The Fires of Cooking: Hua Xiao Chu (2020)

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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Pane, amore e fantasia

D'accordo, il pane c'entra poco, ma è forse l'unico cibo che non vediamo in questo show. A pensarci a serie finita, uno potrebbe quasi pensare che metà del tempo sia passato nel vedere qualcuno cucinare, normalmente la protagonista, ma spesso anche altri cuochi. Ovviamente non è lei personalmente a cucinare, ma è molto interessante vedere queste scene anche se alla lunga il commento musicale che le accompagna diventa un tantino noioso. Bisogna veramente riconoscere i meriti del regista E di chi ha effettuato le riprese perché molto spesso si tratta di scene filmate con angolazioni particolari belli scenari belle riprese in generale anche ma non solo riguardo al cibo.
La musica in generale è abbastanza godibile pur se in realtà non molto varia, mentre le ambientazioni sono decisamente curate e adatte al tipo di spettacolo. I costumi sono per lo più piacevoli, anche se le divise dei componenti della scorta, viste da vicino, danno a volte un'idea di plasticaccia. Presumo che dovrebbe trattarsi di pelle e cuoio, ma in realtà spesso somiglia più alla tela cerata.
A parte questi piccoli dettagli tutto sommato abbastanza secondari, la recitazione di tutti quanti è decisamente sopra il minimo edittale. La protagonista Tang Min , che avevo già visto in General' s lady, è molto piacevole alla vista e, anche se non dotata di una bellezza stellare, si fa ben valere in questo ruolo di commedia leggera.
Il protagonista finora non ha partecipato ad altri drama in veste di ML, e si comprende perché: decisamente non ha una bellezza classica rispetto a tanti suoi rivali, non so se per il trucco necessario per il drama in costume, ma sembra diversi anni più vecchio della sua età anagrafica e anche dal punto di vista della recitazione non è che sia propriamente il massimo, specialmente quando deve ridere coi denti, sembra affetto da un rictus. Ad ogni modo, per il tipo di spettacolo che è, è più che adatto alla parte.
Anche gli attori secondari, di cui alcuni sono abbastanza caricaturali (per esempio la sorella di lei e la madre di lui), si comportano più che bene e contribuiscono a portare in porto un drama più che apprezzabile, veramente godibile.
Ma, in definitiva, il punto di forza di questo drama è la fiera dei buoni sentimenti. Pur se è vero che grandissima parte dello show viene dedicata alla preparazione di piatti succulenti, i legami di amicizia e specialmente familiari hanno un'immensa importanza. È praticamente uno slice of life, ambientato principalmente nelle cucine. In realtà, accade molto poco. Le problematiche, le sfide, i pericoli sono generalmente di scala molto ridotta, anche se occasionalmente può capitare che qualcuno rischi la pelle. Non esiste un Big bad boss finale da battere, ma diversi piccoli Meschini personaggi che a definirli antagonisti si sarebbe loro un grosso favore. È però molto bello vedere come certi personaggi inizialmente visti appunto come rivali e o antagonisti, diventino poi parte dell'entourage della nostra cuoca. In realtà forse sono stata un tantino esagerata nella valutazione di questo drama, posso solo addurre a mia discolpa il fatto che raramente ho visto uno spettacolo così rilassante e piacevole e che è riuscito a portarmi alla fine di 30 lunghi episodi senza farmi mai annoiare pur disponendo tutto sommato di una trama semplice, lineare e poco ansiogena. Chapeau.

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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.

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TOP LEVEL Foodology and a combination of Greatness, Women Empowerment and Witty-Harmony in 1 show.

Oh God! I'm super in love with this show; so please!! do bear with me cause I'm about to list down all of them as much as possible. Hehe~

1st, Lemme start how smooth, serene and harmonious this production is compared to all the dramas out there. It do provide the right amount of issues, tricks and problems but is always getting resolved within the same episode and even in a justifiable witty way. No excessive conspiracy that harm the Protagonists and even serves righteousness by dealing with them properly.

2nd, Women Empowerment. Like damn!! Dramas these days just don't provide proper exposure to how capable and flexibe women is and this drama showcased that in every way and form possible. The amount of justice and appreciation Women has received from this show is even greater than the last 20 dramas I watched combined and that speaks Volume and intelligence.

3rd, Superior Foodology. I never watched an episode without my mouth gaping open because of the exquisite and delicious cuisines they featured in this drama. As someone who has some knowledge and is interested in cooking it truly caught my interest and made me so curious to try those I think I can cook by myself. I know I won't achieve the surreal and almost perfect dishes on the show but I just want to try it nonetheless. Hahaha~

4th, Characters & Cast. How can all of them be this lovely and interesting on their own unique ways? This production surely gathered the best talents there is and put it under this Mellow yet fantastic drama that created such excellent balance and was able to cater to my palate perfectly.

5th, Overall Production & Script. I'm absolutely amazed and astonished on how well made and planned everything is. From the story line to unprecented events and conflicts to it's good little touch of romance; everything felt so well written and produced. Gotta give credits towards the set of great people behind it. They did an impeccable Job with this. What a Masterpiece!

Story - 10, No discussions needed. An absolute drama and can be considered as a Big Precious Pearl in a vast sea that you don't often witness with your bare eyes.

Artist/Cast - 10, Excellent selection of Artists. They all performed so well and I'm overly satisfied. A drama where I love almost 99% of it's characters and cast.

Music - 10, A great serve of Mellow Ballad that perfectly fits and compliments the show and scenes they're played and used for. I love the songs a lot too. <3

Rewatch - 10, Believe me or not I'm ready to watch it again today. That's how crazily good it is. This drama touched me so much that I'm not willing to move on. Forever engraved in me!

Overall - 10, OFCOURSE! Like duh? It is even a question? At this point IF you read through my commentary and probably saw my countless shower of compliments nothing will surely go wrong. I was never even once dissatisfied of anything. This is like a heavens gift for me for the New Year. Pouring all my love and appreciation for this drama. <3

IF you find my review helpful please let me know.

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What I love about Cef Hua is that it actually shows the life of normal people. With most historical dramas the characters are high ranking people but in this drama they are normal citizens.
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: 8.5/10
I 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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Low angst show with nice cooking scenes but with minor loose ends

Plot has low angst, with misunderstandings resolved relatively quickly within 1-2 episodes - so not unnecessarily draggy. Good that the female characters are all strong in their own way- there is no damsel in distress. All the female characters can stand on their own. Some of them are quite smart and able to resolve their own problems themselves, which is good.

3 small unresolved plots though.
1. Show spent some time exploring Yun'er crush on the "failed" scholar turned accounts guy in the restaurant; and Da-sheng's crush on Yun'er. However, there was no resolution as to who eventually Yun'er prefer. So we ended with an open love triangle. - But at least they are all minor characters so this gap didn't bother me that much.

Also, the "solution" with Yun'er's father isn't convincing. Yes, the father agreed to not sell Yun'er but it was an interim solution. There was no fundamental solution to change her father's irresponsible and abusive behavior.

2. At the end, Manager Song was humiliated at the cooking competition but there was no repercussion for her repeated underhanded actions. Hence, she could continue these actions again.

Also, the guy Manager of the other restaurant who also targeted Hua's Restaurant did not get his just deserts.

With these 2 wrongdoers not punished, Hua Restaurant will continually face such underhanded threats.

3. What happen to Chef Wang's hand? Can he still cook?

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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!!!

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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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