Rain's "The Hungry and the Hairy" is Mouth-watering

Plus: "Jinny's Kitchen," another soothing and easy-to-watch food-related show

Noh Hong-chul and Rain. (All photos courtesy of Netflix)

"The Hungry and the Hairy"

먹보와 털보 ☆☆☆½

“The Hungry and the Hairy” is the reality series I didn’t know I needed. I’m a fan of mukbangs, but sometimes get grossed out by the sheer volume of food that mukbangers consume for their viewers’ entertainment. I also enjoy watching travel shows, but often get bored by the dialogue and staged settings.

This series offers the best of both worlds. Viewers get to see parts of Korea that may be unfamiliar to them, through the eyes of Jung Ji-hoon — known to K-pop fans as Rain/비 — and comedian Noh Hong-chul (aka the Elevator Guy in PSY‘s “Gangnam Style” video), who travel across South Korea by motorcycle.

At each of these destinations — Jeju Island, Gochang, Busan, Gangwon, Gyeongju, Namhae — the duo stop multiple times to eat.

And … OMG the food all looks mouth-wateringly delicious.

I knew that Rain was a talented singer/actor, but I had no idea that his cooking skills were top notch. Some of the best meals they enjoy are ones that he whips up for them at campsites or even at quaint restaurants (where the chef allows the star to use his kitchen).

I know people who carry kimchi, paprika and hot sauce in their handbags. But Rain goes beyond, bringing his own supply of truffle to sprinkle on jjajangmyeon/짜장면 (noodles with black bean sauce).

At the series start, Rain explains that he stays in shape by exercising daily and limiting his meals to once a day — a rule that he deliciously defies on the road trips. As many folks on the series point out, he has a way of eating with gusto that makes everything look delicious. (Noh is a little pickier about what he eats.) And at the end of the series back in Seoul, a noticeably thinner Noh said that he dropped weight once shooting the series ended and he stopped eating with Rain. ㅋㅋ

The one thing I didn’t like about “The Hungry and the Hairy” was all the references to Netflix — as if the network was doing them a favor producing the series. The finale shows the friends hoping for a second season overseas, where they could meet the streaming site’s co-founder, Reed Hastings.

Overall, this is a very easy series to watch. I watched this for the first time in 2021 when most of us were stuck at home (due to COVID-19 lockdown). But even today, it’s fun to live vicariously through Rain and Noh as we follow along their fun and delicious adventures.

Airdates: Ten hour-long episodes dropped on Netflix on December 11, 2021.

© 2024 JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved

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“Jinny’s Kitchen” (Season 1)

서진이네 ☆☆☆

I’ve been watching season 2 of “Jinny’s Kitchen,” which is set in Reykjavik, Iceland. I was going to review it. But then I realized it’s essentially the same as 2023’s season 1, which took place in Bacalar, Mexico.

I don’t consider this to be a negative, though. One of the things I love about “Jinny’s Kitchen” is that it is so relaxing to watch in its familiarity. The only notable difference between the two seasons is that BTS’ V was in season 1 and Go Min-si (“Sweet Home”) is the new intern in season 2.

For this review, I’m going to concentrate on the first season, because that’s the reality series that I initially fell in love with.

The concept is simple. A group of telegenic Korean celebrities run a custom-built snack bar in Bacalar, Mexico, for … one week. In its own way, it had all the elements of a fun K-drama minus any love triangles. Was there a 2nd male lead? Of course! As well as a 3rd and a 4th and so on. It shifted every few minutes, depending on who’s on screen — Park Seo-joon of “Itaewon Class,” “Parasite” actor Choi Woo-shik, BTS vocalist V, and the dimpled head of Jinny’s Kitchen, Lee Seo-jin (“Behind Every Star”).

The sole woman on the program is Jung Yu-mi, who was the female lead opposite Gong Yoo in the films “Train to Busan,” “The Crucible” (also know as “Silenced”), and “Kim Ji-young: Born 1982.”

Lee and Jung had appeared together in both seasons of “Youn’s Kitchen” — another food reality show that was set in Indonesia and Spain, with Park joining them in the second season.

Each episode essentially feels like a case of “Groundhog’s Day,” where the same thing that happened the previous afternoon occurs again. Lee worries if they’ll make enough money that day, chef Park and his intern V ponder about how much food they’ll have ready to go in case of a customer influx, Jung frets if she can make kimbap fast enough, and the bilingual Choi is the waiter who occasionally entertains guests by pointing out his colleagues’ fame.

There’s a bit of theatrical exaggeration from some of the customers, all of whom have signed releases to appear on the reality series. Some pontificate on the authenticity of what they’re eating (ㅋㅋ, it’s a corn dog, dude!) and others primp so they’ll look pretty when the show airs. In the final episode, a Korean family that resides in Mexico comes for a meal. The grandmother is overly polite, making effusive comments about the meal that no Korean halmoni in her right mind would find that special.

As someone who doesn’t like to see food wasted, I was disappointed that the crew didn’t make use of the hot dog tips that they cut off so the corn dogs would fit better into the fryer. Hello? They could’ve breaded and fried them and sold them as a fun appetizer!

Reality didn’t come into play with the open-air restaurant’s set up, which was super cute, but lacked essentials like … a door to prevent any potential thefts! But, again, this is a TV show where security guards and the production crew most likely kept tabs on the kitchen for that week-long duration.

Still, this series was so soothing to watch — in the same way that Rain’s “The Hungry and the Hairy” was.

Extra points for the cute doggo, Perro, who made his way to “Jinny’s Kitchen” everyday.

Airdates: Ten 90-minute episodes aired from February 24 to May 5, 2023 on Prime Video.

© 2024 JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved

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