one more drama that make our mouth drooling
quite sometimes I want to watch this drama but more better drama with more interesting cast show up, so I decided to delay this for a little bit. Really glad I've watch this drama.This drama really make the chef in the title worthy of its name. Not like other drama with the chef in its title, every aspect in this drama is a about cooking. They sometimes solved problem in the drama also with cooking.
I really like Hua Er Qiao & Meng Yu Huai's mother. They what people in my country said 'durian people'. No, not because they like to eat durian, but because they outer is very sharp (especially the mouth) but they're very soft in the inside (meaning good people). Unlike Guan Rong (GR) who is like kedondong (looking good from the outside but very nasty from the inside). But yeah i can understand GR actually, being sick for almost my entire life make me easily jealous with other people.
The one that really pissed me off in this entire drama is. They have to shoot really really closely when they try new dishes cooked by Hua Xiao Mai. Make my mouth also drooling by seeing them eating the food in here... ^_^.
Overall I really happy I've watched this drama. But i don't think i like to re-watch. But final warning for you who want to watch this drama. Watch with full stomach or you'll feel really hungry by watch this :P
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Reliable emotions from the actors
This drama reminds me some artistic chinese I have watched two decades ago.I loved that ML is not a prince or a rich CEO. It was recorded in such a beautiful setting in small cities. We feel we are seeing true China. ML is a great guy since the drama starts and his evolution is plausible. I do not understandwhy most drama writers like a 180 degree change when a horrible person ( ML are quite often egoist, even narcisists) falls in love.
Actually, I do not like to cook so I was never hooked on cooking dramas, but I really appreciate this one.
This story is not plenty of common places or artificial situations. The problems they meet are mostly likely to happen, like a difficult step mother that finaly loves the wife and nasty family members dropping by. Of course, FL has an envious rival but she eventually gives up once they get married. And so on.
Their love scenes, specially in the begging are very natural just like real life. I loved the couple simple shy attitude before their relationship started. I was enchanted by their sweetness.
Hope you can understand my English.
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Beautiful images of cooking, to the point of indigestion!!
Historical Food Series, settled for once, far from the Court...PLOT: FL, lives in the countryside with her sister. She is a little genius in the kitchen and dreams of having her own restaurant. She meets the ML, escort guard. They get married (ep. 16) and evolve together.
+++ Beautiful images of Food, numerous.
+++ Good actors, nice CL.
### The hands of the "chef" are very obviously men's hands :) There was no female chef capable of lending her hands to the actress for the filming??
### 36 episodes, at a fairly slow pace, it's long!! We even get tired of the very, very numerous images of cooking.
=> Watched untill the end without enthusiasm for me...
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Série Food Historique, pour une fois, loin de la Cour ...
PLOT: La FL, vit à la campagne avec sa sœur. C'est un petit génie de la cuisine et rêve d'avoir son restaurant. Elle rencontre le ML, garde d'escorte. Ils se marient (ép. 16) et évoluent ensemble.
+++ Belles images de Food, nombreuses.
+++ Bons acteurs, CL sympa.
### Les mains de la "chef" sont de façon très évidente, des mains d'homme :) Il n'y avait pas de Chef femme capable de prêter ses mains à l'actrice pour le tournage ??
### 36 épisodes, à un rythme assez lent, c'est long !! On se lasse même des images de cuisine, très très nombreuses.
=> Au bout sans enthousiasme pour moi ...
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YUMMY, FUNNY & ADDICTING!
Since Chef Fang series ended, I was desperately trying to find a series with similar tone and VOILA! I found a pot of gold in this drama. Like Chef fang, been watching this drama for the Nth times.Main leads shows a lot of chemistry that you wished them to be together in real life (my opinion only). LOVE THE STORY,there is no angst just purely foods, romance and ordinary walks in life before. It may not be a modern type of drama but it completely conveys well.
Love the siblings relationship, totally relatable as well as the village thingy thing is. Gossips and everything.BUT WHAT MAKES THIS DRAMA GROUNDED IS THE STORY ITSELF.
TOTALLY WORTH IT!
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Lovely
Finally, a simple ordinary folks drama. Nothing to do with the Chinese dynasty power struggle... or woman pretending to man and falls for the princes. Phew... Thanks goodness for that. One annoying bit is the inconsistency with the actor's hands - sometimes a woman, but a lot of time, it's a man's hands. Would be lovely also to see the MFL actually handling the ingredients and cooking process. HOPE to see more of the MFL and MML in other projects... I want to see normal people and not stick thin actors/actresses.Was this review helpful to you?
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Feel good drama with a refreshing FL
First of all, I really liked how the writers portrayed the FL in this drama. She doesn't take shit lying down and is vocal about her choices and dreams. The relationship between the lead is also refreshing because there is no stupid breakup or avoiding their attraction to each other from the start. No toxic relationship trait portraying was another major plus point. I also loved the side characters. My only gripe about this drama is the ending. The ending felt rushed and they didn't show any karma for the last 2 villains. But apart from that , a good watching experience.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
"Chef Hua" is a cooking drama about a young woman named Xiao Mai, who loves to cook and wants to make a living out of it.One day in the forest, she meets Yu Huai and falls in love at first sight. The two begin to spend more time together, especially when Xiao Mai opens a noodle stand. Yu Huai is always there to protect her, but at the same time, Xiao Mai knows how to stand up for herself very well!
Guan Rong is the bitch of the story, a simply detestable person who pretended to be innocent and fragile to gain sympathy from others. I loved when Xiao Mai showed her true colors to everyone. It's a shame they only used Guan Rong at the beginning; they could have drawn her out longer, at least to create some source of conflict.
The romance between Yu Huai and Xiao Mai is delightful; they're sweet and completely in love with each other. The drama is light, fun, and easy to watch, and one of the things I liked most was the way they focused on Xiao Mai's cooking. There was a big focus on the food, the preparation, and the little details that made all the difference. Seeing all that food made my mouth water! HAHAHA
I also loved seeing, for once in my life, a mother-in-law who treats her daughter-in-law well. At first, Yu Huai's mother didn't like Xiao Mai very much, but over time she opened up to her, and by the end, they were like mother and daughter. They formed a bond, thanks to Xiao Mai's efforts to win over her mother-in-law and show her that she's a good person.
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And i love that the ML is so supportive of the FL's dreams and decisions. This drama is one in a million. And there wasn't any really messy love triangles. There was sort of a triangle that put the ML in the middle but he wasnt even friends with the other girl so it doesnt count as a triangle. This drama shows the dialy life of normal citizens and the decisions they make daily. It is a healthy drama and it doesn't drag like some historical dramas. Becuase it is centred around food, it makes food lovers like me anticipate each episode.
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A very pleasant drama to watch
A beautiful love story, in which the two partners support each other and have each other's backs. It was lovely to see it, especially because it raises no particular negative emotions, there are no love triangles or dangerous situations. I also appreciated the balance between the two partners, since there are so many female characters that are depicted as inferior to male characters.It's just a story about the everyday life of a restaurant owner and how she manages her business. It was wonderful to witness the entrepreneurial voyage of the female lead.
I particularly enjoyed the many scenes in the kitchen, with the preparation of so many wonderful traditional dishes.
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Cute and feel good drama
Overall: 8.5/10I love this drama so much, and find myself rewatching it now and then! It's a storyline that just makes you feel good, with a lot of sweet moments between the main characters but also the side characters. This drama focuses a lot on the cooking aspect - more than you'd expect, in a sense that you would feel the actual storyline takes a bit of a back seat when compared to the portrayal of the dishes. Honestly, kudos to the cameraman for shooting the cooking scenes so well! Definitely do not watch if you're hungry because I ended up craving things like noodles and dong po rou (chinese pork belly) at 2am :> No major plot twists and any drama gets solved relatively quickly
Story: 7/10
I gave a 7/10 not because it wasn't good, but rather there's nothing really special about the storyline. Don't get me wrong, I love this drama. I love that there's no gigantic plot twist, and I enjoyed the simplicity. It really depicted the typical “乡村爱情” or "village romance" well, where the romance was just really sweet, pure and innocent. I feel that it did well in showing how the FL Hua Xiao Mai worked hard towards building her career as a chef and owner of her own restaurant, while at the same time staying true to her morals and taking care of those she loves. Most of the obstacles she meets on the way are solved quickly. It's a refreshingly straightforward plot that just makes you feel good. And a lot of husband material depicted haha
Acting/Cast: 7/10
Again, I gave 7/10 not because the cast wasn't good, but rather the story was quite simplistic so there's not a lot of complicated acting. The ML might not be conventionally good looking, but he fits the character of Yu Huai well - stoic, quiet and protective. Tang Min is obviously just really pretty and also portrayed the innocence of the FL well. Although in the cooking scenes, sometimes it's quite noticeable that the hands in the shot are definitely not Tang Min's, but well it didn't bother me at all. All in all, good cast that portrayed their roles quite accurately.
Music: 10/10
Loved the music theme, very "villagey"
Rewatch Value: 10/10
Honestly, I just rewatch for the sweet romance and also the food shots are amazing
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Adorable but predictable.
I couldn't give the story an extremely high rating because it's pretty average and predictable, however, the whole show is adorable and feel-good, so I went for above average because I find that kind of show enjoyable. The acting was very good for what it was, but again, not an extremely complicated and emotionally charged drama. It's just cute, so even if the characters don't have to actually do much besides eat and smile, it's okay with me. The music was whatever, it didn't detract and was kind of cute. I think they put more effort into the cooking scenes than the rest of the plot, but again, that was okay with me because I enjoyed it. However, I was hungry the whole time! I would recommend watching this while eating delicious take out so you won't feel left out. Some times I laughed about the funny moments. I also laughed about the way they overacted the eating scenes. Everybody would take bigger bites with big smiles and huge eyes while their mouths were already full of food. We get it, you love the food. It tastes amazing. So silly. Still, I loved it, because it's simple and adorable. I would watch it again anytime I just want a simple love story with a light hearted story line. I gave a higher overall than it really deserved, because I like this kind of simple show. Warning: don't watch when hungry!!!Was this review helpful to you?
So satisfying you can practically smell the flavours
A slice of life drama that has close up attention to food preparation may seem uninteresting yet the production, (high quality camera work and lighting), the acting, (natural and expressive) and the light tension makes for a really enjoyable viewing.The FL, Tang Min's character, Xiao Mai is a young girl with an unshakable confidence in her cooking talent. She is unafraid to go up against others who would try to harm her or challenge her skills.
Her 'can do' attitude and kindness attracts the attention of the ML. Yang Kai Cheng portrays Yi Huai as a steadfast, manly character of few words. He is a walking green flag and protects and rescues our FL even learning to appreciate his mother more due to her coaxing.
The support characters are also entertaining - the prickly mother (in-law), her bossy sister and husband add flavour to the story.
The food is a main character of the drama and it is often showcased at the different banquets and competitions. From the humble fresh noodle to the elaborately designed competition finale all is a feast for the eyes.
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