Tastefully Yours

Come for the food porn and stay for the clichés

It pains me to pen this as this show starts promisingly. (Why does it sounds like a curse?) However, like our amateur attempt at cooking a soufflé, it only looks good when it comes out of the oven and then it goes flat.

Similarly, this series serves up a table full of typical dynastic/dirty business clichés but they lack impact. The bark is worse than the bite.

For instance, the central plot is a young and beautiful chef who left a famous restaurant in Japan to start her own diner in a backwater Korean town. She struggles to even pay the rent most of the time. Yet within days of the ML joining the restaurant, they became the talk of the town. When you consider the food hasn't changed one bit, it is very . . convenient.

Ditto, the whole concept of a restaurant being bootstrapped to amazeball just by repeatedly stealing other chefs' recipes is dubious. It takes a lot more than just yummy food to reach the pinnacle.

Put it another way, it would work if it is the FL's restaurant as she puts her heart and soul into it. If you just drop her dishes into a glass and chrome palace, there would be a disconnect. Dammit, you need that special sauce and backstory!

This extends to most of the other subplots. They are mostly trope du jour. The queen bee role is front and centre. While she is the puppet master and more than happy to pit her sons against each other. It feels like they are just going through the motion. Their roles are shallow. Everything is skin deep.

The same goes for the "antagonist" chef, who is also young and beautiful (where are the old crotchety ones?). She is just a pawn in the power game with little agency. Of course, she has her own redemption arc.

This lack of depth runs deep. While the noona sous chef appears to have the most interesting personality, we know so little about her. She does her job and then what? I would love to know more about her.

It is not all tepid dish water through. The romance of our leads does has its swoonworthy moments. The nuns and monks are chef's kiss. Full of wisdom and humanity. Blessed are their scenes. Same with the food porn. More chef's kisses!

BTW, the cameo by Yoo Yeon-seok is a highlight, but you can also see it as a cynical ploy to give the show a rating boost just when the storyline starts to flag. Thank you! Come again!

The final do-or-die cook-off feels contrived. When you consider the FL wasn't even cooking during the competition, what's the point? The inevitable ending arrives and we definitely have mixed feelings.

In the end, this rom-com feels like reading an old style Chinese restaurant menu. 100 dishes but nothing new. The decor is gaudy yet tired, samey. It is hardly a gourmet feast and more like Uber Eats. One time watch. Peace.

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Food is interesting, but Not a single endearing character

Neither leads nor sidekicks are endearing. You have a grumpy female lead who is hyper focused on just food paired with a sly conman male lead who goes around stealing recipes. Female sidekick is a shrew who verbally & physically abusing male sidekick because she can ( as female he's not allowed to retaliate.) male sidekick is a clingy loud whiny dullard. Who wants to see any of these people for 10 episodes ? Male lead evolves & tries to be charming, but they base the reason for his attraction to initially be based on a memory of someone else, so it's really not valid to transfer that emotion.
The female lead does begin to be less abrasive (late in the series), I still did not find the romance (such as it is) to be something I wanted. The series takes a turn for boring after episode 5 & pulls the leads into a love triangle . It's not only depressing, it's also not really well explained. The food is interesting. The romance feels forced. (Also, DO notice that the female lead is eerily similar to the male lead's despotic mother so yeah in a few years he will be regretting this) .I only finished this because it was 10 episodes, because , honestly, I was ready to quit early on- it just wasn't fun to watch.

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Tastefully, Uncooked.

This drama had the potential to be SO MUCH MORE. It just fizzles down. To give you an understanding of what watching this drama felt like... Imagine Uncle Roger, watching Jamie Oliver's egg fried rice video for the first time.
He starts off with high hopes and aspirations, because egg fried rice has his favorite ingredients. But the recipe starts getting weird after the most perfect prepping up. But he doesn't give up on Jamie Oliver's video yet, because he hopes things will get better from now on. Then he sees Jamie Oliver put water on the half-cooked rice, and he ends up putting his foot down, seeing the atrocity unfold in front of his eyes. Now, imagine you are Uncle Roger, and the atrocious egg fried rice video unfolding before your eyes is Tastefully Yours. It went the exact same route as Jamie Oliver's egg fried rice recipe. It started off weird, then got a little decent, and then just suddenly decided to FORGET ALL LOGIC and became such a convoluted mess. When the writers forgot what they wanted to show, they decided to bring in a big actor to bring extra intrigue. But the extra actor just brings with him confusion and ZERO intrigue. Then, when they got tired of the big actor, they decided to gift wrap his story in a neatly tied bow and scoot him off the set.
The only saving graces in this drama were Jungjae's coworkers, Noonim and Cheung-Sung, and Bomwoo's mom, played by Oh Min Ae. And it truly hurts when a drama with such good actors takes this bad of a nosedive midway through the series. They had so much potential; the drama could be so much more. But towards the end, it became just another rip-off of Culinary Class Wars (They even called influencers and chefs who came to CCW >_< ) . I think had they taken lesser-known actors, it would've made better sense, but wasting the potential of two of the best actors in the Korean industry is just sad. Do better, kdrama. There's only so far that food can take you.

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Not what I ordered

Disappointed, but not because it’s bad.
I had high hopes for Tastefully Yours, and to be honest, it’s not a bad drama at all. But it just wasn’t what I expected — and that’s where my disappointment lies.

The first few episodes had me completely hooked. The setup was charming, the chemistry between the leads was promising, and I was ready to fall in love with their story. But then… I don’t know what happened. Somewhere along the way, I just lost interest.

Maybe it was his overly childish behavior, or her cold and distant attitude. Maybe it was simply the direction the story took — not quite what I was hoping for. With the real-life chemistry these two actors clearly have, the show could’ve leaned more into the romance, into the physical connection, the spark. Instead, it felt a bit emotionally flat and lacking in depth.

That said, if you’re looking for something calm, light, and free of anxiety-inducing drama, this could still be an enjoyable watch. Just don’t go in expecting too much heat or intensity — or you might walk away feeling the same bittersweet “what could have been”.

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light, modern, charming with a little romance

The cooking is what got me hooked because I love food. I always admire work and I was looking forward to watching this.
I realized that his feelings did change and one point it seems he forgot about stealing the recipes
When her ex made an appearance and everything that came after that was just frustrating because he was delaying telling her the truth.
After the truth came out, I really thought he would try and try harder to talk to the FL and try “pleading his case” to let her know how sorry he was but in my opinion, he was giving her time?

I have no words to say about his mother, I’ll just leave it there and just watch it yourself.

For chef Jang and the other guy that worked for him are both selfish and heartless and will do anything just to be on top in their restaurant field.

At the end, the restaurant deserved all the recognition it got and that’s because of the Chef Mo and her team- they did everything with their passion and heart.

Overall it’s a light, modern, charming romance drama.

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Cute, Needs Development

I was interested in this show because of Kang Ha Neul, who’s always fantastic, and because I love food. The concept was promising and looked for a heartwarming watch.

The acting, especially from KHN, was fantastic. The FL also did a good job, and I fell in love with the supporting cast.

The story felt only half-finished. Sometimes I like a shorter series, but ironically this one could have benefited from a normal 16 ep run. Even though it only ran for 10 the pacing felt off—it dragged at lots of points and wrapped up too fast in others.

I personally didn’t have a problem with the ending. It felt realistic that it wasn’t a clichéd victory for the good guys and sent a message that we must live our lives for ourselves and what we believe in; things may not be perfect, but we can find things in life that make us happy. My problem with the story was the half-developed relationship between the leads. I saw hints of romantic chemistry, but it had way more potential.

I did like the ML growth, it was done fairly well in the last 3 episodes. However, because of the shorter run, it felt rushed. A longer series would have added in more examples of his growth. The trailer implied we would get concrete examples, but it was very limited. I also wish we learned more about the FL and her cooking journey; the times we did I was left wanting a bit more and way less of the ex-bf. While it was nice to see her tie up loose ends, two whole episodes was too much time to devote to the ex.

Visually, it was beautiful. I felt the passion and care that went into each cooking scene, and I felt lighthearted.

Overall, it was cute. Would I watch it again? No. But I will commend the actors for giving their best, despite feeling like their characters had more to offer.

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Could've been more tasteful... but it's fine (dining) overall.

SPOILERS

It's basically a comedy with fine dining food thrown in. I knew that from the get-go. I wasn't expecting a meaningful series and that made it delicious enough for me.

Not a binge watch. Nothing major really happens. Not a shocking plot. I slotted in one or two episodes in between other dramas. Worked well.

Go Min Si (Yeon Ju) was lacklustre as the lead and putting her next to Kang Ha Neul, Kim Shin Rok and well, all the rest of the cast (who could act in various degrees), just deflated her balloon even more. She was boring to watch.

So I, ahem, kinda brushed her aside and turned my attention to the food and other characters.

Are you a foodie? I am. I love looking at a feast and often pause the video to admire each dish laid out on the table. Not much pausing was done here as the focus was mostly on that one beef dish popping up every now and then. Still, it made me want to taste it. It fell short on yummy food for the foodie viewer in me.

Some nice info on food prep and raw ingredients. Decorating with garnishes and pretty plates could've been better - it seemed too simply tossed in to be a delightful touch.

What I really like about 'Tastefully Yours' were the friendships that took time to develop and the characters who slowly changed, especially Beom Wu, Chun Seong and Sun Woo.

I'll just talk about Beom Wu.

He was at first an arrogant, pushy, cold-hearted business rat, then a desperate guy and finally a man in love. From a hard-core recipe thief, Beom Wu felt shame and his confidence shaken by guilt when he caused hurt to Yeon Ju and her restaurant. Kang Ha Neul nailed it with his honest acting.

Some actors did go a bit slapstick with the expressions, but was within tolerance. Kim Shin Rok (Myeong Suk) was unpredictable and fun. Oh Min Ae (the mother) held her own with elegance. Bae Yoo Ram (Yu Jin) was a good support between Jung Jae restaurant and Hansang. He connected the two places for a comfortable switch to and fro.

Tropes and cliches abounded; could've been more tasteful... but it's fine (dining) overall.

A very raised-my-brows twist that I didn't see coming was in episode 9 that linked to an earlier scene. Too big a spoiler for me to detail here,, but it was very good.

This is my Number Three review. I hope you enjoyed my article. Thanks for reading it all the way to here :)

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haneulminsi chemistry was insane to me & i needed more of my #foundfamily (my jungjaes) :((

this had soooo much potential :") right from the very beginning, there were already so many things the writer could have fleshed out as the episodes went by. this was something that i was actually looking forward to when i started this drama, but suddenly they added that other fuckass plot device and it all went down from there. like we only have 10 episodes let's be so serious and so fr..... but on the bright side, i enjoyed the first 4 episodes so much it was soso healing to me. i was filled with so much laughter and joy, and i did not know what was coming. i also just really love haneul and minsi so bad. i'm so sad we didn't even get to see beomwoo & yeonju's dating era, like why would you waste their crazy chemistry like that. i need them in another drama with a good writer. please. despite its flaws, i just can't bring myself to rate this any lower because i loved the main cast & most of the supporting ones too idgaf.

BUT FUCKKKK THE EX PLOT I HATE IT SO BAD IT RUINED EVERYTHING AND DID NOT ADD ANYTHING TO THE STORY, like i swear we could have looked at yeonju's backstory & fleshed out her character without centering it around an annoying ass, pointless, useless, ugly, stupid, dumb ex.

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When a recipe loses balance

Tastefully Yours is a drama that starts out like a pretty well-prepared dish, but loses its proportions over time. The first half charms with its lightness and flavor, the second one unfortunately weighs down and drags on aimlessly.

The story maintains a really decent level until the fifth episode. The main couple was in the foreground, whose dynamics were based on a classic contrast of characters. Unfortunately, the ex-FL storyline harmed the plot, in short, it was unnecessary. The love triangle in this form ruined the plot's coherence and took away the strength of the previously well-outlined heroine.

The corporate intrigues were equally predictable. Sabotage, theft of recipes, and even arson were supposed to add drama, but unfortunately the effect is the opposite - the drama begins to toss between genres, as if it wasn't sure whether it wanted to be a warm story about love and food, or a melodrama overloaded with intrigue.

Not to mention the terrible translation.
On the bright side: KHN proves that he can carry a drama almost single-handedly – ​​his acting is natural and coherent. It was his character and internal transformation that kept me going until the end.

You can't miss the brightest element of this production, the culinary scenes. They are not only visually beautiful, but also full of warmth. Culinary competitions, cooking together, dinners at the table – these moments carry real emotions and remind us what this drama was supposed to be from the beginning.

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When Food Brings Hearts Together, But Lacks a Kick”

“Tastefully Yours” is a Kdrama that puts food at the heart of the story. Each dish is beautifully presented and really makes you want to cook or taste it. This warm and delicious atmosphere is a big plus, making the drama cozy and enjoyable to watch. The two main characters are very likable. Their relationship develops slowly, without rushing, which makes their love story feel natural and sincere.


However, the pace of the drama is quite slow. Sometimes, not much happens, which can make some episodes feel a bit long or boring. Also, the supporting characters are not very developed, and some parts of the story remain quite simple, without many surprises or strong moments. The music is pleasant but doesn’t really add much emotion to the scenes.**

- In summary, “Tastefully Yours” is a simple, calm, and gentle drama—perfect for relaxing without any stress. It gives a nice focus to gastronomy and the sweetness of life, but it lacks some action and depth to really leave a strong impression. It’s a good series for fans of quiet romance and beautiful food scenes, but those looking for more suspense or twists might feel a bit disappointed.

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