[OSEN=Reporter Jang Woo-young] In the show “It’s Great to Rest Well,” master chef Le Yeon-bok successfully opened a Chinese restaurant on a deserted island.
In the 37th episode of the MBC entertainment program “It’s Great to Rest Well” (hereinafter referred to as “Rest Well”), aired on the 24th, executive Kim Dae-ho, master chef Le Yeon-bok, Myung Se-bin, and Yang Se-hyung took on the challenge of opening a Chinese restaurant on a deserted island.
For this broadcast, executive Kim Dae-ho invited Le Yeon-bok as the head chef and set off to an island abundant with seasonal ingredients suitable for Chinese cuisine. Accompanying him were Le’s apprentice Myung Se-bin and the island-savvy Yang Se-hyung as expert workers. Once on the island, they first created a sign for the “Deserted Island Chinese Restaurant.”
The four then ventured around the island to gather seafood. Despite the freezing weather, they found ingredients like oysters, sea cucumbers, and clams. Kim Dae-ho grabbed oysters and ate them immediately, sparking complaints from others. As analyst Boom humorously pointed out, “No one can criticize him now,” highlighting Kim Dae-ho’s free spirit, which provided laughter. Eventually, even Le Yeon-bok had to exclaim, “Stop eating!” to restrain him.
After collecting the ingredients, Le Yeon-bok and the workers returned with their findings. Le prepared a snack of Sichuan fried rice with oysters and a clam-filled egg soup. Despite the cold weather freezing even the cooking oil, Le’s passion prevailed, producing delicious Chinese snacks.
With their meal over, they began the main fishing task for seasonal webfoot octopus, known for being packed with eggs. Using the octopus’s tendency to hide in dark places, they placed shellfish traps in the sea and pulled them up. Despite hauling up a thousand shellfish traps, they didn’t find many octopus due to the cold, managing to catch only four large ones.
Due to the limited catch, the boat captain suggested a new fishing location: a rockfish hotspot. Upon lifting the traps, Le Yeon-bok and the workers cheered at the abundance of rockfish.
Le Yeon-bok decided to create “Tangsu Fish” instead of “Tangsu Pork” using the rockfish and planned a perfect course meal allowing guests to choose between black bean noodles, spicy seafood soup, and fried rice. The rockfish Tangsu, presented in two styles—one with filleted fish and another with a whole fried fish—impressed everyone with its visual appeal. Le even managed three stoves simultaneously to quickly prepare the various dishes, proving his exceptional culinary skills.
Thanks to Le Yeon-bok’s ability to create top-notch dishes from any ingredients, the opening of the “Deserted Island Chinese Restaurant” was successful. Towards the end of the broadcast, curiosity grew as Le became anxious over the workers while preparing Sichuan dishes on the second day at the deserted island restaurant.
According to Nielsen Korea, this episode recorded a nationwide viewership rating of 5.8%, up 0.8 percentage points from the 36th episode (5.0%) aired on the 17th, making it the highest-rated entertainment program aired on Monday. This rise in viewership is notable as Kim Dae-ho moved from the studio to the deserted island setting.
The Kim Dae-ho effect is also evident in “Help Me! Homes.” The episode of “Help Me! Homes” aired on the 20th recorded a nationwide viewership rating of 3.2%, the first time the show surpassed a 3% rating since September 26, 2022. The noticeable increase aligns with Kim Dae-ho’s recent reappearance on the program.
MBC’s “It’s Great to Rest Well” airs every Monday at 9 PM. /elnino8919@osen.co.kr