Bon Appetit, Your Majesty

Tastefully Fun, Until Overdone

I enjoyed this fun, fresh take on an old story as I don't watch a lot of food based dramas. The acting was good, and the story was nice with a good balance of action, and comedy in the beginning. For the most part this is an enjoyable watching experience, however, I really didn't enjoy the final 2 episodes. The final episodes felt like they strayed from the original story line, music scores, fun, quirky parts. It went from zero to hero with no real investment, and the final episode was laughable in its laziness in terms of writing. I seen this tastefully overcooked lol (-l

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Bon Appétit, Your Majesty — it needed more time in the oven.

Just an idea, but can’t the protagonist, for once, travel forward in time? Having said that, here’s my honest review.

Food: looking delicious.
The King: looking mighty appetising.
The chef: looking very professional.
The chemistry: looking... but cannot find it.

At times, it felt like I was watching Top Chef. Don’t get me wrong — I did enjoy watching the dishes being prepared and adapted to the Joseon era, and seeing how the FL figured her way around each episode’s dish. But if the show is only 12 episodes long, I don’t want to spend four of those watching a cooking battle. There was more sizzle in the meat she was frying than between the leads, and the romance didn’t really start until episode 11, when the FL feebly stated, “What is this feeling that I’m feeling?” And that was supposed to show her love for the King — who, I might add, had been far more invested in her for far longer. Let’s say he wanted to devour the Royal Cook along with her tasty meals.

A lot of situations were never explained. For instance: why did Kang Mok-ju hate the King so much and want to have him dethroned? Was she jealous? Power hungry? No answers to that. Also — and one of the biggest issues — how in the heck did the King travel to the future? When asked, he said, “That’s not important.” Uhm, yes it is! It’s a big deal. Give us a hint, at least. That, to me, spells lazy writing — not finishing the story properly. They put all this attention to detail, all this effort into showing us how the meals are prepared, but didn’t bother to at least give a hint as to how the King travelled hundreds of years into the future — and how he became so well adjusted! He looked like a chaebol, to be honest…

On the plus side, we were given three great supporting characters: Kang Mok-ju — faithful and lovable sidekick to the female lead, with the nose of a bloodhound and a very good eye as well (she spotted the attractive Gong Gil quite quickly); the aforementioned Gong Gil — intrepid jester with a plan of his own and a fantastic set of skills (and abs, let’s admit it); and finally, Sin Su Hyeok — the Commander of Urumwi, who was as brave as he was swift with that sword and, apparently, immortal, because he got out of more than one dangerous situation completely unscathed.

The baddies were really bad, the good ones were very good, Lee Chae-Min was an acceptable find, and the kitchen staff was a bit iffy at times — like meat that’s been defrosted a few days ago (all these food comparisons, I know).

All in all, if you want to enjoy the show, just suspend disbelief — the same way a bag of sous vide is suspended in water — and don’t ask the writers for a proper ending...or to make sense.

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Master chef

The future of the country in the hands of a chef!
At times exasperating, unfair tests, immense pressure on a single chef, a challenge with injustice and corrupt judges...
The usual jealous woman plotting to harm this woman to earn her place next to the king. Witch, who wants you?
Then when they taste the dishes... all these "trip"-like scenes.
Wasn't the king supposed to be so "evil"? If I were him, I would have already broken all my uncle's bones and lowered him into a well, like all the traitors, and yet he's still benevolent.

Is it possible that two bosses have to evaluate a challenge, eating and giving opinions on their chef. Then awarding victory in the first round and acting good when you have so much to lose... idiots.

But how long did it take her to deliver the Chinese chef's message to the king? How did he manage to get to her?
A plot that makes me nervous. I wouldn't want to watch it again.

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Shoujo Food Wars? ???

I was originally going to give this show a 7.5, but when I sat and thought on it I realized the ending pissed me off more and more. Not to mention that when I actually gave it a second thought, the story was nonexistent as well as the "romance." I think I was just blinded by the flashy visual effects that looked straight out of Food Wars mixed with the attractive cast.

I love time-travel stories, and historical slow-burns have my whole heart. As such, I was locked in like crazy when this show was airing for a while. The show set itself up in the first episode to be an exciting historical tale that would eventually lead to steamy romance between a modern woman and king with more than a few screws loose. I personally like dark romance-esc relationships and have no issues with a complex love story between a mentally unstable king with mommy issues and a mentally stable modern day lady forced to be dragged along to the palace on one of his sporadic whims. Some people might have an issue with that pairing, but I don't. In fact, I encourage that spice. But what I got instead was a show stuffed with filler, underdeveloped characters, and an undercooked romance. And just as I had my hopes rise again with the intensity of the Ming food battle and the plot taking center stage during the final three episodes, the ending gave through with the final blow to leave me unsatisfied.

I tried to console myself when I was watching the plot turn away from any serious writing by accepting that it was always meant to be a fluffy slice of life, but then they whiplashed me with a sudden importance put on a decent plot again in the last episodes. The tonal switch-up was out of place and I think they should have stuck with a single genre and called it a day so as not to raise my hopes. The story was just left feeling vacant with how they didn't even try to explain the mystery behind Mangunrok nor how the fuck Yi Heon managed to get himself into Ji-young's era. The explanation being gatekept behind "it's a secret" made me drop the score an entire point. Did they even think about explaining the supernatural aspect at all??? I'm tired of seeing authors write time-travel plots without actually considering the consequences of explaining its existence in the verse it's written in. They just decided to have Ji-young randomly be summoned back to her time under BS circumstances and cut away from showing what became of Yi Heon's life during her absence. Then they expect you to accept that Yi Heon, a man who was raised as royal man in the 1500s and lived as a king to be able to perfectly adapt to the modern era in roughly a month. Who's buying that?! Realistically, this man would have been thrown in a jail cell for threatening random people on the street with a sword whilst wearing bloody clothing. Then they want you to accept that it makes perfect sense for all of Ji-young's friends acquaintances from the Joseon era are either reincarnated or have descendants that look *exactly* like them 500 years down the bloodline. Get real.

The character writing was probably the most unfortunate aspect of this show, however. I initially liked Ji-young's character for being a tenacious and intelligent woman that was going to need to have to use her charms to survive in an era where she'd be persecuted. But of course, the roadblocks that would appear due to her gender and apparent madness are completely irrelevant. Then by the end she felt so lackluster as a romantic lead. I mean, they wanted me to believe that a modern woman like her would fall so deeply in love with a maniac like Yi Heon despite only being in Joseon for no more than a half year. I realized just how misplaced she felt in the show when she was completely useless during almost all plot-relevant conflicts later in the show. I mean, what did she *really* contribute? In the actual palace intrigue, she was just a damsel that needed to be saved by a flurry of attractive men with swords. Yi Heon himself was far more interesting that her given his plot relevance and questionable morals. But of course, they try and make him seem like the good guy by the end and everyone else is the bad guy. I liked him more when they leaned into how much of a whack job he was; this is what made me excited to see how the central pair would develop feelings for each other despite their contrasting personalities. He made me laugh a few times as well and I love funny bastards that deserve to be put into an asylum. They could have just kept with his insanity and made it more tragic, but they chose to make him magically remorseful by the end without any prior indications of hesitation for his crimes. Him being okay with giving up the throne during treason was extremely hard for me to believe given that he was a man used to having every little whim cared for and using his position heavily to his advantage whenever he felt like it. It doesn't make sense to me that a guy willing to risk the lives of his citizens for a mere unofficial food battle would care enough about their well being to sacrifice his power and prestige in the final episode. The show didn't even attempt to address the repercussions of his actions against those he harmed, either. The rest of the cast was just background dressing with good potential that went unused. The jester was a guy with a good motive, but was left with virtually zero development even in the last episode. The only character I really felt any slight effort to write from was Tang Bailong. But of course, he existed for one arc alone, so he disappeared along with any complexity in character writing. The main villains, Jesan and Mok-ju, were underwritten and fell flat as central villains. Where was the complexity in them? How did they get away with the obvious rules they kept breaking? The bonding moments with the cooks were cute, but their characters one-note as well. Gil-geum was the only semi-important one, but she was so extremely annoying with the way she'd talk and sprout open her bug eyes to the point that I couldn't wait for her to leave my screen. I thought they were even teasing a romance between her and the jester at one point but that just went nowhere per usual. That may have secretly been a good thing however, because I am getting tired of seeing side couples that just take away screen time from decent main couples. The lack of backstory for virtually everyone really did detriment their characters; even Yi Heon and his sparse flashbacks made it hard to truly understand his rage.

The romance itself was hollow. I couldn't understand just why Ji-young fell in love with Yi Heon by the end. The guy literally attempted to murder her on multiple occasions and was called a tyrant with mommy issues in history for a reason. She knew that he committed the Chaehong and purges, yet didn't seem that phased being beside him. The man was literally going to have chefs lose their limbs right in front of her, yet acts like a high schooler in a Shoujo a couple of episodes later. She barely expressed a single ounce of judgement for a man as vicious as Yi Heon; not even in her head. As for Yi Heon; he was a king notorious for being a womanizer, yet acts like a lovestruck fool for Ji-young super fast into their "romance." He didn't show a real discriminatory bone in his body towards Ji-young despite her being older, of unknown origin, and mentally "unsound." And I find it incredibly hard to believe that a guy so horny he was criticized for it in history books would be a blushing idiot in front of a woman who is only exceptional at cooking. Where were the sparks required for me to believe their supposed "love"? I felt tension from them in the first episode given how much it seemed like it would be enemies to lovers, but that sizzles out when they actually attempt to write them romantically. I don't believe that either of these two grown adults, one of which is heavily experienced, would be acting like teenagers in their first relationship whenever they get into proximity of each other. I was excited to see how they'd write a romance between a mature woman and king with a womanizer status. But it's like they forgot who they were writing and erased that aspect of Yi Heon's character in favor of generic K-Drama romance. Where was the angst of a modern lady being a side piece to a king and the looks she'd get from it? Where is the concubine feuding she'd get dragged into? Why wasn't Yi-Heon's supposed "favoritism" of Mok-ju shown? Where was Yi Heon's classism at being attracted to a commoner at? Why didn't they have that sexual tension you'd expect to see in a harem setting? Why didn't they explicitly show scenes that grew their attraction toward each other? Where is the hardening of resolve it would take for a modern woman in Ji-young's situation to develop at? Where was the complexity of Yi Heon initially liking Ji-young because she reminded him of his mother at? Where was the difference in mindsets that would bleed through into their choices in their relationships at? Where was the, albeit toxic, power play at? I swear they didn't even have any substantial bonding moments that would make their undying love believable. Yi Heon himself even admitted in episode 1 that he didn't find Ji-young attractive but would "bestow a favor" upon her anyway, yet then gets blushy at the mere touch of her later. That does NOT seem like the attitude of the same guy at all. The most "attraction" I feel is Yi Heon being drawn towards Ji-young because she reminds him of his mother, in classic maniac fashion. They barely seemed to find each other attractive by the end, but act like a married couple in the epilogue. And you can call me a degenerate if you'd like, but I still wanted more intimacy and implied sex scenes. They were supposed to be mature adults, yet the most they get are surface-level kiss scenes sparsely thrown in. Incredibly disappointing.

I thought the main actors did well in their roles however, the ages did not match up. I mean, they wanted me to believe that Ji-young looked 27, when her actress is obviously in her thirties. I'm not insulting her looks, I'm just stating it how it is. I was also very confused on how old Yi Heon was supposed to be. I was curious so I researched the actual Yeonsangun he is based off of and according to Wikipedia, that guy died at 29, so I guess he was in his late twenties as well? But then it wouldn't make sense for the MDL page to list them as having an age gap *in* the drama. I saw that there was some issue with the casting of the King and that impacted the eventual age gap, but I didn't know that when I was watching the first 8 episodes of the show. So as you can imagine, I was very confused. But the casting itself was good; I give kudos to whomever casted Yi Heon's actor because that guy's bug eyes and devious eyebrows and smile had me laughing my ass off every time he did that goofy grin. And although I criticized how it was hard to link with Yi Heon's personal rage pertaining to his backstory, I could still feel his anger and sympathize with his resentment due to the actor's passionate portrayal of raw emotion in serious scenes. Ji-young's actress was good in the role; it's not her fault she was given a poorly-written character to play. She managed to come across as a skilled chef stuck in a different time period, so she did what was all her character writing required of her.

The visual effects that would play when people bit into their food had me dead more than once. I thought I was tuning into an episode of Food Wars a few times when the sounds they'd release from their food comas, only to be awakened to reality when I realized there was no ecchi. I had to question how hard it was for the actors not to burst out laughing when recording those scenes. I think my favorite scene was when they saw the phoenix soaring in the air during the Ming food battle. I was fucking dying when they were enacting animal gestures during those scenes, as well as the Ming envoy praying to a giant Buddha out of nowhere. Those scenes were probably the best entertainment for me in the entire show.

The production itself was beautiful and the scenery looked amazing. The greenhouse was straight out of cottage-core and the food was as delectable to look at as it probably tasted. I had not qualms with the music either and felt it enhanced pretty much every scene it was in. The random Mangunrok rap thrown in mid-show followed with a dance sequence that made me feel like I was watching the Boondocks was definitely a hilarious and artistically crafted scene. The costumes were great and I adored the hair styles of the women along with the robes Yi Heon would wear; the robe he wore to Lion Dance was definitely my favorite one by far. The camera angles were nice and they accented action sequences well.

The action sequences made me feel extremely shallow when they made me froth at the mouth more than anything Ji-young made; I have never been so entranced by handsome men wielding swords and doing kickflips before in my life. I was one heart-eyes emoji away from being a complete degenerate. There really is nothing quite like seeing Yi Heon, Su-hyeok, and Gong Gil adorned in historical garb and attacking nameless assassins in order to protect the fair maiden, Ji-young. I've never wished for a show to turn into Shoujo more before in my entire life. And when Yi Heon was bloody and battered after arduous fighting in episode 12, I was enjoying the sight.

Though, despite any positives I may have, I cannot picture myself ever rewatching this show again in good faith. There just isn't anything that would make up for the negatives that would cause a sour aftertaste to resurface upon rewatch. There is underdeveloped chemistry, lack of sexual tension, hand-fisted plot, shallow villains, two-dimensional characters, and an underutilized setting. So, would I recommend this show? No. I would only recommend it to someone if they reeeeally liked cooking. As for someone that really likes political intrigue or romance, I'd steer clear altogether. It'd be a waste of time.

꜀( ˊ̠˂˃ˋ̠ )꜆

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don’t expect too much

It started off strong for the first four episodes, then completely lost its spark. I honestly don’t understand how the ratings are this high for such a dull, directionless show. The female lead supposedly comes from the future, yet her character contributes nothing — just endless cooking scenes with no real impact.

I went in expecting a witty, lighthearted drama in the vein of Mr. Queen, but what I got was a tedious mess. The last two episodes were painful to sit through. I was frustrated, disappointed, and honestly a bit insulted that something this flat is being praised so highly.

The only redeeming factor is the male lead — he’s charismatic and even has a bit of a Xu Kai vibe — but that alone doesn’t save it. Don’t waste your time because of the ratings. If you really must watch it, go in with rock-bottom expectations.

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Michelin Star: 1

This could have been a good drama but it fell so flat in so many ways. First of all, I do love a good time travelling trope especially if it is executed well (Mr. Queen, anyone?) but this was just such a mess. I was curious how the story would unfold so I kept watching, but the ending really disappointed me.

Loved the food and how the episodes were written around them. The effects when they tasted the food were pure comical but I guess that's the point. I did not feel such great chemistry between the two leads though. I was not entirely convinced of the two of them being passionately in love or into each other. I mean, I do adore Lee Chae Min, he did a great job with the role. I just didn't think the two of them made me feel anything special. As for Yoona's character, I mean, for someone who came from the future and knows the future - she really did not do anything much except with the food. It was such a letdown. How can you time-travel to the past and not try to change things with the knowledge you have?

As for that ending, I can't accept that they just left it like that. Such a cop out. I just felt like it was rushed, not overly thought of, and they just decided they didn't need to explain it. The end. So frustrating.

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Nice work from the actors of this drama and I'd like to commend the efforts of the entire cast and crew.
However, I'd just like to point out these few observations. Asides the acting, details are quite important and it makes any film genre seem more realistic. In the scene where they competed with the Chinese chefs, not a single window was open. It would have been better if the competition was done outdoors.
Also, there wasn't enough build up of love/romance between the Leads. There was too much focus on the cooking and schemes of the bad guys that there wasn't enough scenes to show both Leads develop feelings for each other. And it's not just in this movie but Korean movies/dramas generally find it difficult to show romance, actual, intense moments between their Leads. I watch Chinese movies/ dramas and their romance is far better.
And talk of the last two episodes.. what was going on??
Kdramas don't have that spark for me anymore. In an entire season of a drama, the love scenes or romance starts to build up at the end of the drama.
I expected more from the drama.

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Taming of the Tyrant

This is the first role of Yoona's that I've enjoyed. 3 star Michelin Chef Yeon Ji Yeong is exactly skilled and audacious enough to root for as she navigates surviving the past she time travelled to. The show takes the path of the main character not caring about butterfly effect of straight up telling people she's from the future and in fact deliberately tries to change historical events. She's all about culinary science not mathematical theories. It does bring about the hilarious way that it shows enormous skill and a dash of pretty privilege to go around saying something that sounds insane to both ancient and modern people alike since she's so good at being a chef. I really enjoy how all the food contest and meal prep and eating scenes moves seamlessly with the overarching relationship developments and palace intrigue plots.

I'm neutral to the romance pairing of the leads, it's serviceable. It was silly to make the Chef Yeon 27 instead of the actress's actual age around the time of filming which was probably 34/35. King Yi Heon mentioned she's "older" than she looks and appointed her in charge of the palace kitchen. It wouldn't have mattered if she was playing her actual age, she would have still been appointed the gig. The flashbacks of previously shown scenes during the romance moments was too repetitive and time wasting though. The drama needed to trust that the present scene of the leads developing their bond is enough. I also would have rather the screen time went to showing a bit of Ji Yeong's time dealing with the power dynamics in the modern kitchens where she alluded she sharpened her abilities not just to craft and innovate meals, but to deal with bullies ancient and modern alike.

Killing off the amiable court lady food tester and the head Eunuch was a good move to show the stakes of the rebellion. The kitchen folk should have been too, though I get why the show saved them for the kicthen/jester/loyal guard/ inventor man team up with the deposed King Yi Heon. It's good that that Yi Heon did recognize that he did some really horrible things like ordering the deaths a lot of people in the course of his revenge when facing down his devious uncle. He should have also been sorry for literally kidnapping and terrorizing a whole nation of his own female citizens until he got obsessed with a magical time travel chef. It's annoying enough that Ji Yeong gets kidnapped in the rescue stand off, but then she unties herself and stands there and shouts at Yi Heon, distracting him when he's fighting alone against his uncle's goons. She could have at least thrown something at the assailants or the uncle to help and he notices her that way.

The last portion of the last episode is the weakest of the entire show, like they ran out of time for writing. There's no explanation for how the Mangurok meal journal that Yi Heon wrote ends up in France for Ji Yeong to pick up for her dad if the book disappears with her to travel back to the present. She doesn't spend anytime with her father that she missed so much. The torn page was good to explain how Yi Heon could travel to the present, but it doesn't explain how he got his new clothes and styling and found his way to her. This show definitely needed a one episode extension to tie things up neatly. The most offensive thing is that it condescends to the audience that it knows the audience wants to know, but it doesn't matter within the final dialogue of the show. Lamp shading doesn't solve the issue of it not doing the properly conclude with things it set up on it's own and failing finish. That lowers the overall score and enjoyment at the end.

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Michelin star cooking , fast food script

I will keep it short as it is really not a complex show.

It began as a fun drama full of comedic moments but it didn't manage to stay consistent.
The culprit were the screenwriters, even-though I did enjoy the cooking aspects of it, they never balanced the other elements so we ended up with a mangled mess, the romance was rushed , the ending was rushed and the complicated political dynamics were badly showcased.

But in general it is a fine show, with good acting , good chemistry for the main couple (despite the scrip not giving them enough movements to shine) beautiful cinematography and the food looked DELICIOUS.

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Didn't meet the expectations

I am biggest fan of historical korean drama. Tbh i won't say this drama is bad but not like i expected. I think this drama became so popular coz of international fan. For those who is watching korean historical drama for the first time it might be best but for people like me who enjoyed watching like love in the moonlight, bossam:steal the fate, moon that embraces the sun, the red sleeve, the kings affection, arang and magistrate, empress ki, gu family book, iljimae, kingmaker: the change of destiny, the princess man, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Queen Seondeok and many more might not be like we expected. This drama is equal to the lovers of red sky coz both watched due to the actresses. I am not saying this drama bad or anything but when u watch many classic historical korean drama then its obvious that something is missing. It didn't meet the expectations i wish. Last 2 episode were very good other episode was so-so.

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Fantastic Premise Build Around Food, but Neglects the Meat of Story with Filler

As soon as the FL mysteriously traveled 400 years into the past there was instant intrigue. Her disbelief at her transition and resulting responses to the situations she encountered was highly entertaining and hilarious. Her journey to the past did not erase her love for cooking and food. Thus from the moment she arrived in this new world, food played an integral role in driving the story forward.

Unfortunately, the story eventually gets lost in political mischief and cooking competitions. The latter of which didn’t hold the magic that was the earlier stories. And the former, having the potential to add some interesting layers to the ML and overall story but did not receive the attention needed to develop in a way that would make the audience care.

The leads had nice chemistry. But I wasn't particularly invested in their love, mainly due to the ML, who was the king, ill-tempered and immature. He spent more time threatening violence and feening for the FL’s tasty dishes than than being crafty and cunning when dealing with his enemies. He would leave the palace and venture into the out of regions and fly off the handle at the most inopportune times. Even worse, in the end, this guy abandoned his kingdom and his people, that was in chaos, to run to the future after the FL. Not a good king, nor a good character at all.

That said, the lead actor in this, Lee Chae-Min, was fantastic. He did a great job with the material. This was a great series to start but lost it's charm halfway through and was unable to regain it through the end.

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