Mon Cher et Tendre (2021)

A nice watch for a single sitting

The thing I like most about these short series is that you can binge it all in one go without feeling like you wasted a whole day of actual productivity. This series, while nothing phenomenal or ground-breaking, was an enjoyable watch.

On the surface, the storyline might seem a bit ridiculous where an established chef has to compete to prove he deserves to stay head chef at a well known and successful restaurant. But as you continue watching, you'll see that the competition is merely a coverup and excuse that Laura, his equal-share business partner, is using in order to replace him without flat out firing him.

Basically, she wants to change things up with a new menu whereas Do Gun wants to keep things status quo. Since Laura doesn't do the cooking herself, the only way she can get what she wants is to replace Do Gun. We see this in the way she wants Jung Woo to frustrate Do Gun and either drive him to quit or drive him to compete. But even then, she has rigged the competition so that Jung Woo would win anyway so either way, Do Gun is gone. In that respect, I think the storyline had more depth than first glance, especially for a short, 2hr total series.

Unfortunately, this didn't really help in making the romance make sense. The cute-chemistry was there as well as the bickering chemistry but not so much the romantic-chemistry, if that makes sense. I enjoyed watching the friends in the kitchen interacting with both chefs and found myself laughing along at some of their moments.

All in all, I could see myself watching this again for a light, doesn't-need-a-lot-of-attention viewing if I feel like seeing a couple of cute guys with some funny side characters.

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Bitter Sweet

The story starts rather promisingly where to oust a stubborn head chef, the owner of a restaurant hires an unknown but talented chef and at the end of the year one of them will lose their job. What starts as a rivalry slowly turns to love as they work with each other and get to know one another.

Here is where there is some food for thought. Although we get episodes after episodes of the 2 leads frolicking around the beach, amusement park and fish market, we see them getting to know each other slowly. But then we realise the 2nd chef (Choi Jung Woo) is not what he claims to be and we never get to see the real him. Is he a culinary genius that can replicate any dish that he eats or is he just a fraud? I was left scratching my head about it and I am not one to speculate what that would be. Don't make me define the character without giving me even a hint of who is truly is.

The actor playing Choi Jung Woo did a great job playing a goofy, cocky yet talented chef but I cant say the same about the actor playing Yoon Do Gun. I ain't saying he is a bad actor but somewhere he wasn't interested anymore. He seemed to have much more character during the outtakes.

Although the story was strong, the execution left something to be desired. The fault can't be placed on the fact that its a mini series. I feel a lot of scenes about them just looking at each other with no dialogue could have been cut and that time utilized in showing a bit of their back story to make the characters well rounded.

Give it a try if this story is something that you feel you are interested it. Since its a miniseries, you hardly lose a lot of time. Its a score of 8 for story as I feel there was potential but 7.5 for the series overall

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It's perfect for the time it had!

I think this drama deserves a higher score than it did, especially when compared to the very recent reseased "Cherry Blossoms after Winter". I honestly don't understand why it's score isn't higher, and here's why:

Music: This show had really smooth production for the time and genre it had. Usually a lot of Korean BL's are under funded, which means they lack in music, some nice camera shots or angles, extra takes etc. This drama had really nice music that I even caught myself humming to (which happens so rare for me, cause either the hits are in english or really bad quality) but ma boo (song title), were these ones nice. There also weren't many long moments with no music that's common in BL's, at the moments it needed there was music, when it wasn't necessary, there wasn't! Overall, I was so surprised by the music in this!

Story: The episodes were extremely short, even for the regular Korean BL standards, being barely 10-15 min each episode. But for the time it had, I thought it was very balanced. It started off a bit slow, gave enough time for main AND side characters (the cute assistant chefs, business lady all had a personality and that was highly appreciated). It had a "issue" (cause all drama's need drama) and it was resolved within the alloted time. Honestly, they gave just enough for everything, and the best part of it all, they actually made us see their professions! Instead of just using it for some "background info", we got beautiful shots of cooking, eating, people peeling and cutting shit, etc. For me that was really important. The relationship between the leads also developed quite naturally and evenly, it wasn't a sudden "I love you, can't live without you", but more of just a slow from dislike - to you're ok - to I like your company. Ticked all boxes in my own personal list.

Acting: I thought acting was also on par, one is an easy going slightly arrogant chef, the other a more reserved, slightly threatened chef. People saying this is just two hot guys and that that's all this drama is good for, but almost all BL's and Korean drama's give blatant fan service (cause yes, this is aimed at girls). Compared to others, we didn't get unneccessary over-sexualization, no wild make out sessions, even when one actor was shirtless, the other one wasn't as it wasn't their characters personality. And if the fact that the two actors are good looking makes you look down on their effort in acting, well then that's just being prejudiced about looks. The way they looked at each other, interacted with each other seemed very natural, not too forced. Not all love stories require a love or die type of romance. Sometimes it's just a warm cozy feeling :)

I really really enjoyed this. I'd place this in my top BL's with Semantic Error, Bad Buddy, 2gether, To my star and We are Best. It's a very short, sweet, not overcomplicated watch. If that's what you're into, give it a try ;)

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Short and Sweet

Beautiful love story mixed in with delicious looking food.

STORY:

Do Gun is a Michelin chef and the head chef at Laura Dining, however, the owner suddenly decides that she wants the restaurant to be more trendy and SNS ready. She hires Jung Woo, a chef whose talent lies in copying other people's dishes rather than creating his own. Behind Do Gun's back, the owner orders Jung Woo to learn his ways and his dishes, so he can take over Do Gun's position as head chef and she can fire him. However, as Jung Woo follows Do Gun around, he starts to develop feelings for him.

The series is very short and simple, but it's beautiful. Here isn't much drama and it's quite fluffy compared to what the synopsis makes it out to be. It's literally two people naturally falling in love, putting the rest of their troubles on the back burner. What makes this series great is that everything is naturally falls into place and there is no big drama. Even when Do Gun confronts Jung Woo, he is rational about the situation and doesn't turn it into a soap opera. Do Gun is a mature adult and deals with Jung Woo and the owner like a mature adult should. It was climatic, yet in Do Gun's character. I loved it.

Also, another great thing about this drama is that the word "gay" or anything related to it isn't even mentioned. It's like this world doesn't differentiate between gay and straight. They fall in love and accept it, no questions asked. Jung Woo and Do Gun even had a thing for each other before officially meeting. It was beautiful.

If there is one flaw to this, it's that the ending felt rushed. The owner brings up Jung Woo's past as a way to force him to screw Do Gun over, but we really don't get much explanation on it. It seems like Jung Woo grew up poor based on the dialogue, but it's not outright explained. Also, what does Jung Woo not traveling outside of Korea have anything to do with Do Gun? Why would Do Gun get upset if the owner revealed that Jung Woo hasn't travelled? Do Gun already knows that Jung Woo has never created his own recipe. Also, I think Do Gun hates her more than Jung Woo because as the owner, she's the one who hired Jung Woo to screw him over and is trying to fire him. How does she think that Do Gun is going to hate and blame Jung Woo, when she's the one who is royally screwing him over? I don't understand.

Anyways, after this whole fiasco is solved in a hot minute, Do Gun leaves Laura Dining. We learn that he built his own restaurant, but that Jung Woo and Do Gun hadn't met in a while. When did Do Gun leave Jung Woo? Why? And how long? We're not told anything. We just jump ahead to the ending and finish! It's not the worst rushed ending, but it is rushed.

Jung Woo X Do Gun

These two are made for each other. Do Gun is mature and reserved, while Jung Woo is more outgoing and playful. From the start they had a thing for each other, and when they got together they levelled each other out. I really appreciate how Do Gun helps Jung Woo be more confident about his cooking, while Jung Woo helps Do Gun relax and let himself go. They really do suit each other. Their chemistry was as beautiful as the dishes they make.

OVERALL:

My Sweet Dear is a beautiful drama. It's short and sweet. It's not original, but it's nice. It's definitely worth the watch is you have 2 hours to spare.

P.S. Look at the photos during the ending credits. They do show some extra "scenes" that are not in the series. It won't hurt if you skip it, but if you want a glimpse of their dates and interactions, it's nice to look at.

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Meu Rival Favorito — Meu Doce Querido— My Sweet Dear

My Sweet Dear... flower

Para mim sou pecou numa coisa, foi muito curta.

Conta uma história com princípio, meio e fim. study

My Sweet Dear Tem um casal de protagonistas com uma boa química e muito doce e um extra que são uns pratos apresentados.

Tem uns bons personagens secundários.

Mas, a história se desenvolve em volta do casal, e não os pratos, não os elementos secundários.

Tem uma boa construção de diálogos e a músicas ficam no ouvido e românticas, a produção é muito caprichada, a fotografia maravilhosa.

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