Let's Eat (2013)

Food and eating must come with some story

Didn't like it. There isn't a story. I love getting to know more about Korean gastronomy (seems amazing) and some explanations. But the problem for me is that we have a little introduction and then imagines of eating and that's it!
There isn't a background to the food. We could see the same drama without the presence of food and it would be the same.

Why do they needed a mystery story? Is there so many assassins in Seoul?

The only interesting part was the relations of the neighborhood. The ML is wonderful and friendly. The FL is very annoying.
Jin-Yi is very sweet and funny. A little naive but also independent. Like it and can't understand why ML could ever fall in love for FL.

Only the poem in the last scene is worth watching!

If you like a good story don't watch this...

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Ridiculous but somehow... charming?

There were only three good reasons to watch this show: the food, Koo Dae Young, and Vara-ssi.

All the other characters were annoying and one-dimensional at times. The plot kept shoe-horning random violent mysteries, which felt out of place. A lot of the stereotypes, while I get were probably meant to be humorous at the time, felt cruel and problematic from the perspective of a North American in 2020. For example, I hated how Ms. Oh was always the butt of every joke for her appearance, or how a supposed solution to a bad boss is to spit in their cups.

But this show shines when people gathered to share a meal together. I loved looking at all the food, and all the rich descriptions from Koo Dae-Young. While I'm a huge fan of AMSR cooking videos on Youtube, I DIDN'T like the gratuitous close-ups of people chewing with their mouths open and moaning — and there were a lot of these. Thank goodness for the ability to fast-forward!

Still, by the end of the last episode, I was grinning from ear-to-ear. Everyone got an ending that felt right for them. Also, the Lee Il-Hwa cameo was PERFECT. What a great way to end a show.

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Dream job is to star as a Lead who gets to eat the dishes in this superior Food Porn Drama.

I love food Porn Dramas and movies and this Drama is one of the best when it comes to Food Porn. The FL is a foodie who loves to eat. She's also a big fan of the ML, a food blogger who posts pictures of empty plates which the FL defends as "the food must be so good they finished it before they remembered to take a picture". I know I've done that, and most recently at our 2020 small Thanksgiving feast because after cooking for hours I was hungry. Here is my failed Asian card for forgetting to take a picture before taking portions out of every dish *cringe*. Anyway the point I'm trying to make is if the food is REALLY good sometimes a person should be forgiven for forgetting to take pictures, right?

There are 2 MAJOR reasons to watch this show:-
#1 is Food Porn. It's just some of the best ever filmed and they covered all kinds of foods - buffet, chocolate, Italian, Korean BBQ outdoors and at a restaurant, Crab, and that immortal seafood ... I have to stop now as my mouth just started watering.
#2 is Good Doggo. BEST character in the show is actually Che Gue"Vara" the well trained golden Pomeranian so fluffy and cute I want to pick him up, dress him up and kiss and squeeze that good boi! When he knows he's in trouble he gets into his cage and closes the door. Squeeee! Adorableness +1,000. I'm not even a dog person so this praise does not come lightly.

The story is quite meh, characters are a mixed bag with varying degrees of annoying. Character Roasts inc.
* Lee Soo Kyung - this FL could would win if she ever played the game Paranoia. And she's cheap like only Asians can be cheap. I loved her eating scenes though. Give me your job please!!!?
* Yoon Doo Joon as Goo Dae Yeong - I learned a ton about food AND Life from this character who knows ALL the ropes. His place is messy but practical. Stay out to save on heat? Check. Storing his clothes at the dry cleaner? YES! /salute
* Yoon So Hee as Yoon Jin Yi - the fluffy naive rich girl actually grows up and has the second best character development on the show. You go Girl!
*Shim Hyung Tak as Kim Hak Moon [Attorney] - He had the second best character development, as he admitted his old crush, stopped torturing FL, gave it his best shot (it was a great attempt honestly), then let go (the mature thing to do) and finally moved on. Virtual clap. Good for him. He's hot and rich, so won't have troubles dating. IDK if he'll be in Season 2 since there's not much left to do with his character.
* Lee Do Yeon / Oh Do Yeon [Attorney] - Desperate lawyer living in a world of fantasy that just needs to "get real" and avail herself to the wonders of the best or second best (after Colombia) plastic surgery country in the world.

The rest of the cast do a credible job and there's no "bad" acting per se but the script doesn't give them very much to work with. This is not going to win Baeksang awards for story or acting, unless Food Porn is a category in which case it might sweep. But it's still an enjoyable story that takes you through a wonderful foodie journey with our friends.

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A devil that camouflaged itself as an innocent guilty pleasure that lures and traps you with its food temptation; with no way of escaping.

This food/ comedy/ mystery drama simple yet refreshing premise is revolved around a daily life of 30s years old single, divorced and unfriendly Lee Soo Kyung (Lee Soo Kyung) who shared same apartment floor with quirky neighbors and worked at a small law firm. She has an eating obsession, and that's how she formed bonds with Goo Dae Young (Yoo Dae Joon), Yoon Jin Yi (Yoon So Hee), Kim Hak Moon (Shim Hyung Tak) and other characters. The quirky Goo Dae Young is full of unexpected surprises and will make you hysterically laugh - from his charmingly way with women, to constant bickering about who's better in food department with Lee Soo Kyung. The comedic trio of the law firm Kim Hak Moon (Shim Hyung Tak), Oh Do Yeon (Lee Do Yeon), Choi Kyung Shik (Jang Won Yeong) propelled this drama to a new level of comedic relief. Get ready to love not only the law firm's trio but all the supporting characters.

This drama is not without its flaws, of course. The romance between main leads lacking chemistry and a bit rushing towards the end. The mystery of a serial attacker has served little purpose in developing the story. The mystery plot could be written better. Not to mention, bunch of PPLs might slightly ruined the drama.

Need to relieve stress? Lose appetite? Watch Let's Eat. It's worth of 16 hours salivating in front of your screen.

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Great food, cute plot, one of my faves!

I love food. I love watching other people enjoy good food ALMOST as much as I love eating good food. If you enjoy food, mystery, romance, and humor, then this show is for you!

I will warn you that watching the show on an empty stomach is not a good idea. Everything they eat looks so appetizing. They present the dishes with sound as they cook it. It is presented so vividly that you almost expect to smell it through the tv.

The romance portion is not overly heavy. Instead, it is a great balance! Friendship and romance are presented well.

I have rewatched this show and probably will do so again in the future.

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Could have been such a good drama. The food porn is as good as it gets, i learned a lot about Korean food and how to eat it. The acting is so-so, the funniest person for me is Mr. Choi, the other manager in the office. He acts so natural.

What I didn’t like was the weak storyline and really s l o w pace. I wished that the writer developed the plot around how relationship between food and the characters began and how it’s a common denominator between the FL and ML. Instead there were so many sub plots thrown in the mix - divorce, murder, office romance, then pyscho son? - so much was going on it felt so confusing what to feel. The romance between the leads came in so late that I did not feel any connection with them, I “shipped” their friendship more. I love the music though but I do have to admit that this is discouraging me from watching Let’s Eat 2, just don’t know if I want to invest another 16 hours on a so-so drama that was supposed to make me laugh.

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Let's Eat centers mostly on food (surprise, surprise). So much so, that the plot barely touches romance or drama until maybe the last few episodes. Watching this show made me not only hungry but also a little envious since I didn't have access to such delicious-looking dishes at the time. From time to time, I was also annoyed by the noises. The noises that the characters made whenever they ate food. Yes, I understand that you're enjoying the food, but I don't want to hear prolonged periods of moans and sighs (*Sidenote: I don't come from a culture where long noises with food is often appreciated). Other than food and eating (and the noises that come with it), the story has some comedic and friendship/neighborly relations aspects that definitely assist in moving the plot forward and making Let's Eat more pleasant to watch. The acting was decent, nothing too out of the ordinary. Though, for two of the characters, Koo Dae-Young (Yoon Doo-Joon) and Kim Hak-Moon (Shim Hyung-Tak), I couldn't tell if it was bad acting or if their characters were generally stiff, lacking well-rounded personalities. The music definitely went hand-in-hand with the storyline and the character's relationships. Even more so when food was displayed or whenever the characters ate. Overall, it is unlikely that I will rewatch this show and I am somewhat hesitant to continue on with Let's Eat 2...

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I actually watched Season 3 first and it was a ok, not very great but a good 1 time watch. So I went to watch this with really average expectations but sadly I found few things lacking in this.

The good thing is that it talks about various traditional Korean food items and how to eat it. But the not so good part is that they focus too much on the eating process! So if you don't mind seeing people eating then it's ok but if you are like me and don't like seeing people keep on eating in close up of their mouths, making chewing sounds in every few mins in every episode, then it's not for you! :D

But the main reason I dropped it was that the FL became a really annoying character in episode 10 all of a sudden because she found out something good about the ML! She became a completely ott character so suddenly that I could not believe it was the same character anymore... :(

So an overall 6/10 from me.

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