Korean heartthrobs Nichkhun of 2PM and former U-KISS member Alexander “Xander” Lee had to stretch their stomachs to take on Filipino celebrity cousins Ciara Sotto and Danica Sotto-Pingris in the 48-hour food trip challenge around the Philippines.
The upcoming second season of tvN Asia’s One Night Food Trip – International Edition brought the Korean idols to the country to travel, eat, and compete against the Sotto cousins.
The pairs flew separately via Cebu Pacific to different destinations where tons of stunning sights and exotic delicacies awaited them. Nichkhun and Xander went on a trip from Cebu to Pampanga, while Ciara and Danica traveled from Coron, Palawan to Legazpi, Albay.
Each team were tasked to complete missions by experiencing the local tourist attractions and trying out cuisines to acquire stamps. The team with the most stamps after the 48-hour food trip takes home the Golden Passport.
During the recent press conference at City of Dreams Manila, Nichkhun shared how the show posed a big challenge to his “small stomach.”
“I don’t go to these shows because I’m not a big eater; my stomach is very small. Before we started eating almost every meal, we did stretching for our stomachs,” shared the 2PM member. “For this show, eating is something more like an exercise than something you enjoy.”
But it was a different case for Xander as, he said, he loves food and participating in food shows. He admitted, however, that he had never eaten as much in other food shows as he had in One Night Food Trip.
“The format of the show is to not only eat food, but to get a lot of dishes. At first we were worried [about the quantity] but when you watch the show, you’ll think we’re monsters,” quipped Xander
When Ciara and Danica were asked where all the food they consumed went, Nichkhun quickly butted in, “We all know that women have more than one stomach: they have appetizer stomach, they have the main dish stomach, and then they have the dessert stomach.”
The Korean idols talked about trying local foods like sisig, which they both loved. “I had it with rice and a hot chili pepper in one hand. I’m pretty sure the 2PM members would love it,” said Nichkhun.
During the competition, each team was allowed to send special challenges to the other group.
“[They] gave us the worse,” said Xander. Ciara, on the other hand, shared the other pair sent them a challenge “that made it hard for us to eat.”
But apart from the food, the show also allowed them to see the beauty of the country. Despite being locals, Ciara and Danica said the experience made them appreciate the Philippines more.
“We went to secret places that not much people know about so they really have to watch the show to see it,” said Ciara.
One Night Food Trip – International Edition 2 will premiere on July 30 at 18:30 (GMT +8). tvN is available in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.