Nam Gonzales

I think you mixed up Legend of Yunxi (with Ju Jing Yi and not bald And super handsome Zhang Zhe Han) with Story of Yanxi (the bald en but the most viewed Chinese drama of all time). Lol. But yes we have our own “weird tastes”.

I’m now at Ep 40 and IMHO ep 1-10 can be skipped since you don’t have the usual story hook (ex. Accidental meet cute, hero helps FL save family, FL leads family gets wiped out for revenge plot, etc). The juicy part is in the middle with Ye Hua and Susu. I just skip the scenes with the other girls that love Ye Hua and the scenes of Li Jing obsessed with Si Yin.

Oh that’s really sad. She will definitely win the award for martyrdom and he will win the award for obsessive ex.

@AniMangaSensei, season 1 of your highness is on YT here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmHXH9zgBAgX8uCuXpORtixkETG7hQSV7.

Other series:
- Legend of Yunxi (Zhang Zhe Han is a kickass prince)
- The Eternal Love 1 & 2 (Xing Zhao Lin and Jia Liange have the best smooches and XZL is the brooding, kungfu fighting 2nd prince)
- Love better than immortality (Li Hongyi giving us the evil martial artist that you want to love but fated to be with Zhao Lusi)
- Dr. Cutie ( another stern faced prince who falls for cross dressing doc)
- Romance of Hua Rong (sexy pirate king going after runaway naughty bride)
- Oh My Emperor 1& 2 (fushigi yugi set in chin but we have only 1 girl doctor instead of miyaka)
- I’ve fallen for you (noble man fighting his way to be with childhood friend)

Most are very light hearted and all happy ending.

Am I the only one not excited about watching this drama? I’m at episode 4 and so far I don’t feel the excitement you get when you watch Cdramas (ex. the Eternal Love, Legend of Minglan, Love Better than Immortality, Legend on Yunxi, etc). I’m just trying to finish this because of the high rating but IMHO there is nothing that hooks you in the story. I think Story if Yanxi Palace will be better even with the bald Qing look.

To those having the same problem, what’s keeping you going or what stopped you?

@AniMangaSensei Go for the following if you want romance with fight scenes:
- Lovely swords girl (lots of eye candy Male characters who can fight)
- under the power (procedural romance and the female lead can also kick ass)
- your highness (hero gets stuck in game world but he kicks ass and his female lead is also a master martial artist gamer, based on Overlord anime)

Somebody please spoil/explain why she had to do that in the ending? I don’t get the reason.

Considering watching this but watched the ending first to prepare myself.

Typically in ancient dramas they need the married couple from different kingdoms to be alive to maintain peace.

@CrescentMoon It’s predominantly a time travel romance drama. The food only takes up maybe 15% of the story. It’s not like the animes Cooking Masterboy, Yeketate Japan, etc.

It’s a light hearted drama. They just have a bad way of removing characters to get to the next plot. It’s not as heart wrenching as you think it is. 2nd season (ep29-56) has better plot than season 1.

I think this series is misunderstood. That change of mood actually works because the conflict in season 2 is much more interesting than season 1. The editing and food scenes are also better in season 2 (ep 29-56). Try watching it at 1.5x speed and you’ll see that 2nd half is better.

Cinderella chef is probably the most judged and misunderstood time traveling drama I’ve seen. True that as the title suggested, you’d expect more cooking which was not emphasized in season 1 (ep1-28). But the production team improved with 2nd season (ep29-56) by bringing us several mouthwatering cooking scenes worthy of the cooking masterboy anime clips.

Another issue that I’ve been seeing in this thread is the fact that aside from the main leads and villain, they changed the cast in season 1 and season 2. Yes it is disappointing because we got to love the brothers in Black Wing Fortress, but the characters in season 2 are also as interesting. What probably went wrong is that the “support” characters where abruptly killed in one swoop to make the story move forward. And we got used to the Chinese style of having the same cast in season 1 & 2 where they just cut the plot in half to make it seem like you have 2 seasons when you only have 1.

Of course the plot is not perfect as there were some scenes that were a bit draggy and I just skipped. I also realized that it’s normal for the series to take a more serious turn as the story is about to reach the climax (season 2) which it’s supposed to do. But the good thing is that it didn’t get too melodramatic that you had to cry your eyes out. Just enough to make you hate everyone in one episode and then realize in the next episode that you’ve been played.

I implore everyone to watch this series from ep 1 to 56 with utmost patience. You can play it at 1.5x speed if it helps. Because what you may perceive as the shows weaknesses (different cast, Yaoyao’s stupidity,etc) are perfect plot devices that are important in the scheme of things. If you look at the series after watching the last episode, you’ll realize that the plot of 2nd season is connected to the 1st season and that the 2nd season has more conflict and dilemma to offer our characters. You’ll also appreciate the character of 5th prince mingyu for making you hate and empathize with him. You also realize that Yaoyao might not be as naive as she makes everyone believe and that she does things to try to protect the people around her. Also it’s very realistic for her to have PTSD after season 1 so give her some slack for not wanting to smooch Chunyu asap.

And it’s also an added bonus that this series has a HAPPY ENDING similar to My Fantastic Mrs. Right.

Watch it on youtube. Episodes 21-24 is not eng subbed but no worries you’ll understand the story. All other episodes are subbed in english.

They did not credit his guest appearance in Cinderella Chef season 2 as one of the apprentice in the hospital that the main lead asked what type of medicine 2nd main lead bought for Yaoyao. He was so young here!

73 episodes in 2 days! (1.5x play speed)

I will not be writing a review for this series because a lot of great reviews are already up on this page. But I can’t stop my self from gushing about what a PERFECT CHINESE DRAMA The Story of Minglan is! It’s the 73 episode slice of life of the Song dynasty drama that you never thought you needed until you finish it.

The casting for this drama was so spot on that I felt like the actors were living and breathing as their characters. Even the youngest cast to the oldest gave their best in giving life to the story. The Chemistry between Feng Shao Feng and Zhao Liying was off the charts that they don’t need steamy kisses or excessive bed scenes to express their feelings. Their light banter, Subtle caresses, and simple but sincere lines Made their romance so much more realistic.

I also discovered that what made this drama so compelling was that even though it’s very long, the writers and producers took great care in creating 3D characters not just for Minglan and Tingye but for the ensemble cast. Even the villains in this drama had clear motives and act very human. Likewise, the good guys (aka Minglan and Tingye, etc) were not paragons of virtue but are also capable of showing their vicious side for the sake of justice. Even the weak willed ones (Great Madam Sheng, Master Sheng, etc) showed us that despite their flaw they still cared about their families and are willing to sacrifice for them. This drama also didn’t go into the cheap trick of providing us with extreme unbelievable conflicts where you just want to smash the screen. Instead they gave us with small but complex character dilemmas that get solved satisfyingly.

For those planning to watch this, don’t expect cheesy romantic scenes, or even dramatic conflicts. Just remember that aside from love of romance, you will also see friendship, brotherhood, filial piety, and loyalty in this drama. It’s also an added bonus that this drama can be so good while still having THE BEST HAPPY ENDING for a period drama.

Romance starts in EP 28. But it’s worth it. Not your passionate kiss type romance but their chemistry is so good like that of a real couple. Well they fell in love after this drama.

Thank you for the update. I am now watching this drama and I must say that even in just episode 5 you can see what a great production this drama is. Minglan’s story is very compelling thanks to the young minglan’s performance and the nice setup of the relationship between minglan and the ML. Can’t get enough of this!

Yes happy ending

So sad how ZYC saw himself as a “chess piece”. So they did feel powerless on how their characters were treated. What a waste of talent.

Rough English translation:
Gu Fengen officially killed! Looking back at the filming in the Heting Huating crew for nearly 200 days, I met with all the teachers. I learned a lot and realized a lot. I am always grateful. Look forward to the new growth together with everyone. blessing

Thanksgiving for meeting, knowing each other, meeting each other. Gu Fengen was distressed by Xiao Dingquan, and I was distressed by Gu Fengen. He is a chess piece. If he doesn't understand it, he is distressed but not aware of it. If he understands, he feels distressed to him, and the belief that he is alone is broken one by one. Going for a lifetime, it's better to have a vigorous fight! Even if it is a chess piece, you have to be the biggest one! Finally, thank you teacher Liang Yuan, thank you Heting Huating, and thank Gu Fengen!

Glad I dropped this. I couldn’t like the ML and FL physically and character wise.

If you want good cinematography watch Tang Dynast Tour on YT or IQiyi. Gorgeously shot but the story gets shity by ep 16-23 then gets ok unly ep 37.

Thank you for this info! I was trying to search for Lusi’s interview regarding this drama on YT but I couldn’t find any. And thank you for the reference on the novel. If it was indeed supposed to be a flashback the writer could have handled it better.