08 May 2023

K Show Review: Jinny's Kitchen (2023) 4.6 || 4.25

We were thrilled to know that after two years, we were getting another season of the Youn's franchise. No Youn Yuh Jung (The Producers, Wonderful Days, Worlds Within, and Ireland) this time though. She was part of Youn's Unexpected Journey last year but we didn't really watch it. So, yes, this is our next Youn's franchise show after Youn's Stay, which we enjoyed thoroughly. 

Similar to the earlier editions of Youn's Kitchen, the group went to another country to open a Korean restaurant. This time, however, Lee Seo Jin was the restaurant owner. Hence, the name Jinny's Kitchen. They opened a Korean snack bar in Bacalar, an island in Mexico. They served popular Korean snacks and meals like gimbap, tteokbokki, fried chicken, rice meals with beef and pork, ramyeon, corn dogs, etc. 

Seo Jin manned the counter to take orders and serve food. Jung Yu Mi was in-charge of the gimbaps and beef and pork rice meals. Park Seo Joon took care of all the other dishes. Choi Woo Shik assisted Seo Jin. And the gang had a new intern, BTS V or Kim Tae Hyung. Tae Hyung assisted Seo Joon and he washed the dishes too. 

Lee Seo Jin

I was already impressed with Lee Seo Jin (Wonderful Days) in Youn's Stay. But I was even more impressed with his business acumen here because he was the one in-charge of the whole restaurant. Yes, his "bossiness" was quite more evident here. But it was never condescending. It was almost there but not quite. I felt that whatever he did or said was necessary to make the business running. After all, he probably felt most pressured among the hosts. 

Yes, there were times when I felt like his decisions were arbitrary and reactionary, like with regard to days off, operating hours, and the menu. But for most part, he did a great job as the new CEO. 

His real talk/pessimism, especially with regard to meeting their goals, may be off-putting for some, but I actually liked it. I even found his evaluation of his employees hilarious. 

And while he may appear stiff and strict most of the time, I liked how Seo Jin really cared for his staff. Giving them wellness breaks even if it meant they'd be operating for fewer hours. Going to the market by himself to give them more time to relax. And cooking for them at home or buying them food during breaks. 

Seo Jin as the new CEO looks promising. He totally deserves the promotion. After all, Yuh Jung relied on him a lot in the previous editions. I wonder though how Yuh Jung would rate him.  

Jung Yu Mi


It was nice to see Jung Yu Mi (Train to Busan, Summer Vacation, What's Wrong with Secretary Kim,  and Reply 1994) again. It was cute to still see her shy around people but very good at what she does (cooking!). 

Seo Jin's comments on Yu Mi were spot on. She's very meticulous but she's too shy and she might not have the necessary leadership skills to succeed him. Although I found it unfair that Seo Jin considered the future in rating Yu Mi. She should have been graded as an employee and not as a potential successor. 

And because we really love Yu Mi, I didn't quite like how Seo Jin complained about her biking and doing other stuff. I don't think these should be issues since she did them outside her work hours. 

It was also unfortunate that since Yu Mi was in her gimbap corner by herself, she probably got the least airtime among the hosts because she had no one to talk to. 

Park Seo Joon

In my eyes, Noona's list member Park Seo Joon can do no wrong. He's a great actor (Parasite, Record of Youth, Itaewon Class, What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, Fight for My Way, and She Was Pretty). And he really impressed me in Youn's Stay and he managed to impress me even more here. 

I super loved how organized he was. He was a perfectionist. I loved his precision in making the corn dogs and even in simple tasks like plating the dishes. He does everything so well. 

Seo Jin's description of Seo Joon was perfect. He was all-around and hardworking. He contributed ideas on how to improve the menu and their dishes. He took ownership of his work. And he is definitely the perfect successor to Seo Jin (minus the bossiness too!). 

And Seo Joon is just an over-all good person. He cooks for his friends even if he's been cooking the entire day. And he even offers to help Yu Mi when she's backed up on orders, even if he's actually been doing more than her. 

Choi Woo Shik

Just like in Youn's Stay, Choi Woo Shik (Parasite, Train to Busan, Secretly, Greatly, Summer Vacation, Fight for My Way, and Our Beloved Summer) was still the gang's clown. The guy everyone loved to tease. He was still as naughty and playful as ever. But that's his charm. And that makes him effective in interacting with customers. 

Yes, he probably did the least amount of work among all the staff. Even the newer intern Tae Hyung was better at multitasking than Woo Shik. But then again, we have to credit him for the final push that helped them meet their target on their last day (asking for final orders by informing everyone that they were closing the shop). 

BTS V / Kim Tae Hyung 


I'm not an Army, so I was quite neutral about BTS V / Kim Tae Hyung's inclusion in the show. Although I get why he'd be a good fit since he's friends with Woo Shik and Seo Joon. And true enough, he fit in right away. It was funny how everyone seemed to treat him better than the older intern, Woo Shik. And how he pushed that narrative by teasing Woo Shik that he was now more senior than him. 

Yes, Seo Jin was right that V was quite slow. But in the end, he really did his best. And it was a joy to see how much his kitchen skills have gotten better over time like in grating the vegetables for Yu Mi's gimbap or subbing in for Seo Joon's corn dogs. 

I found it quite surprising though that not a lot of people seemed to know him. Yes, he was mostly in the kitchen. But out of the numerous customers they had, I think only 2-3 groups recognized him. 

Execution


Bacalar seemed like a very chill and interesting place. The people were warm and friendly. I loved how a coffee shop owner visited them and gave them enough coffee for everyone, including the staff. 

The customers were also nice and friendly. The first group looked planted but the customers seemed more organic as the show progressed. 

The food all looked so yummy. The gimbap and ramyeon were probably the best sellers. But we wanted to try everything. We ended up having some Korean chicken one time because we were influenced by the show. 

I loved how the hosts interacted with the customers, who were mostly tourists like them, trying to get a feel of Bacalar. I admit though that I missed the longer interactions they had in Youn's Stay where they got to know their guests better. 

Since this was our first Kitchen franchise exposure, we realized that this show can be quite repetitive - with a cycle of not having enough customers, then customers who praise the food in different ways (mmm, yum, yummy, delicious). Their days off were welcome breaks for us. We appreciated the change in scenery. 

Although we've seen them work together in the past, it was still entertaining to watch them. It was funny how Seo Jin was serious most of the time and how the young ones teased him about it. 

I loved seeing the customers come back, bringing their friends and family to try the food. I guess that meant the food really tasted good. 

Editing must be a nightmare for shows like this. They had to present customers one at a time for a more coherent story telling. But it somehow affected the chronology. 

And while we enjoyed watching most parts of the show, we found the final episode quite underwhelming/anti-climactic. I loved the idea of bringing the hosts together after some of the episodes have aired for some sort of debriefing. I loved the part where they answered the viewers' questions because we wondered about those things too. But I certainly didn't enjoy the game because I didn't understand it. The show didn't bother to explain how it was played. They should have tried explaining it since the show catered to an international audience, having been filmed overseas. 

In the end, I was just happy that for all his gripes, Seo Jin seemed pleased and proud of his employees and how they've matured, based on his reactions during the final episode. 

Oppa says...4.6.

Noona says...4.25.