This is pretty good, one of the most serious competition shows yet. Judges tasting blind without knowing who made each dish makes things as fair as possible while also eliminating consideration of presentation except as a tie-breaker.
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Thanks for the heads up
Have heard good things from several unrelated places so Iâm going to stick with it but wow I thought things got off to a really slow start in the first two episodes. Also some of the style and filmmaking quirks drove me crazy, the instant replay and extending dramatic pauses with editing and such.
The actual food and cooking is pretty cool to look at though.
Loved the show. One of the best reality cooking competition shows of so many these days. Ed Lee was phenomenally creative, as were plenty of other contestants. Judging was mostly blunt and fair. Yes, editing is different than what most who donât watch Korean shows will be used to, but itâs far less egregious than others (e.g. Physical 100)
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I thought the ârestaurant missionâ had some serious problems.
Not revealing beforehand that the âcustomersâ would be 20 mukbangers who would have two and a half hours to eat, a âbudgetâ of 1 million won of imaginary money, be able to order only one dish at a time, and could order the same dish repeatedly meant that the contestants couldnât plan their menus to win. The team that guessed correctly that high prices were the way to go won by a mile but that was in large part luck. They were also smart to prep in such a way that they could get dishes out in fast-food time. They deserved to win, but if the rules had been disclosed at the beginning the other teams would have had a better shot at designing winning menus.
anyone visit mosu when it was in sf??
Started binging this over the holidays with the fam. Itâs awesome! I love watching the judges tease apart the different components while blindfolded, and talk about technique.
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While doing some year-end cleaning, I just came across an old menu from a meal there. I think this is from early 2016 or late 2015?
It was a pleasant start with the amuse of burdock bark, fermented kelp butter, and pickled sansho berries. I remember the caviar with green apple (it was actually like gomadofu) and the sea moss and foie gras soup with rice. I couldâve sworn there was a dish reminiscent of nakji bokkeum, but maybe that was from a different meal.
I liked Mosu in SF. I thought it kind of punched above its weight at the time. Back in those days I think you could grab Raveneau 1er for under $300ish, IIRC. That spot became RTB / Avery.
Mosu Seoul was closed when I went to Korea a couple of months ago.
I havenât seen Culinary Class Wars, but off my experience at Mosu in SF, Iâd seek out Mosu again if I were in the mood for a fine dining tasting menu.
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Too much cooked-up suspense / drama in season two.
i am really enjoying season 2 but I feel like I knew the white spoons way better in 1 theyâre all blending together quite a bit for me in this one
i thought season 2 was outstanding, better than season 1
- the only major fault was the whole-side elimination seemed to make the paths of the remaining two blackspoon chefs pre-ordained
- was really rooting for the old man chef Hu Deok-juk to make to the final - 77 years old!
- the pair team round episode - particularly the team of serial braiser and his introvert buddy, gracefully executing while everyone else was running around like maniacs - was great
- the narrative of the jorimping was compelling
- the judges and the production crew really know how to make the act of eating entertaining and exciting - all the sounds and also all the small reaction sounds, hilarious. also the blindfold round remains high comedy
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I thought/just personally enjoyed nursing a conspiracy that Venerable Sunjae actually wanted to be eliminated & the hosts/production crew, in deference to her cultural cache, kept finding ways to keep her on so long
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Hilarious, but not without merit. It was interesting to see her take on things though l. I also think the hosts gave her extra reverence for the same reason (but perhaps not as extraneously)
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The final challenge was a great idea, maybe the best concept of any cookoff show Iâve watched.
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Hasung âCulinary Monsterâ Lee is opening Oyatte in NYC.
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Chef Jung Si-Jun âQueen of Dim Sumâ is in LA/OC today and tomorrow at Hmart promoting her new products.
Saturday 1/24
Buena Park 1-3
Irvine 5-7
Sunday 1/25
Korean town 1-3
Arcadia 5-7
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Weâre going to Seoul in April and want to go to Napoli Mafia or Cooking Maniacâs restaurant but it sounds like a very difficult reservation.
We have Auntie Omakaze and Brewmaster Yun on our list. Has anybody been to any of the other contestants restaurants?
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It completely strips away the ego and reputation of the White Spoons and forces the judges to focus purely on the technical 
execution and seasoning. It was so satisfying to see an underdog âBlack Spoonâ win purely on flavor without the judges knowing their pedigree beforehand
As noted above heâs opening in NYC. Does he have some other place in Korea?
Might be able to help you out with rezzies, DM me.
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