America, 1928: This Chef Is Not to Be Messed With

San Francisco, 1920.

Zhang Yi transmigrates into the body of a chef, bringing with him Ma Dong-seok’s physique and top-tier Chinese cooking skills. He joins a Chinatown restaurant on the verge of closing down.

It is the worst of times: Chinese people have to tread carefully, pay double for protection, and face police guns aimed at their heads.

His uncle is a coward, rival businesses sabotage him, and the kitchen staff are at odds. Zhang Yi thinks his cooking can help him make a living, but soon discovers that in this city that devours people, he must first learn to settle arguments with his fists.

White men come looking for trouble? Knock them flat, then serve them a bowl of soul-soothing noodles.

The gangs come to trash his restaurant? Break a few limbs, then negotiate a deal in bootleg liquor.

The law is a plaything of the powerful? Then make the congressman a regular at a Chinese restaurant.

When the sign for the Peace Hotel goes up at the busiest intersection in Los Angeles, everyone understands:

The chef here can cook you a life-saving meal, or take your life.