Wok of Love (2018)

This show was difficult to finish. I feel like most people watched it for Jang Hyuk, who always does a great job. It seems really funny and sweet at first, since it tied together familiar actors from Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, Chief Kim, and Jealousy Incarnate. At times the interactions felt very random and cliche, and as much as I love a good love triangle, it was just so disappointing to see. The leads lacked chemistry, and I wish they had chosen a different female lead. After a while, I only kept watching for the cooking/eating itself (I also really loved the technical aspects, such as "knife skills"). The competitions felt similar to what you would see in the anime Food Wars, but you could tell who was going to win, even with the tug-of-war. The world felt very small and predictable, but I like surprises. I was hoping this would top the other dramas I listed, but sadly it didn't come close.

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This review will be short and sweet. I watched all episodes.
It started great, then if faded away in the middle (still good) but it had fine ending (rushed but filling)
If you are in mood for relaxation after a stressful day - watch this drama.
If you want to learn few tiny things about Chinese cooking - watch this drama.
If you like bromance - watch this drama.
If you want a plot to cry, live it, or get excited about - skip that drama.
At the end, I would not watch it again, but I definitely would sum it up that this drama was great after hard working day because it made me relaxed and brain free :)

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great elements. to each their own?

started off strong slowly declined and later i just wanted to get over it. as soon as i started it, i began to really like it! very funny and quirky, two great male leads, fun gangster characters and interesting storyline about revenge.

however as we continued the show (ep 12 onwards) they slowly drew back from what i was enjoying. chil seong focus, the bond between him and his boys, the good humor, the “revenge” started to weaken and you no longer believe anyone even cared about it (even though they hammered on it at the beginning). you don’t believe the ceo to be a good villain either 2/3 into the series because of what they reveal. the ex wife also disappointers without a word even though she was dating the ceo, somehow.

instead they gave us more of sae woo’s selfish and incredibly annoying mother. they kept giving her more focus as the show went on. i was also annoyed how sae woo and her family acted like poong was not allowed to reprenand people who make mistakes in his kitchen. he is their boss, if someone doesn’t do their job right he can tell them they’re doing a bad job. seeing poong bend to them constantly was very frustrating to watch.

the woman cheol sang was seeing around (3 times) was never seen again which was sad considering they were already developing a story there! not even a hint at the end!

the development of the series left me wishing that they had taken a better route and worked on their plot + execution more.

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Messy like Jajangmyeon, just not as tasty

To sum it up - because it's so busy all over the place, no actual point gets made and it ends up feeling like a waste of time. Some scenes go on and on unnecessarily and feels rather random. As a viewer, you find yourself bounced from one story line to another but nothing actually gets told in a way that would make a proper impact.
I'm not sure if it's because of the poor directing or story, but the lead, Lee Jun Ho doesn't make an impression on me. Whereas Jang Hyuk is awesome but I feel like his character could have been used more effectively to make the story more compelling. Jung Ryeo Won is lovely but I'm not really feeling her character either despite knowing she's meant to be the heart of the story.
I'm not one to drop a drama no matter how bad it is, but this bad story telling is making me want to drop it (after all, it's 38 episodes!) - nonetheless, it does get better in the latter half (around e25 onwards), but it really took a long time to get there.

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I love the storyline. I am also in love with the main couple. From what I've read, many viewers like the 2nd male lead more. But for me, I like the main couple as it is. I like the 2nd ML but only for his character and not paired with the FL. Unlike the others, I don't see any chemistry. I don't care if the 2nd ML is more popular. It doesn't matter in the story. I really think the main couple is lovable as it is.

What I don't like...

Sae woo's mother. She's annoying from beginning to end. She didn't have even a bit of lesson learned by the end of the story. Such a big spoiled brat. And it's annoying how everyone is just pampering her and walking on eggshells around her like she's some special being.

Plotholes. I also don't like it if they drag the ex plot so much but completely dropping them is so unsatisfying. At least tie the lose ends. I didn't even know what happened to Poong's ex. Is she miserable after her lover got bankrupt? I'd like to know. But she just...disappeared.

Still love the show overall that I can forgive the annoying bits but I did hope it was made a bit better.

Leggi di Più

I love food, so this was a wonderful watch! Very heartwarming and endearing drama, with comradeship and family and even a talking horse! I enjoyed the characters here, and great choice of casting for the main leads! Character development is also great! But, too much romance for me. Not a fan of the romance here between the two main leads at all though, felt that it took too much from the drama, and gave the urge to fast forward the romance scenes multiple times. Tone down the main leads romance more than a few notches, and this drama is sincerely a 10/10 for me. It also made me want to eat the foods on screen a lot. Enjoyed it greatly.

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Wok wars

Comme le suggère le titre que j'ai choisi, ce drama m'a beaucoup fait penser au manga Food Wars par de nombreux côtés bien que bien moins déluré que ce dernier, il n'en est pas moins attachant pour autant, même s'il possède également plusieurs défauts à mon sens que je vais vous développer ci-après.

L'histoire :

Wok of love est une histoire de double vengeance et de romance sur fond de cuisine à la sauce gangster. Ce résumé rapide peut paraître un peu bizarre, je sais, mais si vous regardez ce drama vous vous rendrez vite compte que c'est un bon abrégé.

Les personnages :

J'ai découvert les acteurs Lee Jun Ho (Seo Pung) et Jeong Ryeo Won (Dan Seo Wu) à l'occasion de ce drama et je les ai trouvés convaincants dans leurs rôles, j'ai d'ailleurs hâte de les revoir dans d'autres productions, surtout Lee Jun Ho, car quand il sourit, c'est pas des papillons que j'ai dans le ventre, c'est des moissonneuses batteuses! Vous avez déjà entendu l'expression « avoir un sourire à un million de dollars »? Et bien là je veux bien payer ce million pour une compile de ses sourires...

Je connaissais déjà Jang Hyeok (Du Chil Seong) pour l'avoir vu dans Fated to love you et je dois avouer que je partais avec un à priori car je trouve sa façon de surjouer particulièrement agaçante, bon, il ne partait pas dans des grands éclats de rire comme dans ledit drama (même si la raison de ceux-ci est expliquée, ça reste énervant) mais le surjeu est là et il me fatigue, heureusement, ici aussi, au bout d'un moment il se calme pour nous livrer un jeu d'acteur bien meilleur parce que bien plus vrai d'après moi. Sa bromance avec le lead masculin est juste géniale même si pas autant poussée que dans d'autres productions que je connais.

Les autres rôles et acteurs jouent bien mais la personne dont je voulais surtout parler ici c'est la mère de la lead féminine, Jin Jeong Hye jouée par Lee Mi Suk. Alors, ici aussi il s'agit d'une découverte pour moi mais le personnage qu'elle joue m'a paru, au début, pour le moins agaçant mais par la suite, proprement IN-SU-POR-TABLE! Bon déjà, elle se fait embaucher en cuisine (pour éviter de finir à la rue, il faut le dire) et elle a déjà bien de la chance qu'on la prenne tellement elle est inutile et nulle en tout mais par-dessus le marché, elle n'accepte pas les critiques constructives et justes à son encontre et fait en sorte que le chef de cuisine passe pour le méchant. Tout le monde la considère comme la princesse au petit pois, mais les seuls petits pois que j'imagine doivent être les deux qu'elle a dans le citron pour qu'elle ait une idée (mauvaise à chaque fois) quand elle a la chance qu'ils s'entrechoquent dans son crâne. Elle apparaît comme vénale et superficielle au possible et par sa seule présence et ses actes, empêche des personnages secondaires bien plus intéressants d'avoir une place plus prépondérante dans l'histoire ce qui m'est apparu comme fort dommageable pour le drama en général.
C'est un gros point noir dans le scénario à mon sens, et quand son mari, Dan Seug Gi joué par Lee Gi Yeong, arrive en scène, j'ai vraiment eu peur car il agissait de la même façon, heureusement, par la suite, certaines choses changent mais pas son comportement à elle, si bien que vers la fin, on zappe complètement sur le personnage et c'est pas plus mal.

La réalisation :

Le drama fait ici 19 épisodes au lieu de 16 en général mais j'avoue ne pas avoir vu le temps passer. Par contre, il faut admettre que l'histoire se met en route un peu difficilement. Je ne dirai pas que le rythme est lent, c'est plutôt qu'on sent que les choses ont vraiment du mal à se mettre en place et il est vrai que quelques scènes comportent des longueurs ou sont inutiles et surtout ne sont pas accompagnées ni par de la musique, ni même par des sons ambiants et c'est assez gênant car on se demande ce qu'il se passe, ça nous sort de l'ambiance et c'est bien dommage. Mais cela ne dure que les quelques premiers épisodes, par la suite, on se prend vraiment dans l'histoire et on ne voit pas le temps passer.

Chaque histoire, que ce soit la vengeance, la romance ou la bromance, possède son temps de développement par des petites scènes qui s'enchaînent de manière naturelles et pour filer la métaphore de la cuisine c'est une sauce parfaite pour accompagner le plat principal de l'histoire qui nous est présentée.
D'ailleurs, les bisous et autres scènes romantiques commencent de façon très « HOT » sur le début pour se calmer bien vite par la suite (dommage^^) mais on en a pour ses papillons dans le ventre, ne vous inquiétez pas.

La façon de filmer m'a un peu surprise également sur le début, car, bien qu'il s'agisse d'un drama de 2018, la réalisation ressemblait, sur les premiers épisodes toujours, à une production de 2009 un peu façon soap et j'avoue avoir un peu de mal avec cette manière de rendu d'image.
L'OST est pas mal même s'il n'y a pas non plus de quoi casser des briques.

En définitive, l'histoire m'a bien plu si on arrive à s'accrocher aux premiers épisodes qui sont, à mon sens, d'un moins bon niveau que les suivants et si on excepte ce personnage exécrable de la mère (j'arrête de parler d'elle, ça m'énerve).

Maintenant, à vous de vous faire votre avis.

Leggi di Più

One of the best show with Romance in a Restaurant

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2018 South Korean drama series with 38, 35 minute, episodes.

Seo Poong (Lee Jun-Ho) worked hard to become a star chef and the hotel restaurant has raised the status of the entire hotel. He is on the verge of marrying the daughter of his deceased mentor not only because he loves her but to fulfill a promise to take care of her. He is also receiving recognition for his skill and anticioates a promotion. Little does he know that jealousy and greed have caused a turn of events where he loses all he holds dear. Seo-Poong swallows his pride and strikes up a deal with the former gangster loan shark who bought a restaurant to provide honest work for his friends who are also former gangsters. The restaurant owned by the former gang members failed in the shadow of the prestigious hotel restaurant. Now it looks like the star chef has vowed to turn the failed restaurant into a winning competitor to draw business and get his revenge on the hotel executives who back stabbed him. Doo Chi-Sung (Jang Hyuk) was a tough gangster but hides a kind and soft side along with a deep loyalty for those he considers friends. He agrees to help Seo Pong if he will turn the former gangsters into successful cooks. Training former gangsters with no respect for authority is a challenge Seo Poong may not be up to. Both men had chance encounters with Dan Sae-woo (Jung Ryeo-won) whose husband left her after her father suffered financial scandal and rJin. This down on her luck heiress keeps bumping into the men and tugging their heartstrings. Can this unlikely group make a successful go at the restaurant and will Seo Poong get his revenge? Which of the men will the damsel in distress choose?

Spoiler 🚨 I really liked this and am surprised this is not more prominent in searches of good Asian romantic comedies. I loved so many of the characters in this. The "thugs", in particular boss thug, Chi-sung, had great character depth. He was someone who became who he was in order to survive being orphaned at a young age. He seemed tough on the surface but, in reality, he had a warm heart and giving nature to all of those in his inner circle. Poong approached him early on to strike a deal to be able to get revenge on those that had stabbed him in the back. The love/hate relationship between Poong and Chi-sung was destined to be a great bromance. I really was not sure, until toward the end, who the lead lady would choose. Both seemed like they were great for her in their way. The story was interesting and compelling, it was well acted, the plot moved along at an appropriate pace, and it ended well. The only thing I did not like was there was some loose ends. There was an almost romance between Chi-sung and a woman he kept encountering that you never know what happens to. Chi-sung's mother - you do not know the outcome with her. You suspect that the two that end up together get married but do not know for sure. Still, it was not enough to totally detract from how good this story was. I was interested from beginning to end and was sad to have it end. I know when I get drama withdrawal that I really liked the series. And I felt that way with this one.

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Going into this one I really didn't have any expectations. I assumed I would enjoy it since I'm mostly easy to please when it comes to entertainment, but I never expected it to be this good.

Everything about this from the characters to story is amazing.

The character Doo Chil Seong is probably one of me favorite characters in entertainment. Everything about him was awesome. From the way he fights, to the way he conducts himself in high pressure situations. That's not to say the other characters weren't great either. The main romance was phenomenal, and I really felt like they loved each other towards the end.

Lets not forget about the other romance here though, the amazing Bromance. The friendship that gets established by the male leads is seriously heartwarming, and honestly made me envious.

The only downside is that the beginning is very very slow. I really havent ever felt bored watching a drama before, but the beginning of this one really made me consider dropping a drama for the first time. After the slow build the middle and end is so great, it more than makes up for it.

Also there are so many characters in this that the beginning felt very confusing for me, trying to learn who everyone was. There were times when the scene was focusing on someone, and I had no idea who they were, but had apparently been shown them before.

If you love heartwarming Romance and a strong Bromance with some cool fight scenes, and awesome food, then this drama is for you.

I highly recommend this drama

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Soggy jjajangmyeon and stale tangsuyuk

I had great expectations for this drama. However, I was disappointed. Being a good related show, I e would expect to see amazing dishes. Sadly, the show revolved around just 2 - jjajangmyeon and tangsuyuk. That's fine, but even the supposed metaphors they were was flavourless and lost.
The characters themselves are very annoying. Sure, the leads had good chemistry. But what's up with their personality? My god, how can one be as shameless, as insecure and as altruistic as the FL, ML and gangster bro respectively?
The FL's mother is the most useless human being I've ever seen. She's not worth the words. Some characters just vanished into thin air. Plot lines dropped out, villains dropped out. Overall, 19 episodes seem too much for this story. I was rarely moved by the supposedly emotional storylines and scenes. Why was the FL so worried about her horse never to visit him again till the last episode?!
The actors have done a great job. Although, some of them were seriously underused. I believe that some of the gangsters deserved more screentime.

Overall, I'm quite frustrated with this drama. It could have been so much more.

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la cuisine comme le meilleur vecteur de l'entente entre humains !

Ce que j’en ai pensé :
Un premier épisode confus, entassant mariages (2) abandon, ruine, trahison, entrée en scène des gangsters, rivalités avec d’autres gangsters, m’a donné envie de laisser tomber tout de suite, sauf qu’il y avait Jang Hyuk et JunHo… mais une fois passés les deux ou trois épisodes où la situation s’installe et où on définit clairement qui est qui, on a une sympathique comédie agréable à suivre, à condition d’avoir mangé avant, sinon, ça sera dur, car on est en cuisine tout le temps ou presque.

Ce que j’ai apprécié dans ce drama, ce sont les personnages, en particulier l’héroïne (une fois n’est pas coutume, surtout pour mois, en général elles me tapent sur les nerfs) qui est une femme intelligente, drôle, courageuse (elle a perdu fortune et mari mais elle fait face sans larmoyer ou se cuirasser de dureté mélodramatique) Elle se trouve entre les deux personnages masculins (Seo Pong et le gangster Chil Song) et sait très bien, sans minauderies ni hésitations sans fin où elle va aller, et elle sait aussi très bien s’en expliquer… les deux hommes, qui sont devenus entre temps plutôt amis (enfin le jeune appelle le gangster « Hyung » ce qui veut tout dire quand on connaît les mœurs coréennes !)vont également assumer leurs sentiments sans tragédie ou la fameuse scène « je t’aime mais je te quitte », et ça c’est un gros plus.
Le jeune cuisinier est fort désagréable avec ses apprentis, autoritaire, exigeant, et par moment on aurait envie de le baffer, donc pas du tout le héros « chevalier blanc » mais il s’assouplit et se bonifie,particulièrement au contact de Chil Song, qui est quand même un très gentil gangster, et de Sae Woo qui sait très bien le remettre à sa place  !!
Alors le scénario est bancal, par moment on s’éternise en cuisine, par moment on voit arriver des personnages qu’on a vaguement vus au début mais dont on ne sait plus qui ils sont, on n’échappe pas à un certain nombre de clichés… Mais l’ensemble reste agréable surtout pour les personnages bien construits, comme les dialogues d’ailleurs. Le gros défaut est la longueur ! 19 épisodes c’est au moins 3 de trop, et même 4 !
Au total, pas un chef d’œuvre mais de solides qualités quand même.

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