Adventure of the Ring Taiwan review

 

Drama name: Adventure of the Ring

Country: Taiwan

Year: Dec 2020- Jan 2021

HBO was advertising this drama on my local cable TV and you have to subscribe to the movie pack in order to view it. The trailer caught my attention as it featured the Taiwan Metro line, which reminded me of the Metro of Love series. Made a mental bookmark to watch it and glad it was available online so I gave it a go. 

So, what's this drama about?

It is about a couple who has been dating and living together for around 5 years. Naturally the next step would be marriage. The female, Lisa who is a stewardess has this live long dream of having a fairy tale proposal and marriage. It was her birthday, and she was so sure that her boyfriend Yi Zhi would propose to her that night as she found the engagement ring in one of the drawers earlier. 

Meanwhile, Yi Zhi who works as a risk management executive has some insecurities about getting hitched. The night before his proposal he had a nightmare about being married. This resulted in him being more anxious than normal. On his way to work that morning, he lost the engagement ring on the metro line. 

It is a very special ring, given by his mother and was commissioned by his father. It holds a strong symbolism behind it. The rest of the drama goes on with how the ring was passed on from one couple to another and finally returning to its owner. 

Overall thoughts

The concept of this story is quite unique and interesting. Although some may think it might be far fetched a bit but it is entertaining. The individual stories touch on different types of relationships and the meaning of love. 

Best parts of the drama

Yi Zhi's apartment. It is a one bedroom apartment but it is quite stylish... 

The flow of the story on how the ring went from one couple to another... It was an adventure indeed! 

Not sure if you girls are a fan of shower scenes but there are quite a number of them in this drama... It doesn't appeal to me but if you are interested... ;) 

Dislikes from the drama

I really disliked the female character in the show. Throughout the whole series she never actually bothered to put herself in her boyfriend's shoes. Proposing and getting married is a huge leap, any guy would also have insecurities even more so for someone like Yi Zhi. He is an introvert and he has OCD to some point. 

From the moment he lost the ring, she only thought about herself. She didn't even feel any remorse or a break-up feeling because she had her ex-boyfriend hanging around her. It was like hey, I have a back-up guy no worries...

Even until the last part where Yi Zhi proposed to her, she was still looking at Alan... Oh come on now... that's too much... 

Notable scenes

This scene where Yi Zhi finally mans up and throws Lisa out of the apartment... But of course it is the usual drama style where the person actually loves the other but pretends to be bad... 

Conclusion

The ring ended up with Yi Zhi's best friend's wife, who lost it on the plane during turbulence. She is a radio DJ, and she went on air to tell about the story of the ring and hoping that there might be any information of someone finding it. The programme was broadcasted and all the couples heard it. They posted comments and videos regarding their encounter with the special ring. 

Yi Zhi decided to track down all the couples and listened to their stories... that gave him the courage to finally propose to Lisa. 

Meanwhile, Lisa found the ring on the plane and met up with the radio DJ who told her about the ring significance. The engraving on the ring's underside means that, "I love you." Lisa finally realises that Yi Zhi loves her so much (smh I just wanna b* slap her. Hahah!!) Lisa returns the ring to Yi Zhi's mum and bids goodbye. 

It's a happy ending as you would have expected... Yi Zhi did an elaborate proposal at the airport with singing and dancing... 

As I have mentioned, the female lead is still thinking about herself. She hesitates and say she still wants to pursue her dream... Well, to be honest I don't know what new dream she has but I think it is being a pilot or something... 

The ending shows a long distance relationship between them and finally getting back together after two years... 

Overall, this is a light hearted drama with 8 episodes only. If you want something short you could give this a try. I started the show with some expectations to be like Metro of Love but somehow I felt a bit disappointed because of the female lead character. If you have a girlfriend like Lisa, I advice you to think thrice before popping the question! Haha, I know I'm mean but seriously she is lucky to have met a guy like Yi Zhi. 

Thanks for reading! I will leave you with the beautiful ring... 

The Perfect Match (Taiwan)

Drama name: The Perfect Match
Country: Taiwan 
Year: Mar - Aug 2017 

Oh wow, it's really been so long since I last updated... My apologies, have been not much in the mood to watch anything current... plus daily life stress... Hope everyone is doing well and healthy. This drama came out in 2017, almost 3 years ago... I started Episode 1 but then left it on hold all these while... haha! Decided to pick it up again and it was quite nice! 

So, what's this drama about?

Hou Tingen is a Cordon Bleu trained top chef who is in charge of La Mure, one of the finest restaurants around. He is famous for lobster curry and one day he stumbles across an internet article which boasts a street food version of his signature dish at incredibly affordable price. He sets out to the night market to check out if the claims were true. 

Tingen meets Wei Fenqing, the street food vendor who claimed that her lobster curry sandwiches were just as good as the top chef's dish. He challenged her on the spot and prepared his curry sandwich using Fenqing's ingredients for the local folk to sample. Everyone there was blown away by his food. Fenqing's ego was hurt, she went to Tingen's restaurant the very next day to taste his lobster curry. 

She challenges Tingen to a battle, that within 7 days she can make the lobster curry just as good as his, provided that he would teach her how to cook it. Haha, I know right... the story line is already kinda ridiculous right from the start... But yeah, that's how it goes... 

The drama continues with Tingen teaching Fenqing how to cook his signature dish and how their relationship developed within the 7 days with family history secrets coming out and eventually threatening their love for each other. 

Overall thoughts

It is a light hearted rom-com, with not many really bad villians... The leads had good chemistry and the supporting cast were good, thus creating an enjoyable watch with the warm friendships from the night market crew. This drama is a bit cliche with the chaebol and poor girl kind of theme (if you are familiar with Korean dramas you'll know what I mean!) However, if you have watched Pasta or Wok of Love, this drama is definitely better than those two combined! 

Best parts of the drama

As with any food dramas, your eyes will have a food feast with all the fine dining dishes and also some Taiwanese street food! The show also starts off with some curry history which is kinda nice to know... 

Huo Tingen's apartment is really nice, please excuse the shirtless screenshots... :D 

As I have mentioned, the leads have good chemistry together. You'll have the full usual romance scenes, from scooter ride to rain and umbrellas.. princess dancing and eventually the kiss... ah, for such which girls would be super happy to get in a rom-com! :D

Tingen's food truck! It's a refurbished VW van... 

Notable scenes

Okay, this is what everyone is waiting for... yup, the super steamy first kiss! Man, Chris Wu can really kiss... you won't be disappointed! XD

Special mention

I had to mention this character from the drama, Xiaobin. He is Tingen's best friend and also right hand man. Haha, he's super funny, loyal and the bromance between them brings the comedy in... 

Conclusion

Okay, this is the part where the drama became kinda draggy... I read the comments and reviews online, and I do agree with them. As usual, there will be some kind of conflict between the leads and makes them separate for awhile. It turns out that Tingen's step dad and Fenqing's dad were supposed to be business partners back then. Fenqing's dad had the recipe for the curry, which Tingen's step dad stole after the guy got into a scooter accident on the roadside. 

With that stolen recipe, Tingen's step dad managed to build the empire which is what Tingen and his step brother are running at the moment. The leads separated because Fenqing's mum did not allow her daughter to marry the step son of the man who might have caused the death of her husband (Fenqing's dad) 

So with all drama ridiculousness, Fenqing inherits the empire and runs it like a boss. Sometimes, I wonder what script writers aim to build in people's minds... haha, I mean just imagine, she's just a street food vendor and then within 7 days or maybe a couple of months after and she can become the top chef of a Cordon bleu standard. It's just a bit stretched to me. 

But yeah, that's how the story is, Fenqing and Tingen's roles were reversed... Tingen became a food truck vendor serving food to make people happy, but he himself was not happy... the irony... 

It's a happy ending, don't fret just yet! The second lead decides to help them and brings them back together with a lawsuit. Yes, kinda like how they started.... Fenqing's group is suing Tingen for making a cheap version of their coronation chicken (a recipe which both Tingen and Fenqing developed together) So yeah, it was an awkward moment with the lawyer and everyone present. 

The leads get back together after that when mainly Tingen confessed his everything to her at the lawyers meeting. It was quite cheesy. Anyways, the drama ends with both parties running to each other (yes, true drama style) and kissing. The end. 

It's an okay drama, for those who love rom-com this would a nice one to watch if you have time to waste. I wouldn't recommend this much. It does depend on your mood, if you want a light hearted drama with romance and not too much heartache this would be okay. 

Alright then, hope you are staying safe and at home, with the covid-19 at large. See you in days to come. I'll leave you guys with Tingen and Fenqing... 

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.