Three Meals A Day (ep10): Highlights

We are officially at the end of Three farmland version; unofficially, there’s another 1ep of Director’s Cut Special this (or next, in this blog) week. To celebrate the closure (and the high ratings Three garnered for doing absolutely nothing), Na PD re-invites ep1 guests — Yoon Yoo-jung and Choi Hwa-jung — for a “party”. Only thing is he hasn’t told them there’s nothing to eat there…(oops?)

1. The quietest welcome in Three’s history

Remember when Yoo-jung halmoni and Hwa-jung arrived in ep1? Seo-jinnie and Taec were on standby to welcome them…but not this time. In fact, the ladies arrive to a deadly quiet hanok-farmhouse…with not a single soul in sight. (ok, discounting the bevy of production crew members)

Reason — the 4 guys are deep in lala land:

Well, you can’t blame them for turning into sleeping beauties. After the battle with the sorghum, they are all dead tired. In fact, Gwang-kyu didn’t manage to wake up till late in the morning the next day, sparking snide comments from Yoo-jung on whether they should call 119 (the emergency hotline), to check on whether he’s dead. 😛

2. Seo-jinnie and his toilet fans

We are reminded again that nice, rustic surroundings = poor sanitary conditions. It’s not the first time Seo-jinnie chooses to make a trip to town on the pretext of buying stuff, but actually with the real intention of using the toilet facilities. Even Kim Gwang-kyu is not immune to smelly loos, I suppose, despite claiming to enjoy being on a “country holiday”. Cos he immediately seconds Seo-jinnie’s choice to make use of the municipal council’s modern toilet.

Being such well-known figures, the municipal council’s staffers have no issues letting Seo-jinnie and Gwang-kyu wander in and out of their office to make use of their facilities. But then again, the drawback of being famous is…you can’t even get a private moment post-“big business”. Juz see for yourself the long queue of adoring female fans outside the gents waiting for Seo-jinnie to come out:

3. Mandoo Queen — Yoon Yoo-jung

We learn something new about Yoo-jung halmoni again today. Her grandmother used to stay in Gaesong (the border between N and S Korea), and so, Yoo-jung halmoni has learnt to make mandoos that are typical only to Gaesong. To the Seoulites present, this is the nearest to N Korean cuisine.

And it’s quite hilarious how Yoo-jung halmoni immediately takes charge of mandoo making. She assigns everyone different tasks — Taec to roll the dough (since he’s all nothing but brute strength), Hwa-jung as sous chef, Seo-jinnie as garlic dispenser (his favourite task, btw), Seung-gi as general vege cutter…and Gwang-kyu…he…well, he’s the whipping boy. Poor thing, he tries to help but gets in everyone’s way. He piles more wood to stoke the fire — only to receive complaints it’s too hot already. He tries to wash up — and ends up tripping himself in a wash basin. He tries to joke to lighten the mood — and gets scolded by Yoo-jung for being cheeky.

4. Food Fighter — Choi Hwa-jung

We are reminded that she has a mouth that never stops eating. In ep1, she brings along loads of snacks and kimbabs and eats and eats and eats…this time round, she prepared pastries and alcohol for Na PD’s so-called “party”. Hilariously, her food also ends up as part of the deco for the party — candy floss replaces fake snow hanging from the Christmas’ lighting.

Breakfast the next morning is special sweet glutinous rice cake prepared by Hwa-jung. (ok, the bulk of the heavy duty work like pounding the rice goes to Seo-jinnie and Taec) If Yoo-jung halmoni doesn’t stop her from popping the rice cakes into her mouth, none would make it on to the breakfast plate.

5. Three‘s family

It’s heartwarming to see Yoo-jung halmoni teaching the young (and not so young)’uns her mandoo recipe. And watching them gathered around her, each busy with their assigned task(s), while she clucks and supervises them like a mother hen. In an interview later, Yoo-jung says this was how her great grandma and grandma taught her and her siblings.

And like a good granny, Yoo-jung makes sure none of her brood are left out. Though she tsks at Gwang-kyu, she makes sure he gets to contribute. When she sees Seo-jinnie alone outside (he claims he’s not that used to large groups), she calls him in and makes him sit next to her to roll the dough. (aww)

6. Min-ki 

No highlights will be complete without Min-ki. That little pup gets another wardrobe change, thanks to Hwa-jung. But the new clothes is a heavy, puffy doggy coat… which tires poor Min-ki out from wearing it.

And you have to see for yourself again how adorable Min-ki is when she is napping.

We have a short preview into Three‘s winter series — aka the fishing village segment — which will air in Jan 2015. (soon!!!) Turns out that Jang Geun-suk has a background in the seafood industry. His dad owns a fish farm, and he grows up learning how to scale and prepare fish and other seafood. (omo…and we thought he is there solely for laughs) As usual, Na PD over sells the location, calling it an island paradise, blahblah…when the cut scenes show it is a deserted, chilly, godforsaken island farthest from Korea. And with hardly any boats travelling to and from it during winter. In other words, they are stuck there. (muwahahaha…)