7 Times Dramas Totally Ruined Our Diets

Sometimes it’s nice to watch a drama…

And sometimes it’s nice to eat…

But eating while watching a drama is almost always the best combination. Which means, if you’re a drama buff like me, diets are usually just… plans.

Especially when the drama features food. I mean…

Be it K-drama or any other Asian drama, chances are the characters are eating. That makes us drama buffs hungry as well. But what’s worse is when those dramas that are almost entirely about food. You know, those where food causes the fight, or food causes people to come together. Like these seven:

“Jewel in the Palace” is the legendary story of a kitchen apprentice rising through the ranks to become a royal cook, and later the top female physician in the royal palace. This drama’s feature of the artful preparation of traditional cuisine is what really introduced many people outside Korea to Korean cuisine.

“Jewel in the Palace” may have been about typical palace jealousy and politics, but instead of anger, every episode left us hungry.[viki]http://www.viki.com/videos/115048v-jewel-in-the-palace-episode-1?utm_source=soompi&utm_medium=soompi_news&utm_campaign=soompi_link&utm_content=7-times-dramas-totally-ruined-diets&utm_content_id=888709wpp[/viki]

In an attempt to make all their viewers ditch their diets, tvN produced not one but two seasons of “Let’s Eat.” In both, Gu Dae Young (Yoon Doo Joon) is a food blogger who features emptied plates taken at the end of a meal. In reality, Gu Dae Young is an insurance agent who loves food, but dreads the thought of dining alone.

He befriends others who live alone, encouraging them to dine with him. Loneliness finds solace in these two seasons, where characters bond over charcoal stoves and bubbling stews.

Warning: do not underestimate the amount of detail put into making this show look delicious. You’re going to be hungry all the time![viki]http://www.viki.com/videos/1064752v-lets-eat-season-2-episode-1?utm_source=soompi&utm_medium=soompi_news&utm_campaign=soompi_link&utm_content=7-times-dramas-totally-ruined-diets&utm_content_id=888709wpp[/viki]

Set in a high school whose students are hoping to win an inter-school culinary competition, the Taiwanese rom-com “Love Cuisine” traces the lives of a students whose lives are changed with the introduction of a new teacher, Michelin-starred chef Oscar Han (Lego Li). From peeling potatoes to identifying the best ingredients and training knife skills, Love Cuisine is a realistic attempt at showcasing the hard work that goes into every dish.

The romance is strong (and unusual – rarely do we hear of dramas featuring teachers falling in love) in this one, but you’d be surprised at how food finds itself into almost every scene![viki]http://www.viki.com/videos/1073639v-love-cuisine-episode-1?utm_source=soompi&utm_medium=soompi_news&utm_campaign=soompi_link&utm_content=7-times-dramas-totally-ruined-diets&utm_content_id=888709wpp[/viki]

I’m a big fan of comedic period dramas, and as one that features food as its central theme, the Hong Kong-produced “Gilded Chopsticks” is one of the best I’ve seen in recent years.

Cho Lam Wong plays Ko Tin Po, a humble chef who grew up on extensive delicacies but gave it up following the decline of his family. He is content running a salted fish bun stall… until the ruling emperor appears incognito and falls in love with his buns.”Gilded Chopsticks” tells the tale of how Ko Tin Po and his kitchen are pulled into the struggles and politics of men and women in the Qing Dynasty palace.

“Feast of the Gods” opens with a fight between two women for a highly coveted executive chef position. It is this competition that runs through the drama, with emotions running high as the characters reveal hidden identities and vengeful secrets.

Everyone works really hard for their position in the culinary world in”Feast of the Gods,” but I must say that food is not the only delicacy here – Joo Sang Wook is some major eye candy![viki]http://www.viki.com/videos/169292v-feast-of-the-gods-episode-1?utm_source=soompi&utm_medium=soompi_news&utm_campaign=soompi_link&utm_content=7-times-dramas-totally-ruined-diets&utm_content_id=888709wpp[/viki]

I am a huge fan of Japanese cuisine, but I have to say it was only after the Hong Kong drama “The Rippling Blossom” did I really start appreciating it.

“The Rippling Blossom” is about a fight between two chefs (who are also half-brothers) in an effort to inherit their late father’s Japanese restaurant chain. From bidding for the top tuna in Tokyo’s famed Tsukiji market to concocting the best soy sauce,”The Rippling Blossom” details the development of these two as chefs and as brothers.[viki]http://www.viki.com/videos/1078678v-the-rippling-blossom-episode-1?utm_source=soompi&utm_medium=soompi_news&utm_campaign=soompi_link&utm_content=7-times-dramas-totally-ruined-diets&utm_content_id=888709wpp[/viki]

In this Taiwanese drama, Nana Lee plays an aspiring chef who is inspired to work at a top teppanyaki restaurant after her cooking is compared to theirs. All eyes are on her and standards are mighty high at this place, but she finds her footing quickly, and of course, falls in love with the executive chef and owner (Michael Zhang).

Apart from having an interesting moral of the story, what’s also unusual about “A Hint of You” is that it’s centered on a real-life teppanyaki restaurant.

Soompiers! What other food-themed dramas have you watched? Share them with us in the comments below!

10twentyeight grew up watching dramas, has been blogging about them for the past six years, and is quite obsessively crazy about them. She is currently inconsolable because a Taiwanese drama she’s been chasing – and loving vicariously through – has just had its run cut short.