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

MANILA, Philippines – A new cross-cultural television collaboration is set to premiere soon, and it begins not on a stage but in a bustling restaurant kitchen in Seoul.

The upcoming reality cooking show Kumusta, which blends Filipino celebrity culture with South Korea’s leading television personalities, brings together a unique cast: South Korean actors Ji Chang-wook, Kim Min-seok, and Seo In-guk alongside Filipino stars Jodi Sta. Maria, Janella Salvador, Francine Diaz, and Arci Muñoz. Guiding them in the kitchen is Michelin-recognized Filipino chef JP Anglo.

But unlike typical celebrity cooking shows, Kumusta is built around a real challenge: the cast travels to Seoul and opens a temporary restaurant in the city’s trendy Gangnam district, serving Filipino dishes to Korean diners while cameras roll.

For several days during filming in 2025, the actors stepped away from their usual roles and worked full restaurant shifts, shopping for ingredients, prepping dishes, greeting customers, and scrambling when the dining room suddenly filled.

The title itself comes from the familiar Filipino greeting “kumusta,” meaning “How are you?” — a simple phrase that captures the spirit of the show, which aims to turn food into a conversation between cultures.

A restaurant run by celebrities

At the center of the project is Chang-wook, one of South Korea’s most recognizable television stars. Known internationally for hit dramas such as Healer and Empress Ki, Ji takes on the role of host and cultural bridge for the Filipino cast as they navigate life and restaurant service in Seoul.

But he admits that in most scenes, he deliberately stayed away from the kitchen.

“Actually, there is one reason that I chose to serve in the restaurant,” Chang-wook said with a laugh, replying to Rappler’s question during a press interview. “It’s because I’m not good at cooking.” He joked that stepping into the kitchen would likely cause more problems than help for the team.

Instead, he focused on helping guests and supporting the team led by Anglo. “I just supported and followed our boss, Chef JP,” the South Korean K-drama star said.

His previous experience working part-time jobs before becoming an actor also proved unexpectedly useful.

“For the first time when I was serving in the restaurant, it was difficult to collaborate and work together with other Filipino actresses and the chef,” he said. “But as time passed, the experience of having those hard jobs before helped me get along with them.”

Bringing Filipino food to Korean diners

The temporary restaurant’s menu read like a greatest-hits list of Filipino cuisine.

According to Anglo, diners were served dishes such as sisig, lechon, kare-kare, sinigang, and palabok, along with desserts like halo-halo.

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

“I actually told them that it’s impossible,” Anglo said. “Non-chefs opening a restaurant and cooking Filipino food — the stakes were very high.”

The actors had little professional kitchen experience, but they embraced the challenge.

“They were troopers,” Anglo said. “They embraced their roles the same way they would embrace their characters when they act. The heart was really there.”

Filming days were long, sometimes stretching 12 to 16 hours, and the pace of restaurant service left little room for mistakes.

But as the days went on, Anglo said the team found its rhythm.

“By the third or fourth day I was excited to go to the kitchen,” he said. “It felt like a full circle for me, because that’s how I started — as a young cook learning slowly.”

A new respect for the kitchen

For the Filipino actors, the experience was both exhausting and eye-opening.

Salvador spent much of the show working behind the scenes alongside the chef. “It was my first time cooking,” she said. “I was mostly in the kitchen with Chef the whole time.”

Preparing dishes proved harder than she expected — especially Filipino classics.

“Ang palabok, ang hirap palang gawin (Palabok was really hard to make),” she said, laughing. “I now have a renewed respect for people who work in the service and kitchen industry.”

The intense environment mirrored the real pressures faced by restaurant workers, a reality that surprised many of the cast members.

The result, Salvador said, was a deeper appreciation for the craft behind every plate.

Cultural connections through food

Beyond the cooking challenge, the show also explores the cultural similarities between Filipinos and Koreans.

According to Chang-wook, one of the biggest discoveries came during shared meals.

“Even though we are from different nations, in front of delicious dishes we are just all the same people,” he said.

The restaurant atmosphere also reminded him of Korean dining culture.

“The attachment I felt in the restaurant was very similar to the attachment we have in Korea,” he added.

For Filipino actress Sta. Maria, the project was a chance to showcase a deeper aspect of Filipino identity.

“I think the most exciting part about sharing our culture is the values we hold dear,” she said in reply to Rappler’s question. Those values, she explained, include caring for both colleagues and guests.

“It’s not only about taking care of each other while working,” Sta. Maria said. “It’s also making sure every person who visited the restaurant felt cared for.”

A moment for Filipino cuisine

Perhaps the most emotional moments came when the cast watched Korean diners enjoy Filipino food for the first time.

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

“Janella and I would pinch ourselves when we saw them eating and enjoying the food,” she shared. “It was a pretty cool moment for Filipino cuisine.”

Chef Anglo believes those reactions hint at a larger opportunity.

“I think this is just the beginning,” he said.

If the show succeeds internationally, he believes it could open the door for more collaborations between Philippine and Korean creators — and potentially introduce Filipino flavors to a much wider audience.

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

At its core, Kumusta is about more than cooking. It is about collaboration, cultural exchange, and the surprising friendships that can form when people share a kitchen.

Chef Anglo summed it up simply. “It felt impossible,” he said. “But we pulled it off.” – Rappler.com

Jinji Abaño is a business writer and a lover of the arts. When she is not monitoring the stock market or covering summits, she reads, attends ballet classes or practices some of her old piano pieces.