Yummy Yummy Yummy

Warm Cozy Family Comedy with culinary delights!

Just finished watching this drama, although the title says yummy x3 this is not solely focused on food at all.The balance in the storyline was very good,combining warmth of family, time travelling, coziness of food, a little bit of Palace politics and found families in between, blended with some really good comedies which didn’t feel like over-the-top or forced for the audience.

As i watched this drama ongoing, everyday felt like a happy journey experiencing shen family in the yunshui manor with Lin yan,whom they've thought to be the ancestor of their family tree but turned out to be totally wrong later. Li Yun Rui as Lin Yan & wang ying lu as Shen Jicai are absolutely amazing in Their roles,and surprisingly all the cast members from side characters to guest roles are stunning in their acting performances,censor pei fei, Mr. cao,liu chang,the chef that arrived later,I've found myself attached to almost all the characters in the drama, even Prince zhao,his end left me speechless, even if he was a bad person, no one would deny he was a good father for a child that was never his real son.

Shen family dynamics were enjoyable,their family meetings were fun all the time,but some things Between the shen parents were dragged in the middle.This is surely an A budget drama,but production class was visible with extremely pleasant cinematography and eye soothing costumes and set,reminded me of "the double"

About the ending,..I didn't really mind it when I watched jicai's family not remembering their time travel journey but still owning the growths they all individually went through in the trip. Although the concept Isn't proved & It's just a thesis so far, but by physics law's, if travelling to the past is ever possible, you are supposed to forget everything that happened in the process, Any memory that is collected along the closed timelike curve will be erased before the end of the loop...My interpretation of the ending is :

when jicai 'fainted' in the ancestral hall & travelled back into the past,Lin yan's modern reincarnation also fainted at the same place & dreamed about his past life & regained his past life memories through the butterfly...I took the butterfly as the resentments & memories of Lin yan that stayed in the mortal world for thousands of years until jicai & his reincarnation was born & grown into adults in the modern time & it sustained jicai's memories even after she came back to her era.so only jicai and him remembers each other.... For Lin yan,although his time with jicai was brief, his love transcended through his lifetime,Shen family gave her the warmth he never had since his childhood, jicai gave her a love that stayed for over thousand years and beyond, and i believe he was never lonely with all his precious memories and he never regretted any moment of that time.

Thanks yummy yummy yummy for being such a delightful watch all throughout. I have liked the ending even more than ADWAD. The cast did an amazing job,i laughed a lot and cried a little. One of the best dramas I've watched this year!

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Started Heartwarming, Ended Heavy

The first 20 episodes were an absolute delight, genuinely funny, comforting, and heartwarming. I was laughing through most of them! The comedy landed well, and the family dynamics were such a joy to watch. The brother and father were a bit dumb and annoying at times, but were still bearable and added to the humor. I especially loved how the male lead slowly opened up to the family - it felt natural, sincere, and very comforting to see him find warmth again. The little girl was such a bright spot too; her presence added so much softness and innocence.

Overall, early episodes had that perfect balance of humor and warmth — the kind of light, cozy vibe that makes you want to keep watching. I really thought the series would maintain that tone till the end.

But just like many other dramas that lose their spark in the second half, this one wasn’t an exception. After episode 20, the tone became flat and one-note. The female lead spent almost ten episodes either crying or feeling sad. I understood why, but it eventually got too heavy. The show that began as fun and heartwarming turned into something overly sad and emotionally draining.

Then came the big revelation that he’s not actually her ancestor, and it honestly felt rushed, as if even the writer was tired of dragging that plot. My reaction was basically, “Wait, what? That’s it? And this late?” They stretched the conflict for almost ten episodes only to reveal it like it was nothing.

And poor Lin Yan. I genuinely think the writer did him dirty. He lived his whole life waiting for her. First, he lost his parents, then his wife and her family. When he finally let go of his revenge and started to really live, he lost everything again and died longing for her. Like, how can they do this to him? Yes, they meet again in the modern world, but it came after years of pain and loneliness. That’s not a happy ending for me - it’s bittersweet at best. It really felt like the writer just wanted to stretch the emotional pain, both in the middle episodes and in the ending, so that when they finally got together, viewers would feel relief and forget how dragged it was.

The whole family’s development also lost its impact when they returned and forgot everything. Sure, they became better people, but what was the point of showing such a meaningful journey if they don’t even remember it? It made the time-travel aspect feel a little pointless.

In the end, the drama leaned too much on sadness and unnecessary dragging. It could have been a truly comforting, emotional story if the pacing and tone had been better balanced. Still, I can’t deny how much I loved the first 20 episodes, the laughter, the warmth, and the feeling of comfort they gave me.... and of course, Lin Yan’s puppy eyes that somehow carried me through the slower parts.

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Love Beyond Romance: The Heartbeat of Family in Every Form

This drama, at its heart, is about family love — every form of it, in all its tenderness and complexity. It explores parents and children, siblings, adoptive families, and even chosen families — showing that love isn’t limited to romance alone.

I’ve always found it perplexing how romantic love is glorified so often — sung about, written about, idolized — while the purest and most enduring love, the one we receive from family and friends, rarely receives the same recognition. Love isn’t a single shape or emotion; it’s a spectrum. Every kind of love — parental, sibling, platonic — touches and warms the heart in its own way, even if it often goes unspoken.

The Shen family beautifully captures that essence. Their acceptance of Lin Yan, their warmth, and Lin Yan’s rediscovery of peace in his mundane, everyday life through his newfound family — all of it feels quietly profound. It shows how love can heal wounds that once seemed impossible to mend.

Then there’s the complex and tragic relationship between Prince Zhao and Lin Yan. A man who adopted his nemesis’s child simply because the boy resembled his lost elder son. It’s tragic, layered, and almost Shakespearean in its irony. Prince Zhao adopted his enemy’s child — the son of the man he destroyed — simply because Lin Yan resembled his own lost son, Li Sheng. Was it love disguised? Love twisted by grief? Or a desperate attempt to fill an irreparable void? We’ll never know.

What we do know is that Prince Zhao raised Lin Yan with genuine affection. He gave him knowledge, warmth, and guidance — everything a child could wish for, even if the foundation was built on deception.

Lin Yan, unaware of the truth, called the man who annihilated his family father and trusted him completely. It’s cruel, but profoundly human — because even when love is born from lies, the emotions themselves can still be real.

That’s what makes the story so haunting. When the truth unravels, you can feel Lin Yan’s devastation — the pain of realizing that everything real to him was built on illusion. And when jicai told her she was glad he was loved in his childhood and lived in deception because truth somethimes does more harm than justice.

Prince Zhao’s reluctance to harm him, his obsession with Lin Yan’s acceptance and love till his dying breath, the moment his hand reached out for one last caress —

Even Zhao’s biological son’s emotions are deeply explored. Having grown up alongside Lin Yan, he’s bound to feel a strange mix of affection and resentment. His father’s clear favoritism left him feeling inadequate and unloved. That final scene — when he rides in on horseback with soldiers screaming “Protect Prince Zhao!” — i was so moved.. i forgot he is villain.. i was like go go go~~. For a moment, you could feel his turmoil..and love for his father.

Prince Zhao chosing to cut ties after Lin Yan struck his son, (though all his life he favored lin yan says a lot about his hearts which might have cared for his own son a lot as well unable to express himself properly) and later, when they rode out of the palace together — his words telling his real son to run while he met his own end — A man torn between desires, ambition, and love, finally breaking under the weight of it all.

It also subtly shows something very real — how parents, even without realizing it, sometimes compare or differentiate between their children. That quiet imbalance can shape a child’s heart forever — one grows up seeking love; the other, struggling to feel enough.

What makes this drama special is how simply it presents these emotions. It doesn’t force you to cry; it just lingers. It leaves you just with messages subtly about what family really means, and how even imperfect love can hold beauty, without shattering your world.

The other relationships — Yang Yang and Shen Shao Jie’s tender father-daughter bond, the old couple’s story about love fading and rediscovering each other, the small frustrations that erode identity but can be healed through acknowledgment — all of it adds gentle realism.

And the FL’s arc — finding solace, satisfaction, and purpose through Deyuan and her dream of making affordable food — shows another side of human needs: the desire to be useful, to belong, to create something meaningful.

Every member of this extended family brings warmth in their own way. Together, they form a tapestry of love — messy, flawed, but incredibly human.

Even the royal family was one of the cute ones with such a loving princess and crown prince, and a not too arrogant king.

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Light hearted drama with a green flag male lead!

I thought it was a bit different from other time travel dramas where only one of the leads go back in time, but this took back an entire family. Their dynamics were fun to watch. (A shame that they didn't keep their memory of going back, that's the only issue with the ending I have got.)

Apart from that, the script follow the basic plot of time travel drama so it was nothing out of the ordinary, for me, Li Yun Rui was the star here. He was so damn perfect for this role. Had it not been for him, this would have been more like one those mini dramas.

Thankfully, we have Li Yun Rui leading this, so I knew it wouldn't drop the ball in terms of acting, this gave me a chance to appreciate Wang Ying Lu as an actor. I might seek out some of her dramas as well now, especially When Destiny Brings the Demon.

The ending was as expected, for once I hoped that they gave us more than this simple and then they met again in modern times excuse.

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A delicious start with bland finish. Love, food, and trauma are not in equal measure here!

This food rom-com starts off promising, with light, quirky, and surprisingly heartfelt moments. The first half had this cosy slice of life vibe, balancing humor with family chaos and a generous amount of slow-burning romance. But somewhere in the latter half, it takes a hard left into trauma territory. What began as a fun comfort watch turns heavy-handed and unnecessarily tragic. The tonal shift ruins the earlier charm, making it feel like two completely different dramas mashed together.

The premise is interesting and has a clever spin on the usual transmigration trope in the dramaland. Instead of just the ML or FL, the drama flips the trope and sends the entire Shen family to a different timeline where they fumble and survive through royal etiquette while clinging to their modern quirks and sanity.

The first half of this recipe had almost everything you want from a comfort watch. Adorable family bonds, humour that most of the time lands and a delicious slow burn romance that doesn't try too hard to impress, and that's the part of the charm. The Shen family's journey was chaotic and lovely. Watching them bicker in those too-frequent family meetings, adapt and grow together, felt oddly warm. While I found father and brother irritating and a bit senseless at times with over-the-top comedy, they somehow grew on me as the journey went on.

The slow-burn romance between Lin Yan and Shen Shaoguang was very gentle. I have a soft spot for pinning, and they served me left and right. The quiet yearning and restraint, the stolen glances, the way they linger just a second too long when no one is looking, Lin Yan nailed it. I liked how their bond wasn't built on grand declarations and respect for each other. I would describe their relationship as soft, patient and bittersweet. However, when the drama delves into heavier themes, the romance suffers. The tenderness begins to stretch thin under all that angst. When the writing wobbles, somehow their chemistry saved the day.

And then came the second half, pouring the tragic water on this delicious simmering soup to dilute its taste. The humor evaporated, the pacing curdled, and the romance became an emotional mush. I felt the drama took itself too seriously. We were spoon-fed angst until even the sweetest moments started to feel bittersweet. The big plot twist of "Who is my ancestor?" arrived like a reheated dish. It was edible enough to satisfy your hunger, but bland, flavourless and lacked any kind of excitement. It felt like writers were confused till the end on how to present it, and in a rush, went with the lamest explanation.

Lin Yan, my poor man, bears the brunt of this creative confusion. His story turns from moving to downright tragic, and while that could have been poignant, it ends up feeling manipulative, emotional suffering used as seasoning instead of storytelling. And don’t even get me started on the ending, the family’s entire journey rendering their growth meaningless. It’s the narrative equivalent of baking a perfect cake and then throwing it out before anyone takes a bite.

Another point that I felt was weak was the antagonists. Rival cooks, bureaucratic hurdles and local elites made for an entertaining obstacle but never truly felt dangerous. All the conflicts often lacked intensity, and somehow I felt resolved a little too easily.

I am surprisingly okay with the ending, considering how messy things got quickly. And also keeping in mind the restrictions with time travel theme dramas in China. But if you ask me, I can think of simpler and better ways it would have gone.

Acting-wise, Li Yunrui as Lin Yan was definitely a good choice. He portrayed the role with a certain charm, bringing the quieter, humorous and vulnerable sides perfectly. This is the year of Wang Yinglu for me. This is the third drama of hers I am watching, and she is good. The supporting cast also looked solid. A bit overboard at times when it came to humour or melodrama, but I think that was more of the writing choice of how the characters were.

Production and cinematography were excellent and never felt lacking. The manor in which they lived was definitely one of the most aesthetically pleasing and pretty-looking settings I have come across in my drama watching history.
Now coming to the food aspect, even though the title is yummy yummy yummy, the food never takes the centre stage. It is there, noticeable, deliciously presented, but if you are watching it for food shots, you will find them surprisingly scarce. I don't think it affected my watching experience as I had no expectations going in. But whatever food shots we got, it was rich, detailed, and definitely can make you hungry.

Overall, this is one of those classic strong first-half with a derailed second-half cases. It definitely lures you in with warmth and wit and it is good while it lasts but it's a pity when the drama forgets along the way what made it delicious in the first place. It could also have been a few episodes shorter.
Will I recommend it? For slow-burn romance, yes but with reservations.
7.25/10

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Fresh Take on Time-Travel

This was a fun one-time watch with a fresh take on time-travel. The premise: not just one person, but a whole family, gets transported to ancient times, where they make a livelihood by opening a restaurant using modern cooking methods and marketing strategies.

The family is your typical sitcom variety — level-headed mom, clueless dad, lazy brother, precocious little sister. Some of the characters can lean toward caricatures at times, but the leads — played by Wang Ying Lu and Li Yun Rui — hold things together.

Wang Ying Lu as the female lead is smart, resourceful, conveniently a history buff, and pretty much single-handedly keeps her family alive in their unfamiliar environment. Her sensitive performance — enhanced by an expressive face and big, bright eyes — give the character some needed emotional gravitas in contrast with her loud and chaotic family members.

The male lead is a successful but lonely young official who ends up entangled with the Shen family, who he believes to be his relatives. He’s serious and stoic, but carries a lot of emotional baggage, and Li Yun Rui plays the character’s grief and heartbreak with a quiet devastation that’s compelling to watch.

Viewers should also be on the lookout for some lovely sets (particularly the ML’s manor) and costumes. There are scenes where the camera pulls back to linger on a meaningful moment that look like they could be paintings.

In terms of genre, it’s mostly comedy with a bit of romance and a political intrigue / revenge plot. The ending, as is typical in this kind of story, is a bit contrived in order to reconcile the past and current timelines, but it’s a happy one and handled better than most dramas I’ve seen of this type.

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A Warm, Funny Take on Time Travel and Family

Anyone who’s seen my profile knows this already, but I’ll say it again: I LOVE time travel. I eat that shit up every single time. So when I found another drama with time travel and romance? I was immediately in 👀✨

What really sold this for me was that it wasn’t just one person time traveling, it was the entire family. That alone made it feel fresh. And honestly? I loved the family so much. Every single member felt necessary. No one felt like dead weight or filler, which is rare. Their reactions felt natural, the humor landed, and the acting across the board was really solid.

This drama is also genuinely funny. Like, not forced “insert laugh track here” funny. The jokes, the reactions, the absurd situations… it all worked. And I really appreciated how often the show set up a cliché only to completely subvert it and do its own thing instead. That was one of its biggest strengths for me.

Now, fair warning: this is very much a cooking drama. Like… a LOT of cooking 🍜
There are long cooking scenes, and they really lean into food culture, recipes, and historical Chinese cuisine. Personally, I think it’s a nice cultural touch and adds depth to the world-building. But if you’re not into cooking at all, you should know those scenes can drag. I’ll be honest, after a while I started skipping some of them ¯\(ツ)/¯

Story-wise, it was surprisingly tight. Not many plot holes, the characters actually figure things out instead of being stupid for plot convenience, and most storylines were handled well. Some side characters did feel a bit forgotten or unnecessary, but nothing that ruined the experience.

The romance? I liked it! At first it’s framed as this forbidden situation, and I spent a good chunk of the show going “something is off here…” and I was right. SPOILERS from here:

The reveal that they’re actually not related was… not great. The brother hitting his head and suddenly remembering “oh yeah grandpa told me ages ago” was such a weird and lazy way to handle something that important. That was easily my biggest pet peeve of the entire drama.

Overall, this was a very fun, very enjoyable watch. I didn’t feel like it dragged, the writing stayed consistent, things wrapped up nicely, and yes it has a good ending, which we love 😌💖

I gave this an 8.5/10, which is a BIG score coming from me. I don’t hand those out easily.

Overall:
Fun, funny, surprisingly well-written, and a good time from start to finish.
Emz recommends.

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Nicely wrapped time travel drama even with the Chinese censorship

I liked the ending of this drama. Unlike "Summit of Our Youth", this actually had a happy ending.
Even though it was dragged for like 10 eps more or less, it was quite nice and enjoyable. It was funny and heartwarming.

I felt bad at the end when Lin Yan died alone, but that was not the point. The point was- his devotion to his wife until death and not marrying into another family, so his tale and loyalty can be passed down to generations of Shen descendants. He might not be the ancestor, but he was a relative of Shens.

If they had both grown old and died naturally at old age, their story would have been a common one and not a story of love and loyalty.

Then, when both of them woke up, both of their dreams aligned, and they found each other again.
I would like to believe that he didn't die alone, but his soul has changed the timeline. And after years of hardship, and for the love and loyalty to his wife, God gave him his own happy ending as a reward.

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TIME TRAVEL BUT IT JUST A DREAM

watched this drama for fun, but honestly first 20 eps really fun and entertained. The chemistry between the leads is great. The SHEN family has two men that sometimes the audience felt angry because of their stupidness. But, when this drama reached to ep 21 and above, I kinda miss their random humor. It's suddenly feel a little angst.

The ending, Shaoguang woke up at the place in ep 1 and everything just a dream where she recalled her previous memories. She and Linyan knew those things where the family didn't. So far , it's still a good drama, if i would like to rewatch, I'll rewatch from ep 1-20 where they enjoyed their moments living in Changan handling their small restaurant.

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Appetizing beggining, delightfull peak, hard to digest finale

Someone said in there reviews that this story has lost its rom-com tag. It did not. In fact it was a complex story that incorporated time travel, a comedic family, a tragic almost impossible love story, some palace political issues and load of delightfull food from old chinese quisine. The romance tag was there all alone. Contrary to others I do not think it was dragged to much but it was indeed solved stupidly quickley. And besides the romantic love between the leads the story also explored filial love amoung different generations. Human imperfections personified the the family itself. And yeah...the ending....made me shead tears after having my heart fluttering for 31 episodes straight.

There were some inconsistencies but I'll pass on them since the story was so intricated and so well executed by the actors. From children to adults everybody was stunning. The child brought some joy and purity to the plot. The two disfunctional parrent brought some comedia del arte that actually kind of shows some realistic family issues that cannot be solved without comunication. The side characters like Pei Fei, The Princess, Lady Chen Yixing , the evil prince and the servents brought to the table diffrent kinds of trouble. From romantic, to life issues to politics....everything was perfectly personified. And HUGE praise for the leads for one of the most amazing carefully BUILDED chemestry dureing the show. The were amazing portaing suffering and longing for eachoter through gestures, body language and eyes. Ah those eyes....I believe I cryed with them all along. 2 leads with puppy eyes. Lovable.

Contrary to others I also liked the music. Especially since the talented cast praised above also took part in it. Which makes them even more amazing. Plus one of the songs that contaied rap reminded me of a Punch song in the KDrama Moon Lovers. Good times.

And speaking of which....I have my own interpretation over the ending. The time travel did happened and all characters were left with something after all. Even though their memories were gone. And the ones that were left with the memories were the leads so that they can find eachoter eventually. It was most defenetly not all a dream but it might have happened precisley because they met again and they needed to see with thier own eyes the past life. Li Yan/Che/Anran's ending was extreamlly sad and made me cry rivers. It might have seemed unfair that he had to suffer his entire life and die alone as the only one that remember the Shen family and his love. But I believe his wish to keep their memorie alive was exactely what gave him a change to meet them again in the future. The payback for a life full of loneliness was a bright future life. The writers could have simply left the Shen's in the past to leave a happy life but they wanted to point out that all this multidimensional love stories were strong and real enough to resist through all kinds of times. In their case the journey had to end because they all got what they came for. Gongcai overcame his failures in life and learned how to believe in himself. Yang Yang started to love school and to love to be smarter then anyone. The parents learned how to accept eachothers flows and how to overcome them togheter as a family. Jicai learned how to believe in love and how love always makes you stronger. And Anran learned the joy of a family. As somebody said....the colective amnesia might have something to do with the low of phisics. For the family it was needed so they won't leave forever into the past. For the ones in the past it was because during those times there was no other way to explain the dissapearence of an entire family that did so much good. BUT...with it comes the biggest inconsistency of the show. The story was supposedly passed down during generations and the grand grand father knew that the Shens died in the fire. Now the past should have changed since everybody there behaved like they never even came back. The only one that preserved the paintings and the story was Anran that rebuilded the diner , wrote the story down and waited patiently until he died. They genuinely wanted to leave a strong message behind. Food tastes better with a sip of love in it. Life makes more sense filled with love. Love is not perfect but is strong enough to sometimes last multiple lifetimes. And of course....loves goes through the stomach first.

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Nice story..

I liked this show.. the characters had their own individual flare and it was quirky.. its your typical going back into time and coming back to the future.. i dont think this show was trying to be extravagant or ground breaking.. but it did keep me going from episode to episode.. I wanted to know what was gonna happen next. My only thing with it was the romance was a veeeeerrryyy slow burn.. almost like a carrot waving in my face the whole entire time.. but the ML/FL were very endearing during the show. Would I recommend? Yes. Its nice a nice show. Would I watch it again? Sure 💜

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