It's been 6 months since an office lady, Chiharu, transferred from Tokyo to Sapporo. There, she found her place in a small bento shop, "Kumaben." She wandered one day.
On the other hand, cook Yuu is still determined to solve customers' worries with the magic of his bento. An old friend, Shohei, who works for a fashion company, came by to see Yuu. He ordered a bento "Worth to be the last meal of life". By those words, he hides his true intentions... Sensing unusual, Chiharu and Yuu become preoccupied with finding Shohei's true motives.
Lunch Queen (2002)
Similars
Natsumi loves lunch. By chance she starts working for "Kitchen Macaroni", posing as the fiance of the owner's eldest son, Kenichiro. Kenichiro's father Kenzo and his three younger brothers - Yujiro, Junzaburo, and Koshiro - run the restaurant, famous for its omelet. Also working at the restaurant are Mamoru, a chef, and Minoru, a live-in apprentice cook. Not everyone has a liking to Natsumi at first, but over time they will surely fall in love with her...
Ichijo Futa spends his days as an impeccable high-spec man. However, he finds a way of life after falling in love unexpectedly.
Ichijo likes to eat naked — his way to relieve stress after working overtime until morning — and he falls asleep at his grandmother’s house. One day, Miki Mahiro, his grandmother’s friend who runs a fruit and vegetable store, comes into the house and happens to witness Ichijo eating naked, which is Ichijo’s secret that he has been keeping from anyone until now.
Fukuyoshi Hina, Arare, and Hana are three sisters whose family run Fukuya, a 450-year-old traditional Japanese confectionery shop in Kyoto. This is the story of their individual romances, love of family and sacrifices for the sake of protecting tradition. ~~ Adapted from the manga "Fukuyadou Honpo" by Yuchi Yayomi.
Hanaoka Nao's mother, Yuriko, works as a confectioner at Kogetsuan, a traditional Japanese sweets shop. Nao meets Takatsuki Tsubaki, the owner's six-year-old son, and they become childhood sweethearts. Tragedy strikes when Tsubaki's father is murdered. Nao's mother is arrested based on Tsubaki's testimony, and Nao is left homeless after her mother's death. With Nao as the daughter of a murder suspect and Tsubaki as the victim's son, they part ways with bitterness. Over 15 years later, Nao and Tsubaki cross paths again during a Japanese confectionery competition. Tsubaki, unaware of Nao's true identity, is captivated by her creations and impulsively proposes marriage. Nao, determined to prove her mother's innocence, conceals her past and agrees to marry Tsubaki, gaining entry to Kogetsuan. Little do they know the challenges awaiting them. Despite life's adversities, Nao and Tsubaki's bond deepens as they're drawn together. The truth behind the events of 15 years ago remains a mystery.
Chae Yong Ju is a former member of the special forces in the military. She's physically and mentally strong and has her own unique cheerfulness. She is also good at hiding her true emotions. Now working as a salesperson for a liquor company for the past six years, she has been dubbed the sales king. Despite her dedication, her branch is on the verge of closing.
To avoid the closure, she carries out a mission to sell a new beer made by brewmaster & CEO of the brewery company Yun Min Ju. Min Ju is a sensitive man good at sensing other people's emotions. He lives in a peaceful, quiet rural area to focus on making beer. When Yong Ju appears in front of him, however, his life is about to change.
A love story between Kaji, a genius pâtissière and Mizuki, a former marathon runner / dessert-lover who becomes his taste tester after she starts working at the same hotel.
Takeshi, an Italian restaurant chef, and Ruri could have been lovers, but Takeshi was too comfortable with their current relationship that he chose to stay best friends with her. Now, Ruri is engaged to another man and Takeshi is deep in regret. He runs through the night of Tokyo to tell her his true feelings before it's too late, but right as he stands in front of Ruri, an unfortunate accident takes his life away. However, a twist of fate brings them back together once again in an ironic situation. "Eternal First Love" unfolds as a bittersweet story of an everlasting "first love."
Yang Eun Bi is a university student preparing for her civil service exam with the dream of being a high school teacher. She accidentally encounters Cha Chi Soo, the arrogant son of the biggest food conglomerate in Korea. Cha Chi Soo fascinates women with his good looks and charm. Eun Bi is attracted to him before she finds out that he is only a high school student and thus several years younger than her. However, her student-teaching assignment finds her not only working at the high school that Cha's family owns but teaching his homeroom class. She grows to dislike him for his arrogance and lack of empathy. He, on the other hand, becomes fascinated with her because she is tough and athletic, unlike the other women he knows.
In both dramas the female lead starts living with three brothers and working at their family-run restaurant. The personality of the brothers are even similar in both of these dramas. In this regard Yuujirou is comparable to Kanata, Junzaburou to Chiaki and Koushirou to Touma. Lunch Queen is much older but just as much enjoyable ! Who will be the lucky brother :) ?
Koiwa Mimiko manages a small bakery that has been in her family for generations, but struggles doing it all on her own. Kita Kaoru, who is 6 years younger than Mimiko, begins working at the bakery part time. He used to be a chef at a Michelin star restaurant, but doesn't speak about his past. Despite his secrets, Kaoru becomes an indispensable presence in Minako's bakery and life.
Natsumi loves lunch. By chance she starts working for "Kitchen Macaroni", posing as the fiance of the owner's eldest son, Kenichiro. Kenichiro's father Kenzo and his three younger brothers - Yujiro, Junzaburo, and Koshiro - run the restaurant, famous for its omelet. Also working at the restaurant are Mamoru, a chef, and Minoru, a live-in apprentice cook. Not everyone has a liking to Natsumi at first, but over time they will surely fall in love with her..
It's been 6 months since an office lady, Chiharu, transferred from Tokyo to Sapporo. There, she found her place in a small bento shop, "Kumaben." She wandered one day.
On the other hand, cook Yuu is still determined to solve customers' worries with the magic of his bento. An old friend, Shohei, who works for a fashion company, came by to see Yuu. He ordered a bento "Worth to be the last meal of life". By those words, he hides his true intentions... Sensing unusual, Chiharu and Yuu become preoccupied with finding Shohei's true motives.
Masato is a young ramen chef in the city of Takasaki in Japan. After the sudden death of his emotionally distant father, he chances upon a suitcase of memorabilia and a red notebook—filled with musings and old photos—left behind by his Singaporean mother, who died when he was just ten years old.
Acting on a hunch, he takes off for Singapore with the notebook, hoping to piece together the story of his life, as well as that of his parents. There he meets Miki, a Japanese food blogger and single mother who helps him track down his maternal uncle Ah Wee, who runs a bak kut teh stall. Masato discovers that his grandmother Madam Lee is still alive, and that she holds the key to the tender yet turbulent love story of his parents. Masato and his grandmother try to heal each other's broken souls, and they find salvation in the kitchen, where the meals they cook become more than the sum of their ingredients.
~~ A co-production between Singapore, Japan, and France.
Both of them have to do with food, family, and friends. Both of them are GREAT! So Great! And both of them have the same level of romance. Both have great actors. Both are never boring. And I loved both of them so much!