Ladybug! Cat Noir! You soon have privilege to be ingredients in Kung Food's soup. But first — you taste my special of the day!
"Kung Food, I am Hawk Moth. Those who tasted your soup will become your servants. The one who wronged you will pay dearly."
—Hawk Moth
Marinette's uncle Wang Cheng is arriving to France to compete in a serious competition. The problem is that Marinette doesn't speak Mandarin, and her uncle doesn't speak French very well. Alya calls Adrien, who does speak Mandarin, to assist and escort her uncle to the competition. More problems ensue when Chloé sabotages Cheng's soup, which gets him turned into Kung Food by an akuma.
Tropes:
- Aesop Amnesia: Chloé after her minor Took a Level in Kindness from "Antibug" has gone back to her petty ways, namely in how she crushes others.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Chloé, after complaining about her hair getting greasy, screams for Ladybug to help her.
- Bilingual Backfire: Averted. Although Marinette learns that her uncle understands a little French (or English, in the English dub), she doesn't say anything embarrassing.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Those who ate the Celestial Soup become mind-controlled by Kung Food. They also get some crazy, food-related martial art skills in the deal, enough to be a decent threat to Ladybug and Cat Noir. (And probably some Super-Strength too, considering how the mayor tosses the heroes around.)
- Call-Back: Nino mentioned back in "The Bubbler" that Adrien took Chinese classes.
- Captain Ethnic: Cheng, Marinette's Chinese uncle, becomes "Kung Food" who is dressed like an eastern monk with a face like a guardian lion.
- Compressed Vice: Despite the show's main character, who she hates, being half-Chinese, this is the only episode where Chloé is openly racist, clearly for the purpose of setting up the Aesop.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: After Marinette finds out that Alya sent Adrien to her, she picks up her phone and see the message "You owe me 20,000 croissants now". This wasn't translated out of French, making it also a Bilingual Bonus for the rest of the world.
- Hidden Depths: Adrien speaks fluent Mandarin. Also counts as a Chekhov's Skill, as Adrien's having Chinese language lessons is occasionally brought up in a few episodes like in the "Bubbler".
- I'm a Humanitarian: Kung Food plans on cooking Chloé, Ladybug and Cat Noir into a soup.
- Interchangeable Asian Cultures: Defied. Adrien makes a point to distinguish between Chinese and Japanese culture, which contrasts with Chloé's racism towards Cheng.
- Kick the Dog: Chloé insulting Cheng's cooking (saying she doesn't like soup, while thinking it’s not even a dish), being racist (she interchanges Japanese with Chinese culture and wishes him to make Sushi), dismissing it as all being the same thing when told he's not Japanese, and sabotaging Master Cheng's soup because Marinette said that he would win even without Chloé's vote.
- Laser-Guided Karma: The karma gods are not mocked by Chloé's actions, which results in her getting kicked off the judges. Chloé replies that she resigned.
- Mind-Control Eyes: Kung Food's brainwashed servants have red eyes and yellow sclera.
- Mundane Made Awesome: Montage of Cheng shifu making his soup.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Chloé makes a few racist remarks about Cheng (and by extension Marinette).
- Run the Gauntlet: Before reaching Kung Food, Cat Noir and Ladybug have to defeat one after another all people he controls.
- Shout-Out: Kung Food’s outfit looks very familiar... and so does his pizza sword.
- Surveillance Drone: Kung Food has flying dumplings with built-in cameras that allow him to survey what's happening inside the Grand Hotel, as well as transmit a message to the heroes.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Chloé complains that Ladybug took too long to rescue her and threatens to tell everyone. Ladybug roughly drops her with a sarcastic "Oops!" in retaliation.
- Unwilling Suspension: Chloé gets dangled above the boiling soup in the swimming pool by Kung Food, as he intends for her to be the main ingredient. She's lucky he's waiting for the soup to be "just the right temperature", and thus takes his sweet time before dropping her in.
- Walking Armory: Kung Food fights and equips his minions with many different weapons, thanks to his Bag of Holding.
