Oh, @odilettante will recap this one? Yay!! *dance of happiness*

We are definitely in for a good dose of quirky characters and "bizarre" plot (and how come I didn't know there is cancer involved? And a 4th stage one at that too), which I really like. I also have similar reaction regarding our leads' miserable situation. They have clearly hit rock bottom, so there's no other way than up. I can't wait for their fabulous revenge and will try to distract my mind from the potential triangle-of-doom (or maybe Writer Seo finally decided to explore romcom in a different way? One can always hope).

*Anyone else NOT feeling sorry for Poong in his marriage story? Normally I feel terrible for leads who got cheated but in this case, I don't even think she lied to him? I mean, she threw out the food he made for her and they didn't even have a talk about that. Whole first part she walked with a face like she was tortured and Poong acted as if his life depends on this relationships. At some point, I wouldn't be suprised if she honestly told him that she loves someone else and he ignored it and still continued talking about marriage (I think he actually did that here).
Anyway, I do feel sorry that he lost his job because of that but yea, that's it.

*Cancer+dumped on marriage+family goes bankrupt
And here I thought, I had shitty day

*Is it me or does this show lack in some department? I can't really pinpoint but I felt the same way about Jealousy Incarnate. There is everything that should make me adore this show but something just feels missing.

Thank you @odilettante!
This show is off to a good start, I am looking forward to gleaning insights from others comments and sharing the fun...!
Now I had better go buy some ingredients to prepare for next weeks episodes...
^^

Thank you for the quick recap, @odilettante! You light up my day!

I love this drama to bits, and cant wait to watch more. I love that it is light, funny but not too crazy, and full of heart.

Mr. Gangster Boss gives me heart eyes and makes me cry when he asked Seo Poong to help for his minions to live decently, and with dignity.

It is human for Seo Poong to immediately look for extra backup that he can count on, but when that extra help turn his back on him, my heart breaks for him too. Good thing about this is that it gives real punch for Seo Poong to work his ass off to turn Minions into admirable chefs (and more, I think, as they undoubtedly may end up becoming real friends and family)

Speaking of which, I think Seo Poong's Kitchen Click is the exact opposite of the Gangster Minions. Kitchen Click has cooking ability, but lack loyalty. When things get tough, they betray Seo Poong who supported them all those years. Gangster Minion, on the other other hand, has zero cooking ability (who said that waving knives and bats is the same with having cooking mastery? Hahaha) but they are loyal. The restaurant made no money, but they stay. *sobs*

One thing I wonder about is if Seo Poong and the horse lady will also have love line, because it seems to me that both Gangster Boss and Seo Poong develop certain kind of fondness being with horse lady, and they both try to do nice things to her.
Now about that mannerless doctor who has affair with that hotel dirtbag...good riddance. A guy like Seo Poong who can cook the whole food basket on his own deserves someone who can appreciate his cooking and his love.

Omo!! Thanks so much @odilettante for this recap. This show start with much interest, and seeing Janghyuk+Junho in one screen is so fun.

I'm loving it so far. I've always liked the leading trio.
And Jang Hyuk is so good here, never imagined that he would be so funny,...and he is so cute with his crush. It's a pity that the leading lady will end up with Poong, I hope they find him a nice girlfriend before the end of the series :)

Thank you for the recap, Odilittante!
JangHyuk is a hoot! ^^

Just finished watching the first 4 (2!) episodes and I am totally on board. Favourite part: Jung Ryeo-won. I disliked her (or maybe it was her character played so well) in 'My name is Kim Sam Soon'. But, then she totally won me over in the King of Dramas, and is totally adorbs here too. Not-favourite part: What's with the editing?! So choppy!

I don't even know where to start. I feel like I've been waiting for this drama without even realising it and have been judging others by its standards before it even existed. This is my emotional successor to INAR. Finally!

(Except it's only episode 2 so I reserve the right to totally change my mind).

I just loved the contrasting imagery of knives and cutting, for food, surgery and fencing. The contrast also of excess food and hunger, of the romance of wedding and the pragmatism of registration, of the nihilism of Nietzsche and the zest for life through eating.

Most of all, the use of music is what I was hoping for from Pretty Noona but clearly didn't get.

Now I wish I'd heeded the advice of other Beanies and waited to bingewatch because I'm hooked. Still, this way I get to share the experience with everyone else too.

Jang Hyuk AND Jung Ryeo-won in the same drama? Sign me up.

Though right now, I'm not actually feeling the whole 'cancer + husband' ran away thing, and I guess the show means for it to be like that? Fingers crossed that the only way from here is up.

I'm also not super into Poong and his sob story but hey. We're only 4 eps in. Can't wait to see what shenanigans happens next!

Boo hoo Viki won’t let me watch it unless I upgrade to a plus :( This means I will have to wait for 20 more days before I can enjoy it :(

I like our two male leads, but Sae-woo is just too out there for me right now. I'm usually not one for comedy like seeing her walk down the street with her fencing mask on, horse in tow. I also wasn't a fan of seeing Poong get smeared with chunjang (black bean paste). It's quite possible that the end result was unintentional, but I could help but get the whole "black face" reference. I mean, he could have washed his face clean instead of trying to wipe it clean which only made it look more like "black face."

Realizing that no one will join him, Poong grabs the traditional bamboo noodle press that was given to him by his mentor (and Dal-hee’s father). He leaves with one last look goodbye at the restaurant to which he devoted so much of his heart and soul.

.
[1] I had no clue what they were using that piece of bamboo for.
[2] Poong coworkers are terrible. I at least thought that Bo-ra would have followed him.
[3] When you pour a large portion of your life into a company that is not yours and you feel like you aren't getting the return on investment that you deserve, it's really does feel soul crushing.

Poong has all the signs of a potential noble idiot. At least I'm preparing myself for that now. He decided to forgive his then girlfriend for her transgressions because of the promise he made to her father. Argh. At least the one upside of his personality is that he actually listens to Sae-woo when she goes on and on.

Yeah, not going to talk about the cancer any more than this sentence.

I think one of my favourite aspects of this drama might be Chil-sung and his gang. The boys seem passionate about wanting the restaurant to work, and having that drive and passion is very important to the restaurants eventual success. I like that we're not going to get the typical these guys suck and have to be whipped into shape kind of routine.

Speaking of the gang, am I the only one who thinks that Kim Hyun-Joon (Gwang Dong-Sik) is Go Kyung-pyo's doppelgänger?! Every time he comes on screen, I can't help but be reminded of this.

Fight scene was awesome.

I'm willing to watch this a bit more and see where it goes. Having said that, I can definitely see myself dropping this drama in the future. There are too many frustrating eye-roll inducing moments and much of the humour here isn't my favourite. As much as I love Junho, it's not enough to torture myself.

I am in love. It is funny and sweet and I actually fell in love faster than in case of Jealousy Incarnate. I am really looking forward to next episodes.
By the way, I think it is not the heroine who has cancer but her mother.

Oh yayyyy! A recap! <33

I don't care much about the love line or who the main lead is but I'm soo looking forward to the bromance, and the interactions between Seo Poong and the minions in the kitchen, hopefully this is gonna a fun ride 😄 and of course thank you so much @odilettante for picking up the show !!

Yes! Thanks for the recaps! 😁

The trio is a crazy and I love it! I'm excited to see what other shenanigans they'll pull. I just really want to see SP+his new gangster kitchen staff+CS take the Hotel restaurant down!! Underdog stories are nothing new but the end results are so gratifying.

Regarding SP..he was in serious denial. Didn't Junho call his character a fool in love? I'll say. I do feel bad for him though.

I enjoyed the first 4 episodes. Jung Rye Won is one of my favs and Jang Hyuk in comedy is always great. Junho of course is wonderful. Observations

Junho gives good kiss. I was a little mad at the girl until he kissed her and then I thought. I get it. ( blushes)

Once she threw away his food, he should have broken up with her. It shows an utter casual disregard, for Poong, his career, and him. It should have ended at that point. So my sympathy for the death of their relationship was small. It needed to end.

Ahhh Sae Woo. I liked her. She wasn't stuck up. She genuinely seems kind and not in the candy way, just a nice girl. I enjoyed that.

Chilsung is perfect. Lol. That's all.

YES! Thank you, odilettante! My favorite line:
"She just wants to eat jajangmyun before she gets married, dammit."

That would be me too.

A few years ago a Korean restaurant opened up near my place and I was SOOOO happy until I found out that they only had high-class Korean food. Huh?? Nobody wants that! Anyway, the owner held out for a few months before he put jjajangmyun and ddukbokki on the menu, after which I ate there all the time.

First impressions of this show: ive gotten used to quality cinematography so its slightly lower quality was off putting for me.

All that aside, something was off about the humor and i cringed at jungos characters backstory. BUT, i love our three main characters and the beginning was solid. Hoping thisll continue to be a fun watch.

I don't have time to comment now, but I just have to say: Welcome back, odilettante! I can't tell you how excited I am that you're recapping this! And thank you, DB, for making this happen!

I am loving this show. The show is funny as hell, but balances out with the emotional scenes as well.

Firstly let me, i am loving Jung Ryeo Won as Sae woo. She seems more 'smiley' than in her other dramas. I swear i hated her character so much in My name is Kim sam soon. Her character in that was so damn boring. Sae woo is breath of fresh air.

I love Poong, and he deserves MUCH MUCH better girl than his cheating wife. And Junho look so delicious in this drama.

Jang hyuk is back with the 'LAUGH'. I have missed that laugh so much while watching his last drama 'Money flower'. I laughed so hard while he was smiling from ear to ear while looking at Sae woo , being smitten by her. OMG! Adorable and Funny. <3

I want the end game to be with Poong and Sae woo. They have such an exploding chemistry. Also both their lives have taken a similar path too. Chil sung can be a godfairy or play cupid to get them back together.

Why do i feel that the Chil sung's gang's jajanmyeon is really delicious, opposite of what Poong thinks of just by assuming the kitchen hygiene. That would be such a plot twist though.

I was excited for this drama because of the cast, and while I had some issues with the first episodes, I think there is a lot of potential.

Chil-sung and his boys stole the show for me (I admit I may be biased because Jang Hyuk is my ultimate oppa). Junho is really cute and talented, but I found Seo Poong a little bland. I think that will change when he starts teaching the gang to cook, however. Sae-woo is a good fit for the adorable JRW.

Sometimes the comedy worked for me and sometimes it didn't; It was the same with Jeolousy Incarnate so it may just be a writer thing for me.

I had issues with the editing, but that's why I give most dramas four episodes to work out kinks. They apparently reshot Jang Hyuk's scenes, so that may have played a part too.

I need something wacky and fun to watch so hopefully it gets better and better.

thank you for the recap odilettante! nice to see your name in the byline again:)

i luv the leads, the characters are a bit wacky but i get them for now, maybe coz it's the actors/actress are doing their best to sell what's written on paper! i'm not a fan of this writer, the only drama i finished was Pasta & that's coz i luv LSK dearly! + GHJ's character was so-so, but she's a good actress, so that helps...

some of the comedy might be broad for my taste, i hope to watch till the end, solely for the leads! this will fulfill my fluff kdrama quota...

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your wee-cap, Odilettante! I'm tickled to bits to have a place to fangirl over the proceedings in WOK OF LOVE.

I can't add much more to my raves for the cast and the first two episodes in the Premiere Watch thread:

http://www.dramabeans.com/2018/05/premiere-watch-greasy-melo-lawless-attorney/#comment-3238843

Buster really is going to keep on stealing the show, and will give Jang Hyuk a run for his money. As if the butterflies circling and alighting on his head like a crazy person's flower behind the ear weren't enough, gangster Chil-sung spouts Nietzsche. I love it how he's trying to help his boys earn honest livings so they can lead normal lives. I sure hope he finds happiness, too. It sounds as if he's speaking with the voice of experience regarding the difficulty of getting divorced.

I just got an image of chef Poong astride Buster with his noodle press over his shoulder -- a la Don Quixote?! His campaign of retribution against Chef Wang is shaping up to be a doozy.

Why was heiress Sae-woo's groom hustled back onto a plane when he landed at the airport? Was he a crook who framed her father, bringing down the wrath of the prosecutor's office? (Or do we see the fingerprints of evil hotel heir Yong Seung-ryong all over this turn of events, too?)

As for the jilted bride, I have a feeling that her medical records were mixed up with someone else's. (And maybe we'll find out that black bean noodles have miraculous healing properties.) She hasn't seen her fortune yet, and neither has Poong. I can't wait to see the cookies' predictions.

WOK OF LOVE is my cup of tea. I laughed out loud through all four episodes. I've been in desperate need of a comedy for months, and this one came along at exactly the right time. ;-)

A quick comment before I have to tear myself away: I'm enjoying seeing (and curious about) Lee Mi-sook in the dual role. I really got a kick out of hearing the older Lee Mi-sook tell the younger one, "You're an idiot".

This drama is just what the doctor ordered!

I loved Chil-sung sort of confession and how Sae-woo handled it XD

Woaaa thank you @odilettante for recapping Greasy Melo

It’s always fun to be able to read awesome and insightful comments from beanies!!

I love the trio ❤️

I just realized that WOK OF LOVE's noodle-slinging gangsters are following in the footsteps of the ManDoods of SWEET STRANGER AND ME -- although only boss Ko Nan-gil had tattoos. Plus there's the loanshark business. But Chil-sung is now reformed and setting his guys on the path to honest work.

i always prefer Kooky Jang Hyuk over Melo Jang Hyuk... i hope the series is good!
; )

I hate to be the one to post the 101st comment but I have to: first, Jung Ryeo Won is amazing as always. I love how quirky she can play these characters. Also, Jang Hyuk is great in action but I forgot how good he is in rom-coms as well (see: Fated to Love You). Aaaaaand, Junho! No words needed. Can't wait to see more of this drama.

This is so ridiculously hilarious! Yay to the return of a comic Jang Hyuk! And that lead girl with her horse, so amazing.

Thanks for reply weecap. I haven't been watching anything so I am happy that I have found this drama.

Can Jang Hyuk's dragon club brothers cameo please.

I was actually drawn to the drama because Junho got cast as a central protagonist but Jang Hyuk as Chil-sung made me stay on. I usually found his acting and comedy okay, but he was just downright hilarious and driving here!! He's an Exposition Fairy, alright. And he just pulls off the most random phrases (I especially liked how, in his own philosophical way, he proudly explained to Seo Poong about the name of his loan business, "Loan and Shadow" bhwahwa)!
I was thinking how the plot was going melo like the title referred, and then I was hit with Dan Saewoo's illness and her father's bankruptcy that I just couldn't help rolling my eyes, but I'll try to give my faith to the writer who has spinned a hilarious take on triangle relationships with her last work "Jealousy Incarnate".

Yippee yay, a new show I want to watch and odilletante is recapping! We must be living right 😁

Question - are there 6 star hotels now? 🤔

Learning to watch in the raw as it goes under the kocowa lock before the subtitles are out on Viki .. thanks for the recap!
Oh, and I am shipping Jung Ryeo-won and Jang Hyuk; they're age appropriate. The cancer will be a false alarm

Thank you for recapping Greasy Melo! ^3^

I'm finally giving this a try and I'm loving it! I loved Junho in King the Land (I wasn't crazy about the drama, but love him!) And I just finished Jut Between Lovers, which is now one of my top favorite dramas. It was just beautifully done. Wok of Love is a nice comic relief after the intensity of JBL. Can't wait to see what happens.

Also, I think the horse has cancer!