My kind of 'gai'!

Did you know that Tom Kha Gai is the best chicken soup of 2023? I was reminded of this in just the first episode of 'CC', and I was tempted to treat myself to a sweet treat every time the name of the soup was mentioned.

But alas, this is not about Tom Kha Gai! (See? I said it again!)

I watched both the cut and uncut version and I'll continue to do so. My first impressions were cute, fluffy, and lighthearted. I have no problem with OffGun, they deliver as they always do. They effortlessly breathe life into their characters. I am overly impressed with Aungpao given that this is debut in the acting arena. And Pim held her own as well. The cast is cute and likable so far, but I know trouble looms ahead where Ten and his father are concerned. Changma is going to shake things up and cause jealousy to stir within Ten. Ah, can't wait!

This is EXACTLY what the doctor ordered for those who need a break from the darkness and seriousness. But tread carefully, for it may not be your cup of coffee, and even if it isn't, still have some Tom Kha Gai, the chef's recommendation to deal with disappointment.

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Disappointed but still seated.

I was excited about this drama because I absolutely love shows that revolve around food and the art of cooking. From dramas like Kinou Nani Tabeta to Until We Meet Again, the incorporation of food and cooking as important plot points in story-telling always brings out a sense of warmth and intimacy that is quite refreshing to watch. And that is what I had expected from this show - although more along the lines of a lighthearted, fun rom-com. But I must say that the pilot episode has made me take a step back and reevaluate my expectations. And to be completely blunt... I was totally disappointed.

They had all the right ingredients to create a fun and humorous first episode but of course, they just had to mess it up with the execution. It is high time that GMM start hiring better technicians because the post-production team working on most of their drama seem to be amateurs. Or for the very least, hire an editor with experience, you can save half of your shows that way. Keeping that aside, the exposition didn't really feel like an exposition, there wasn't much offered to hook the viewers and keep them interested. When compared to the pilot episodes of other currently airing BL dramas (like The Last Twilight and The Sign), Cooking Crush seriously falls behind. I hope they will be able to pick it up in the following episodes or this drama would be a total letdown when it has such a good premise and an amazing cast.

Now, I'm not going to talk much about pacing because the YouTube cut seems to have been a big mess and was the main contributor to hindering the flow of an otherwise okayish episode progression, but I must point out that the editing is super weird, the sound effects too much and often out of place (they went overboard with that robotic sound effects in my opinion, and it wasn't even in sync!). Don't even get me started on the continuity errors - it just feels as if they were not trying at all. The most disappointing fact is how they marketed this as a comedy but failed to deliver. The humour felt forced and artificial. There were a couple of moments that hit the spot but the rest fell short. Really hope that won't be the case for the rest of the show.

And as of now, the only bright side of the show is the cast ensemble. OffGun has delivered as usual. I love the dynamics of the friendship trio and I'm also super excited to see Neo here! I know Neo has been typecast as the Funny Sidekick for the longest time, and I hope that won't be the case here and his character will be more fleshed out. But at the end of the day, I'm kinda happy to see Neo in a silly, lighthearted role again! And he seems to be carrying it with much more poise, and I'm totally here for that! The bickering between Fire and Dynamite is entertaining but I'm still not sure what to make of them, especially Dynamite. Hoping to finalize my opinion of them in the following episodes.

I am looking forward to learning more about Prem as a character, and his struggles. The mystery surrounding his restaurant reminds me so much about Moonlight Chicken, but I really hope they do not take the easy way out just like what MLC had done. We know that Moonlight Chicken was supposed to be more sombre but still failed to do justice to the whole aspect of gentrification and displacement, so can we really expect a show marketed as a comedy to be able to outperform and depict such realities? I guess we will have to find out. But again, I'm not expecting much, it is a comedy after all! It will have its limitations with respect to the plot but I just really hope the humour does not fall flat or the technical aspects of the drama will lack so much from here on.

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