From sisig to halo-halo, ‘Kumusta’ brings Filipino flavors to Seoul 

MANILA, Philippines – A brand new cross-cultural tv collaboration is about to premiere quickly, and it begins not on a stage however in a bustling restaurant kitchen in Seoul.

The upcoming actuality cooking present Kumusta, which blends Filipino superstar tradition with South Korea’s main tv personalities, brings collectively a novel solid: South Korean actors Ji Chang-wook, Kim Min-seok, and Search engine optimization In-guk alongside Filipino stars Jodi Sta. Maria, Janella Salvador, Francine Diaz, and Arci Muñoz. Guiding them within the kitchen is Michelin-recognized Filipino chef JP Anglo.

However in contrast to typical superstar cooking exhibits, Kumusta is constructed round an actual problem: the solid travels to Seoul and opens a brief restaurant within the metropolis’s stylish Gangnam district, serving Filipino dishes to Korean diners whereas cameras roll.

For a number of days throughout filming in 2025, the actors stepped away from their standard roles and labored full restaurant shifts, looking for components, prepping dishes, greeting clients, and scrambling when the eating room all of a sudden crammed.

The title itself comes from the acquainted Filipino greeting “kumusta,” which means “How are you?” — a easy phrase that captures the spirit of the present, which goals to show meals right into a dialog between cultures.

A restaurant run by celebrities

On the middle of the challenge is Chang-wook, considered one of South Korea’s most recognizable tv stars. Identified internationally for hit dramas equivalent to Healer and Empress Ki, Ji takes on the function of host and cultural bridge for the Filipino solid as they navigate life and restaurant service in Seoul.

However he admits that in most scenes, he intentionally stayed away from the kitchen.

“Truly, there’s one motive that I selected to serve within the restaurant,” Chang-wook stated with amusing, replying to Rappler’s query throughout a press interview. “It’s as a result of I’m not good at cooking.” He joked that entering into the kitchen would probably trigger extra issues than assist for the staff.

As a substitute, he targeted on serving to company and supporting the staff led by Anglo. “I simply supported and adopted our boss, Chef JP,” the South Korean Ok-drama star stated.

His earlier expertise working part-time jobs earlier than changing into an actor additionally proved unexpectedly helpful.

“For the primary time once I was serving within the restaurant, it was troublesome to collaborate and work along with different Filipino actresses and the chef,” he stated. “However as time handed, the expertise of getting these laborious jobs earlier than helped me get together with them.”

Bringing Filipino meals to Korean diners

The non permanent restaurant’s menu learn like a greatest-hits record of Filipino delicacies.

In keeping with Anglo, diners had been served dishes equivalent to sisig, lechon, kare-kare, sinigang, and palabok, together with desserts like halo-halo.

For the chef, whose restaurant Sarsa Kitchen + Bar holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand distinction, the problem was monumental.

“I truly instructed them that it’s inconceivable,” Anglo stated. “Non-chefs opening a restaurant and cooking Filipino meals — the stakes had been very excessive.”

The actors had little skilled kitchen expertise, however they embraced the problem.

“They had been troopers,” Anglo stated. “They embraced their roles the identical method they’d embrace their characters once they act. The center was actually there.”

Filming days had been lengthy, generally stretching 12 to 16 hours, and the tempo of restaurant service left little room for errors.

However as the times went on, Anglo stated the staff discovered its rhythm.

“By the third or fourth day I used to be excited to go to the kitchen,” he stated. “It felt like a full circle for me, as a result of that’s how I began — as a younger cook dinner studying slowly.”

A brand new respect for the kitchen

For the Filipino actors, the expertise was each exhausting and eye-opening.

Salvador spent a lot of the present working behind the scenes alongside the chef. “It was my first time cooking,” she stated. “I used to be principally within the kitchen with Chef the entire time.”

Getting ready dishes proved more durable than she anticipated — particularly Filipino classics.

“Ang palabok, ang hirap palang gawin (Palabok was actually laborious to make),” she stated, laughing. “I now have a renewed respect for individuals who work within the service and kitchen business.”

The extraordinary atmosphere mirrored the true pressures confronted by restaurant staff, a actuality that stunned lots of the solid members.

The consequence, Salvador stated, was a deeper appreciation for the craft behind each plate.

Cultural connections by way of meals

Past the cooking problem, the present additionally explores the cultural similarities between Filipinos and Koreans.

In keeping with Chang-wook, one of many largest discoveries got here throughout shared meals.

“Regardless that we’re from totally different nations, in entrance of scrumptious dishes we’re simply all the identical individuals,” he stated.

The restaurant ambiance additionally reminded him of Korean eating tradition.

“The attachment I felt within the restaurant was similar to the attachment we’ve got in Korea,” he added.

For Filipino actress Sta. Maria, the challenge was an opportunity to showcase a deeper facet of Filipino identification.

“I believe probably the most thrilling half about sharing our tradition is the values we maintain pricey,” she stated in reply to Rappler’s query. These values, she defined, embrace caring for each colleagues and company.

“It’s not solely about caring for one another whereas working,” Sta. Maria stated. “It’s additionally ensuring each one who visited the restaurant felt cared for.”

A second for Filipino delicacies

Maybe probably the most emotional moments got here when the solid watched Korean diners get pleasure from Filipino meals for the primary time.

Sta. Maria recalled quiet celebrations within the kitchen as plates returned empty.

“Janella and I’d pinch ourselves after we noticed them consuming and having fun with the meals,” she shared. “It was a reasonably cool second for Filipino delicacies.”

Chef Anglo believes these reactions trace at a bigger alternative.

“I believe that is only the start,” he stated.

If the present succeeds internationally, he believes it might open the door for extra collaborations between Philippine and Korean creators — and doubtlessly introduce Filipino flavors to a a lot wider viewers.

The present will premiere on Might 24 at 6 pm on TV5 and stream internationally on the Viu platform.

At its core, Kumusta is about greater than cooking. It’s about collaboration, cultural change, and the stunning friendships that may kind when individuals share a kitchen.

Chef Anglo summed it up merely. “It felt inconceivable,” he stated. “However we pulled it off.” – Rappler.com

Jinji Abaño is a enterprise author and a lover of the humanities. When she isn’t monitoring the inventory market or overlaying summits, she reads, attends ballet courses or practices a few of her outdated piano items.