Guide to Eating: The Must-Try Restaurants’ Advice to Foodies
Want to find all the hot places and fashion trends around the globe? Click, scroll, and bookmark––it’s just as simple as that. Yet it’s easy to forget that social media is a digital communicative hub highly susceptible to deception. With lists of diverse stores, cafes, and restaurants constantly unfolding into the virtual scene, it’s no surprise that there is a mix of authentic and biased reviews. Especially when it comes to creators pushing sponsored content for trendy places or posting horrible blog reviews that fail to reflect another place’s true value, content is oftentimes manipulated for promotional purposes.
This is quite disheartening from the point of view of a foodie like me, because nothing is more devastating than a failed dining experience. Nevertheless, tvN is here to save the day with a newer addition to its infinite list of programs. Try checking out The Must-Try Restaurants, a show that strives to curate the best definitive guide for trendy restaurants in South Korea.
This fairly new food-based variety show aims to help avoid disappointing experiences by cultivating a program format that presents the process of lining up to eat at popular restaurants. Ultimately, the show’s purpose is to serve the community of audience members by condensing individual efforts of trial-and-error to determine whether the place was hit-or-miss.
The Must-Try Restaurants is based on reviewing trendy restaurants that have been filling up hashtags, blogs, and social media feeds (and everyone mentioning that “visiting here is a must!”). Fully investing in the whole experience of standing in line for the long-awaited meal, the cast explores the unique character of each restaurant and gauges whether the qualities of the place collectively contribute to its value enough to power through a long wait.
Meet the Cast
Let’s give a warm welcome to The Must-Try Restaurants’ small but mighty crew of two members!
First up is Park Narae, an award-winning comedian whose love for drinking and cooking is widely known among industry insiders and the public. Showcasing her day-in-the-life segments through MBC’s I Live Alone, the public figure’s appreciation of food is almost overstated in every episode alongside recognizing I Live Alone co-host Jun Hyunmoo’s passion for food. Park Narae lives up to her nickname as The Must-Try Restaurants “hipster” with her countless visits to a broad range of popular dining places. It’s quite relaxing to see Park Narae share a bond that radiates positive energy with her soon-to-be-introduced co-host, perhaps due to their common appearance on tvN’s Amazing Saturday.
With co-star Park Narae, renowned mukbang YouTuber Haetnim (YouTube channel 입짧은햇님) is The Must-Try Restaurants’ only other host. Actively performing as a digital creator, Haetnim presents fascinating mukbang lives with her solid subscriber base, even reaching a number of viewers outside of the community. Haetnim’s philosophy of “eat everything well unless it tastes bad” generates her personalized standard for taste, aiding her in enjoying various menus throughout the episodes. A quick shoutout to those fans who hoped to see more Haetnim mukbang footage: chances are you’ll be able to witness Haetnim’s authentic joy for food and even her mukbang tips that’ll intensify the flavor!
Together, Park Narae and Haetnim mingle with new guests each week who join them on their wholesome and delicious journeys. The Must-Try Restaurants’ hosts and guests respectively bring their unique crafts of knowledge from personal experiences to lead fruitful discussions. Sharing and retrieving information through engaging conversations, the members create overflowing on-screen chemistry that further enhances the excitement of their adventure out to the dining tables.
Personal Insight
From a personal standpoint, this program seems to respond well to the extremely active culture surrounding social media usage. In terms of intention, it’s easy to spot the clear connection between sharing food content online and the trend of following what seems to be the most popular amongst SNS users. The production crew’s choice to centralize the theme of eating where 밥심 (bap-sim) (“the power of food” or “eating a good meal”) is so naturally embedded into domestic viewers’ routines appears to be the core aspect that attracts viewers (after all, a little food can’t hurt you in any way!).
The show targets younger generations by introducing popular places they went to or want to go to, but also introduces them to the older generation. By very loosely characterizing the older generation as possessing less digital media skills, having a television show like this is insightful in providing them with essentially what their kids or other adults are interested in. By embracing a broad range of ages rather than honing in on a younger, niche audience, The Must-Try Restaurants’ steadily developing guide will undoubtedly open the door for people of various ages to explore those hot places to create an all-inclusive communal experience.
Edited by Omani