Midnight Foodstore Episode 22- 25 review

[Episodes 22- 25] Street Fighter

Featured food: Double stir-fry pork

Alright, there is some confusion now... I checked the list of episodes on the drama website online, this story appeared as Episodes 32- 35. However, on my local cable TV they have aired this story as Episodes 22- 25. Very strange, I don't know who has the correct order of episodes. Also, the online drama website has only 36 episodes but I realised that the TV version ran up to 40 episodes. It is confusing and frustrating, especially for someone like me who has some OCD! ;P

Anyway, I shall go with the version that I watched. I am guessing that maybe in China they have cut out some episodes. I have no idea why. :( Enough with speculation, let's get with the story! :D

Ah Sheng is an underground fighter. He earns a living by fighting in fight clubs. Ah Sheng would patronise the midnight diner after every fight to eat a plate of double stir-fried pork. One night he meets Ming Mei, who is a single mother and her son Ku Ke. I actually thought that Ku Ke was a girl at first... (-_-") He is attracted to her instantly and vice versa. 

Ah Sheng has a manager but somehow that manager doesn't seem to arrange enough fights for him. He wants to earn more money. I love the custom furniture warehouse here! It reminds me of the one I saw in Jay Park's music video. 

Meanwhile, Ah Sheng and Ming Mei grew closer to each other through Ku Ke. He embraced Ah Sheng really fast and they love hanging out with each other. 

Ah Sheng decides to ask Ming Mei out for a date... Aww! So sweet... Ming Mei's sister is the same lady from Love by Design. It's nice to see some familiar faces! Ah Sheng and Ming Mei gets down to it straight away.. Hahah!! No wasting time there... ;D

Ah Sheng was still fighting in the underground scene and it caught the attention of the professional fighter, Castro. He insists on having a match with Ah Sheng. The problem with Castro is that he is a brutal fighter, some previous opponents actually died after being hit by him. Oh noes! :O 

When Ah Sheng heard about Castro's offer to a duel, he was so elated. It was like his dream come true, to be able to finally fight in a professional arena. However, Ming Mei heard about the danger of Castro and did not want Ah Sheng to die while fighting him. She gave him the ultimatum it was either her or the match. Aigoo! I felt like I was watching Fight for my way all over again... With Aera telling Dongman if he fought she will break-up with him. Urrrgh. 

Ah Sheng did not listen to her.. Hahah! It's hard isn't it, when you are chasing your dreams... He started training really hard. Everyone was happy for him and they helped him out. The diner boss made power drinks and food, Ah Long and Ah Xian used their gang members and Ah Dao let him train in the sub-zero freezer. This part was really cool, it is like a Chinese version of Rocky! 

The match day was fast approaching, Ah Long has some last pep talk with Ah Sheng. He looks weird without those sunglasses! ;D

Match day! Everyone gathered at the diner to watch the fight. Ah Sheng tried to invite Ming Mei but she refused to go. This part was really gruelling to watch, Castro was pounding Ah Sheng with all those blows... :( I really didn't know which way it will go at this point... I thought Ah Sheng might die... Nuuu! 

So glad that it is a happy ending! :D Yes, Ah Sheng survived the match with Castro. I really didn't know that there were so many rounds in these kind of fighting match. The episodes online cut down the fight scenes. Castro did win the title and Ah Sheng got Ming Mei. She did go to the stadium at the end and Ah Sheng promised to retire from fighting to marry her. Aww! 

Overall an empowering story, about not giving up on your dreams, train hard and seizing the opportunity when it comes. There wasn't much on the featured dish, I guess the director focused on the fight instead. :P 

Akuma Caca Cafe

 

It's been awhile. Have been feeling more depressed  than usual.  Anyways this have been in my to-draw list for a some time now.  Akuma Caca Cafe as seen in the Taiwanese drama Thirty Something. The divider is made out of small mini logs, which is quite eye-catching.  It may look a little bit creepy if you stare at it long enough though...  I saw the same design in a Korean restaurant as well while watching Seoul Refined, but that was used as a feature wall. The grass carpet is actually on the other side of the divider but I thought it might look better if I drew that in here.  

That's it for now. Hope everyone is doing well. 

Fabricated City review

Movie name: Fabricated City
Country: South Korea
Year: Feb 2017

I heard about this movie after K2 ended, was looking forward to seeing Ji Chang Wook in action again yass! From the title at first I thought it was some kind of sci-fi movie, along with the lines of Gattaca or The Matrix... but it's not what I expected! 

So,what's this movie about?

The movie opens with a special forces kind of ops, where the team was about to enter battle in order to save the world kind of thing. :D Captain (Ji Chang Wook) is the leader and his team consists of a hacker, sniper, demolisher expert and several others. The team is superb and they were about to complete the mission when one of the team members named Mr Hairy was caught in the cross fire. Captain jumps in to save him but loses his life in the end. Oh noes! :O 

Well, don't worry... it's just a video game. ;D Captain in real life is an unemployed youngster named Kwon Yu who lives with his mum and plays video games to pass his time. He gets into trouble one day when he finds a mobile phone and returns it to the owner for a small sum of money as a reward. He was framed for rape and murder of an under-aged girl, he has no memory of doing any of it but all the evidence pointed to him. 

He was thrown into the maximum security jail for the virtue of his crime. He was beaten and sodomised by the other inmates there. He wanted to take his own life by chewing at his wrists but it was his mum who gave him strength to endure. She vowed to get him out of there and prove that he was not a rapist. Unfortunately his mum passed away not long after and Kwon Yu was determined to get out of there to clear his name. It was also thanks to another long term inmate who taught him how to get out of there... 

I guess this is where the story actually starts... For me that is! ;D Kwon Yu, not knowing what to do, headed to his lawyer's office for help. Little did he know that his lawyer isn't exactly a good guy... Lawyer Min gives Kwon Yu the necklace left behind by his late mum and called the police. Luckily Kwon Yu manages to escape in time. 

He heads to the cybercafe to find out more information about his case and tried to access his email account when suddenly the pc is taken over by someone. It showed everything about what happened to him. It seemed like that person knows that he was framed and trying to help him. That person turns out to be Mr Hairy, his gamer friend! Mr Hairy isn't hairy at all, she's a girl named Yeo-wool who is a real life hacker. 

Yeo-wool gathers all the other gamers to her hideout and they all wanted to help Kwon Yu. Reckon is an expert in fixing stuff, Demolisher works as a fx (special effects) for a production company and Teacher is sort of an architecture lecturer... or so he says! ;D 

This rag-tag bunch set out on their mission and stumbles upon something big, which is a syndicate that helps people to clean up s**. Yup, they are hired hands who will do everything to help you get away with murder. Literally. :O

The latest murder was an actor and the murderer is the daughter of a prominent Chairman. The team watches in horror how the syndicate clean up the murder scene and fabricate all the evidence in another location. Kwon Yu walks around the new fabricated murder scene in disbelief... I pity the poor actor who had to be naked in that tank there! :O Kwon Yu didn't know that he was being watched... yes, by the very lawyer Min. I shall call him Psycho Min... He is the mastermind behind this syndicate.

Kwon Yu and gang tried to go after the syndicate members but somehow they were always one step faster. It seemed like they knew his every move and location. He was caught by the dangerous inmate who was freed from prison by Psycho Min. Nuuuu! 

No worries, the hero escapes again with the help of Yeo-wool. :D Yeo-wool finds a tracker on Kwon Yu and it was in the necklace. He finally knew who was behind it all. The team reorganises with their new target in mind and worked to get all the equipment ready. I love this part so much, they pimped up the beat up car with the Audi car engine! Hahahah!! 

Okay, you'll have to leave your brain behind starting from now.. ;D The team goes after the individual members of the syndicate, crippling it one by one. However, in order to bring down Psycho Min, they will need to access his gigantic server. Kwon Yu manages to get into the server room but alas the same scenario in the video game appears in real life. Psycho Min captures the other team mates and Kwon Yu has to make the decision to save his team. 

Some awesome car chase scenes here... Love love it! The stunt drivers are amazing and I want that cute car so much! :D

Kwon Yu manages to get to his team in time and they raced to the TV station in order to broadcast the evidence against Psycho Min. Very epic car chase in the car park there! I wonder if it is KBS car park or something! Hahah!! Love the Jackie Chan move, where the car goes into the parking bay while the pursuers go by not noticing them! 

The team unloads and Yeo-wool heads up to the broadcast centre while the rest gear up to bring down the enemy. Love this part where Kwon Yu, the Captain talks to his team mates before their mission starts. It's not a game but for real. Everyone responds without hesitation. Game On!

Lots of booms and car chases but the SWAT team came in and arrested Reckon and Demolisher. Meanwhile Yeo-wool was taken by the crazy inmate and Kwon Yu went to rescue her, just like in the video game. What is this girl she always needs rescuing! ;D 

No logic at this part where Kwon Yu returns to the TV station and drops Yeo-wool off. Supposedly the building is secured by the SWAT team, how could she enter it again?! Hahah! Anyways it seemed like the end for Kwon Yu when the police surrounded him and he got out of the car surrendering himself. Psycho Min jumps in joy thinking that he had won the game... 

The game was not over yet. Psycho Min had no idea about the other two gamers who work in the adult movie scene... Haha! They set up in a small van outside the TV station and started to broadcast. Yeo-wool pulled all the data from Psycho Min's server and the whole of Korea saw everything that happened in the actor's murder case and also Kwon Yu's case. Psycho Min screams in horror all of his data flowed out of his server and the truth was revealed. 

Happy ending y'all! Kwon Yu was cleared of all his charges and Psycho Min got what he deserved. I was laughing when the couple came back to their newly pimped car! Seriously, the husband was trying to rip off Kwon Yu at first but Kwon Yu returned them with a nice fixed up car instead. Bleh! 

The team celebrates victory, this time in real life... and Captain leaves us with some deep thoughts about trees... Hahaha! I know right?! Yes, we know that the tree is still alive... ;D Okay, not complaining because we get to see Ji Chang Wook smiling at us!! ;P

Overall thoughts?

It was hard watching the first half of the movie. I'm not a fan of prison scenes, would have probably not continue watching it if it not because of Ji Chang Wook. ;D I'm glad to have stuck to it and the rest of the show was action packed. Love all the car chase scenes and explosions. The cast was good, they all played their characters well. To be honest, I could hardly see Mr Hairy's face throughout the whole movie! She was partially hidden most of the time. 

There isn't any romance, just a hint of it where she bought Kwon Yu a new leather jacket. Short but sweet. I guess she knew who he was even before the case, since she is a hacker she would have known what he looked like. She stuck to him during game time in order to level up and Kwon Yu would always risk his life to save her. Aww, so sweet! ;D

It's strange seeing Ji Chang Wook younger here. It seems that the filming for this movie was in 2015, two years ago. I think the producers needed time to edit the special effects and all that. I didn't know he could have curly like hair! Looks weird but still cute. ;D 

So far, this is my fourth Korean movie. I have seen The Suspect, Finding Mr Destiny and The Beauty Inside. (Which reminds me I need to do those reviews! ;P) I look forward to more Korean movies. It is different from those we usually see from Hollywood or Hong Kong ones. Alright, I'll leave you with Ji Chang Wook as Captain saving his team! Game On!

Midnight Foodstore Episode 21- 22 review

[Episodes 21- 22] Washroom customer

Featured food: Glutinous rice dumpling

Yaasss!! My handsome Xiu Jie Kai!! We have passed the midway of this series and finally he appears! Aigooo.... !!! Alas, my excitement lasted briefly only... I felt so cheated watching his story. He practically appeared like for less than one episode and the second half were all flashbacks. Wtf! (-_-")

Okay, he bursts into the diner one night asking whether he could use the washroom. He seemed like he was about to go really badly... Hahah! After that, he felt quite embarrassed and kept apologising. He was about to leave but then he decided to sit down and order some food. He ordered the most simple dumpling, which caught the attention of Ah Dao, one of the regulars there. 

He and Ah Dao became fast friends. The weirdest thing was he never said his name, and Ah Dao didn't even ask! What?! Yeah, so everyone nicknamed him the "Straight striped shirt guy"...Hahah! Apparently he is sort of a Google maps guy... He would ride a bicycle around the town while the equipment will take pics and information along the way. That explains why he always seem to rush to use the washroom at the diner! 

One night Ah Dao was fishing by the lighthouse, the striped shirt guy came by. He started to chat with Ah Dao... Usually Ah Dao will do all the talking, but somehow that night the striped shirt guy said something about being there and a lot of deep stuff... Ah Dao shakes his head in amusement as he didn't understand what that guy was talking about. 

Ah Dao meets the stripe shirt guy again some days later at the diner. He was surprised that the stripe shirt guy was drinking alcohol. He wanted to drink a lot but the diner boss stopped him with the diner rules of only 3 servings per customer. Ah Dao senses the guy's disappointment and decides to get the servings quota from other customers there. In the end, both guys drank so much and Ah Dao passes out on the counter. That was the last time anyone saw the striped shirt guy... 

Some time had passed and Ah Dao misses his striped shirt guy friend. He was hoping that the guy will burst into the diner as usual wanting to use the washroom but that didn't happen. It was a woman who did that instead... What?! Haha! Yes, the woman was copying everything that the striped shirt guy did previously. Ah Dao wondered who she was and she begun to tell them her story... Yeah, this is where all the flashbacks appear and my handsome guy is nowhere to be found anymore! Arghh... 

It's kinda a crappy story to be honest... Who in this day and age asks another guy friend to write a love letter for you to chase the woman of your dreams???!! I was like what the???!! Seriously, you would stuff like that when you are in your teens or something... but as an adult? Come on! Ridiculous. (-_-)

The striped shirt guy bumps into an ex-college room mate and that guy asks him to write some poetic love letter because she was into literature and stuff. I also don't know why he agreed to such lame request but maybe because he saw the photo of the woman and he fell in love with her... I know! There was a scene where he was writing the letter and she walked by... So high school kind of crush! 

Anyways the woman fell for the douche bag guy instead of the striped shirt guy thanks to the romantic love letter... What, am I watching a Korean drama with the second lead syndrome?!! Hahahah!! Yeah, the shy guy can only watch as his dream woman accepts the love declaration by the fake guy outside the restaurant. She caught a glimpse of him but he hid behind the tree. He could only take a pic of her from afar.... Ahhh, my heart is breaking right now... 

As all fake facades crumble, the woman eventually realises the guy she agreed to date was not the same one who wrote the letter and she broke up with him. So, what happened to our striped shirt guy?! Well, he passed away. What???!! Nuuuuu!! Everyone in this drama series seem to have terminal illness and dies... Wtf! Hahah! I know right?! :P

If you remember earlier, there was one night where the striped shirt guy was drinking alcohol like there's no tomorrow? Well yeah, he knew he was not going to live any longer so he drank his sorrows away. Ah Dao now understood everything that happened in hindsight... 

The woman also realised that the person she loved was someone whom she have never met... But she knew everything about him through the letters he wrote to her. He did not post the letters earlier. He only posted them when he knew he was going to die so by the time she received the letters it was too late. :'( The story ends with her going to his apartment and we finally find out his name! Liang Hao Shi... 

So, feeling absolutely ripped off by now?! Hahahah!! Sigh... Well, at least we had a half episode of eye candy with him! ;D Not much on the steamed glutinous rice dumpling though...