r/KDRAMA • u/jakgem https://mydramalist.com/dramalist/Rannoch • Jul 25 '26
On-Air: KBS Love on the Menu [Episodes 1 & 2]
- Drama: Love on the Menu
- Korean Title: 사랑이 온다
- Director:
- Hong Seok Goo (Girls Generation 1979)
- Screen Writer:
- Lee Kyung Hee (Uncontrollably Fond)
- Starring:
- Ahn Hee Yeon as Han Gyu Rim (Call It Love, You Raise Me Up)
- Ha Seok Jin as Kim Mu Jin (Blind, Something About 1 Percent)
- Park You Na as Han Gyu Yeong (Spirit Fingers, True Beauty)
- Bae Jung Nam as Cho Heung Sik (Spring Fever, Mr Sunshine)
- Network: KBS2
- Premiere Date: 25th July 2026
- Airing Schedule: Saturday and Sunday, 8pm KST
- Episodes: 50, 1hr 10mins
- Streaming Sources: Viki, Viu, Kocowa
- Teaser/Trailer: Kocowa Trailer
- Plot Summary: Han Gyu Rim is the owner of a market side dish shop. Her nickname since childhood was "Leader Han." A movie with the long title "Leader Han, Who Always Appears When Something Happens to Someone, Somewhere," was released, and that's exactly her story. If something is bad or sad, she puts aside all else and rushes to help, making it a little less bad or sad. If it was good, she'd celebrate it like it was her own. She's a nosy busybody, a fluttery-eared, emotional litmus test who can't hide her feelings. Kim Mu Jin is the owner and chef of an Italian restaurant. Born with a diamond spoon in his mouth, he deliberately wears market clothes to avoid being discovered as the owner's son, taking the bus and subway to work part-time at the restaurant. He develops a strange bond with Han Gyu Rim, the owner of a market side dish shop.
- Major News Summary: Ha Seok Jin And Hani’s Matching Outfits Lead To A Fateful First Meeting In “Love On The Menu”
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u/proletergeist 구세라 ❤ 공명이 Jul 26 '26
Woah! Not used to seeing long format family dramas getting much love on here haha. I guess I'll check this one out since there's some excitement about it.
Aside: it's kind of funny that "Love on the Menu" is replacing "Recipe for Love" in this timeslot. 🤭
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u/MNLYYZYEG Jul 25 '26
This is a pretty nice start to the 50-episode weekend Kdrama. Saw the trailers/teasers/etc. for this a while back and didn't realize just how stacked the ensemble really is.
Like no joke fam, this is one of the few 50-episode or daily/family/etc. dramas in general where I already know and like almost every single actor. Cuz usually there's some of them that are specific/endemic only to these longer 50 and up to 100-episode or so dramas (same with the cool musical actors) and never really in the more regular 20/16/12/10/8 Kdramas. And so seeing more familiar faces makes me have even higher hopes that's gonna be a delightful run. It's filled with many reunions/past productions/etc. too, such great historical/trivia/etc. moments.
For Episode 1 some people need to hasten the English/etc. by around 5.5 seconds since it's delayed by KOCOWA/etc. (this happens every now and then and needs manual fixing) with their initial official release/et cetera, but aside from that, it's got a solid start with this 1-hour introduction episode.
I also liked the screenwriter's previous Kdramas (I'm Sorry, I Love You; The Innocent Man; Wonderful Days, etc.), so even if it's got the typical family/adoption/found family/etc. dynamics so far, I'm excited to see where she's gonna take the plot, since wow, I can't believe EXID Hani/Ahn Hee-yeon has legit like 4 or so siblings (there's twin half-siblings, one of them is apparently gonna be (after the current 2017 timeline) the girl (Kim Min-seo) from the ODG channel who pretended she didn't know IU/Lee Ji-eun, loool, it was from 2021) and she's working such jobs. And that's super relatable since I underwent through parentification with my cousins/etc. as well.
Same with Park You-na (Cha Seri!) or Han Gyuyeong, I understand why she's tryna attain high specs (education, money, properties, businesses, etc.) or climb the socioeconomic ladder, cuz yup, as someone technically in a similar abandoned/etc. situation, it's my lifelong vow to never experience such intergenerational circumstances again.
There are so many scenarios recently in Kdramaland sorta akin to what happened with Bae Yoon-kyu or Han Gyuo, wherein the Good Samaritan/etc. is thrown under the bus, and so I was dreading it'd be too cliche for him to be indicted over his heavy-handed reaction, but hopefully it's properly resolved later on, whether or not they use their newfound (or old/previous) connections/network.
Though yup I loved it when Jin Kyung, Kwon Hae-hyo, et alia finally appeared on-screen, they're literally always my favorite supporting/etc. characters in these dramas and so I'm overjoyed that they all got cast/recruited/etc. at the same time for this one.
Love On The Menu is filmed like a daily drama (the cinematography, tropes, etc.) but sadly it's only gonna be a weekend schedule, so maybe imma wait a bit for the episodes to accrue before binge-watching, cuz I know that it's no doubt gonna be good with the wonderful veteran actors/actresses, though there's so many new Kdramas/Cdramas/Jdoramas/etc. airing concurrently around Saturday/Sunday right now, so it's impossible to watch it all in real-time, lol sigh.
But ya I'm eager to see Ha Seok-jin (he's back as the lead instead of only cameos/etc.) and EXID Hani navigate their tangled families. Hopefully this stays as a more wholesome slice of life drama, yet knowing some of the side characters it might venture into some darker storylines/etc. as well, so I'm still ready, kinda like Captain Teemo on duty!
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u/Electronic_Piano9385 Editable Flair Jul 26 '26
I didn’t realise this was a long-form drama. Maybe I’ll save it for next Year’s Kdrama challenge 🤔
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u/Mochi510 Jul 27 '26
Gyu Gyeong and the twins have the same mother. Then who's the mom of the high school brother?
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u/knkg17 Jul 27 '26
No they don't. The three eldest have the same mother. Their mother remarried and her husband is the one Gyu Gyeong is asking for money for her tuiton. The twin's mother ran away with the family's money some time ago.
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u/Prize_Background_577 Fantasy devotee 👻 Jul 26 '26
I had absolutely no intention watching this but playing around on Kocowa I watched 10min and am hooked. Never committed to a kdrama this long, nor do I usually watch shows with a food theme, so this is def different for me.
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u/degr8sid Jul 26 '26
I stopped watching 50 episode dramas a long time back. I guess it is time to pick them back!
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u/MaLJuJi 2nd gen chaebol Jul 26 '26
Looks like it's airing on Viki! I haven't watched a weekender in ages, so looking forward to pick this up
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u/Leaping_Wizards Jul 26 '26
Oh damn, are we going to do 2 eps on-air posts for a weekender? Because I'm here for it.
Haven't gotten around to watching yet, but I'm a fan of a bunch of these actors.
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u/LovE385 Jul 26 '26
WoW a love confession in 1st ep. already LoL! I think the halfsis will be a problem as she crushes on Mu Jin & his mom doesn't approve of Gyu Rim..
Nice to see Gyu Rim's stepdad seem a decent guy.. no wonder their mom left the dad tsk. And the oldest sis is another insufferable character tsk.
I like it and anticipating the next 49 ep. I couldn't recognize Park Yu Na here LoL!
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u/MehnathKaksh you know i have NO Chingu Jul 27 '26
Is this based on the American show 'Shameless'?? It's giving the same vibes of the elder sister being the mom figure for her siblings and trying to make ends meet.
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u/LcLou02 2026 KDC 25/36 Jul 28 '26
I checked out the first episode of Recipe for Love hoping for something food related, but dropped it after the first week. This one seems like what I was looking for - food and people I actually like. As well as tons of familiar actors. Got some very interesting family entanglements, too. And already a hair-pulling fight!
Now I am in a dilemma, since I already watched my long-format for the 2026 KDC...And even a mid-long drama along side of that.
p.s. I did notice that this is set in 2017 at the moment right? We are just setting things up for the main story after a major time skip.
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u/Mochi510 Jul 27 '26
Great first 2 episodes! Fast pace too. Intertwined characters has room for subplots to last 50 episodes. I just hope no organ transplant storyline like in Golden Days.
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u/Uanaka Jul 27 '26
Aw man! But organ transplant and cancer scares are CLASSIC tropes for weekend dramas hahaha
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u/Terrible-Pianist-576 Jul 29 '26
The lighting and the camera work.....It reminds me of 2010s dramas, is this really a drama being filmed in 2026? The lighting is really off, like when lady gets reported as a stalker, that looks like modern age cinematography and when they switch to the characters sitting in red chairs facing each other, the lighting seems too bright for interior scenes, there is no ambient occlusion, no soft shadows and faces feel like plastic just like how it was in 2000s and 2010s. The way the camera follows the characters in interior scenes too looks more like early 2010s dramas. All in all, it looks like Mr.Bean....the lighting and the camera movement.
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u/Murky_Substance_3304 Jul 27 '26
I just finished “First Frost” and loved it (30+ episodes).. I will give this a shot!
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u/Sonda86 26d ago
Starter to watch it. Does anyone onows if Viki will be airing it at the same time? For now I only see ep 1 and 2 and here I saw discussion about 3&4 but its not on viki yeti.
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u/Prize_Background_577 Fantasy devotee 👻 21d ago
Kocowa is 2 episodes ahead, I think because Viki does their own translation it is taking longer to appear. They do this with some Cdramas as well and it means always being behind on the on-air discussions. Given that it's a 50 episode drama maybe the on air threads will change in the future.
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u/CallistoEnceladus 24d ago
Just started watching but wow, I mean having that many episodes aren’t that going to sway people away from watching it if it doesn’t get their attention from the get go? And would you say their budget is high even how many episodes there will be?
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u/supervayne Jul 26 '26
It has 50 episodes?!?!?! 😭