Our cheese naan has gotten super popular. Even though we had a huge stock of cheese in the kitchen we’re almost entirely out, so we’ve got to go pick up some more at [supermarket] Inageya. Thank you so much, Monster Hunter!”

Why the shoutout to Monster Hunter? The games let you cook meals while at camp for various buffs, and the franchise has become famous for its lovingly detailed depictions of the hunters’ fare. Monster Hunter games also tend to take inspiration from real-world regions, and following World’s New World North American influences and the Japanese-style aesthetics of 2021’s Monster Hunter Rise, Wilds draws from North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, including a mouthwatering in-game version of the game world’s version of cheese naan, which has apparently been putting a lot of players in the mood for the dish, with Salam Namaste reaping the benefits.

Oh, and for those who think Salam Namaste’s cheese naan really does look delicious, but who aren’t sure if they can fit a sit-down meal into their packed schedule of monster hunting, the restaurant offers to-go orders too.

Restaurant information
Salam Namaste / サラムナマステ
Address: Tokyo-to, Suginami-ku, Umezato 2-9-10
東京都杉並区梅里2-9-10
Open 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 5 p.m.-10 p.m.

Source: Twitter/@salamnamaste01 via Jin
Top image: PR Times
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