Pasta Korean drama review

Drama name: Pasta
Country: South Korea
Year: Jan- Mar 2010 

I wanted to watch this drama because of Lee Sun Kyun, loved him in Coffee Prince and My Wife's having an affair this week. When I discovered that my local cable TV was airing this show, I was so happy! My ex-colleague also said that it was a nice drama. 

So, what's this drama about?

Seo Yoo Gyeong has been working as a kitchen assistant for three years at the La Sfera restaurant, a fine dining restaurant which specialises in pasta/ Italian food. One day, she was finally promoted to be a cook but her joy was short lived. The Italian chef was fired and a new chef took over. 

This new chef is Chef Choi Hyun Wook, a famous chef who was trained in Italy previously. When he took charge of the kitchen, he fired all the female chefs because he did not want any women in his kitchen. 

Seo Yoo Gyeong had met Chef Choi earlier while in the streets when someone knocked into her while crossing the road. Her packet of live goldfish fell onto the ground. She was panicking and Chef Choi happened to pass by at that time. He helped her to save the goldfish and there were some brief exchange of flirtation between them. Chef Choi asked about La Sfera and Seo Yoo Gyeong thought he was the new kitchen assistant to replace her.

But to her horror the next day he came in as the new Chef of La Sfera. Shocked and frustrated, Seo Yoo Gyeong refused to leave the restaurant and hung on for dear life. The rest of the story goes on with how she tries to survive in Chef Choi's kitchen and also her romance with him. 

Overall thoughts

I expected to be blown away with mouth watering pasta dishes in the likes of Let's Eat drama series. However, the food that was presented in this drama did not spark any hunger pangs at all. The portion of the pasta was soooo minute...(Yes, micro gastronomy... Fine dining...Duh!) that I could finish it in three bites. (-_-") No kidding! 

Best parts of the drama?

The Italy boys of course! XD Chef Choi brought his team of chefs from Italy after firing all the female chefs. I must say they are eye candy for the whole series! And yes, they were the only reason I continued watching this drama...  ;P 

The part where Chef made them take off their clothes in the freezing winter cold! No, we aren't complaining! ;DD

Of course, my favourite of the three... Philip! Well, actually the curly hair guy is kinda cute too.. ;P

The kitchen and La Sfera restaurant interior is pretty neat... 

I did like Chef Choi's kitchen in his apartment... 

Mini Coopers! La Sfera's owner, Mr Kim San drives one... The part where he meets Chef Choi in the car park. Actually Chef is driving a BMW X5 which is much more impressive imo, but at the end of the series he changed it into a cooper as well... 

Notable scenes:

I guess this is essentially a romantic drama so there are a lot of couple scenes between Seo Yoo Gyeong and Chef Choi. So much that I kinda found it ugh.... Sorry but not sorry! ;D

Second lead syndrome! Yes totally... I wished she would end up with Mr Kim San... but she never even gave him a chance at all right from the start. The fact that she is so dumb not to realise that he is the cactus man... *rolls eyes* 

Special Mention

I don't know if you noticed this character while watching this drama... He is one of the waiters in the hall named Nemo. He was a quiet, hardworking character and he somehow struck out to me from the first episode. I kinda thought he would be Seo Yoo Gyeong's best friend or something but it was never explored in that direction. 

Conclusion

After all the bickering and fighting in and out of the kitchen, the story ends with a happy ending. The local chefs won the New Chef competition and are heading to Italy for training. Meanwhile, the fired female chefs were re-hired by Mr Kim San to fill in the empty vacancies. 

Seo Yoo Gyeong and Chef Choi will continue working in La Sfera and live happily ever after... I think?! ;P I just didn't get that part, she was supposed to go to Italy but then her slot was given back to the injured cook. They just showed the part where Chef Choi and that cook having the conversation and Chef said he will break the news to Seo Yoo Gyeong. What??!! :O 

In all, it was just a meh drama for me. Considering it's a drama made 7 years ago... I'm just wondering was everyone really watching this back then?! Was it really that nice?! Hahahah!! I started watching because of the lead guy, but in the end I found myself disliking his character so much!! He was like a screaming Gordon Ramsay all the while and his behaviour to Seo Yoo Gyeong is very much like a typical male chauvinist... 

Meanwhile Seo Yeo Gyeong was like a total bimbo... Sorry, I had to use that word. I guess her character is someone who is really simple minded and very naive to the point that it annoyed me. But yeah, both leads did act very well and portrayed their respective characters on point. 

That's all for now. I'll leave you with more pics of Philip! ;D 

My Wife's having an affair this week office pantry

My current obsession with K-dramas has led me from one drama to another.  The recently concluded "My Wife's having an affair this week" was a pretty good show.  I enjoyed the story as well as the interior. This is the office pantry of Producer Do Hyun Woo, Producer Ahn and Writer Kwon. The concrete blocks caught my eye and then I realised it was cleverly used as a support for the bookshelves as well as a decorative piece. There is even some back-lighting for some of the blocks. 

On the opposite side, the concrete blocks were used as a divider and a bar area as well. Retro furniture pieces were used to match the concrete and wood. Although I must note that the space is rather small, so it may look like there is a lot of things going on.... maybe a little bit crowded for some. But I think it looks pretty nice overall. I really like the concrete blocks and wood combo. 

My Wife's Having an Affair this Week review

Drama name: My Wife's Having an Affair this Week 
Country: South Korea
Year: Oct- Dec 2016 

I watched this drama because of the male lead...I recognised him from Coffee Prince. :) I did not watch any of his dramas after that... (Pasta, but I might someday!) So it's good to see him again! I understand that this is a remake of a 2007 Japanese drama albeit with some updated items to it. 

So, what's this drama about?

Do Hyun Woo, a senior producer in a TV company has to come up with a new programme series as their current show has been axed. His team comes up with an idea about cheating wives. Ironically, he finds himself in the same situation when he stumbled across a text message on his wife's mobile. A man named Michael has booked a hotel room that coming Saturday. Feelings of denial, anger, confusion and despair followed. Hyun Woo could not concentrate on his work or his daily life at all. One night in his despair, confusion and also half-drunken state, he wrote his situation on a local Internet board asking for advice. Entitled," My wife is having an affair this week" (The show's title) the message board quickly gained the interest of many and became viral. 

The rest of the story goes on with Hyun Woo dealing with the situation as well as all forms of marital problems, ranging from adultery to divorce.

Overall thoughts?

It's definitely a drama for a mature audience. It deals with marriage, marital infidelity and issues pertaining to family. I actually enjoyed this drama (Maybe because I'm old!) The points that they brought up and responses to the situations were very realistic. The acting by all the cast was very good. I particularly enjoyed the responses from individuals on the Internet message board. 

Best parts of the drama?

The interiors of the various cafes and hotels were really nice. :D 

Producer Ahn and Writer Kwon (Bo Young)'s apartments were nice too:

Their office pantry has a really cool design as well: 

Some funky staircase: 

Notable scenes

Producer Ahn's reaction to Writer Kwon's blind date:

Karaoke dance version to Pick Me Up: 

Lawyer Choi and Producer Ahn demonstrating hand combat: 

Heartbreaking scene when Joon Soo cries after hearing that his parents will live apart:

Commericals

Smeg products- Oh seriously I love that pink kettle/ flask! 

Persil? Perse? I don't even know why I'm putting this in... 

Conclusion

Hyun Woo and Soo Yeon did get a divorce after all. Soo Yeon got the custody of their son, Joon Soo. Hyun Woo became a better man after the ordeal and took care of them even while living apart. There was a brief moment where Hyun Woo could have started a new relationship with a neighbourhood friend, but he decided to go back to his wife. Overall a happy ending and a new beginning to a life back together after separation. Okay, did that make any sense?! I hope it did!