Wok of Love Greasy Melo review

Drama name: Wok of Love/ Greasy Melo 
Country: South Korea
Year: May- July 2018

This show was in the list of dramas to watch in May 2018 featured on the Korean drama disqus channel which I am following. I saw the cast was Jang Hyuk and Jun Ho so I gave it a go. It was airing on my local cable tv so it was convienent as well... ;D 

So, what's this drama about?

Seo Poong is a Michelin star chef (not sure how many stars I forgot) working in a Chinese restaurant of Giant Hotel. He worked hard to reach his current position and everything seemed to be going well on the surface. He was about to get married and there were rumours of him being promoted to be the top chef of the restaurant. 

As Poong was going about his marriage preparations, he met Dan Sae Woo. Sae Woo is a governer's daughter and she is getting married as well. They met at the local bridal centre and later again at the hotel restaurant as she had booked a big dinner there. But during the dinner, she wanted Jjangmyeon (black bean noodles) which was not served in the hotel. She recognised Poong and demanded him to make her one bowl as she had not eaten the whole day. 

Poong had to go across the street from the hotel to a small Chinese restaurant to get some black bean sauce. The Chinese restaurant named Hungry Wok was run by an ex-gangster named Doo Chil-Sung. Poong managed to get the sauce but he didn't manage to cook the noodles because of the run-in with Chil Sung's men. Suffice to say, Sae Woo did not get to eat the noodles but she invited both Poong and Chil Sung to her wedding. Poong thought that was the last time seeing her. 

Then Poong got married with his fiance. However, it turned out that his fiance was cheating on him and the guy she was cheating with is the hotel's CEO. Poong got dumped the very next day after his marriage. (Yeah, this is really s*!) On top of that, he was framed by the hotel CEO and lost his job. 

Everything went downhill for Poong. It was then that he remembered the restaurant opposite the hotel, Poong went there and gave a proposal to Chil Sung. He wanted to use that restaurant to take revenge on the hotel CEO as well as the chef from the hotel restaurant. 

The story goes on with Poong trying to keep Hungry Wok afloat, handling Chil Sung's men, love interest with Sae Woo and lastly revenge on the lost of his job at the hotel restaurant.

Overall thoughts

The show reminded me a lot of Pasta, only in an updated version. The female lead character is like a total  "bimbo", dumb but rich girl this time. To be honest, she annoyed me a lot because she seemed so dumb being a governor's daughter like she never did anything in her life before. The part which pissed me off the most was when she took a loan for her horse to undergo surgery. That was like WTF moment, when your father is arrested, thrown in jail and all you think about is your horse??!!

Best parts of the drama

Chil Sung's apartment, his bedroom and kitchen is really nice. Love it... <3

The bromance between Poong and Chil Sung... To be honest, they were the only reason for me to continue watching this drama...

I read some comments that this show has become somewhat a makjang (food drama) I'm not too sure about that but the food featured definitely looks yummy! :D Tangsyuk (Sweet and sour pork), Jjangmyeon, Tang bao (I think it's a giant soup dumpling) and Almond tofu...

Some finer dishes served at the hotel restaurant and during the final cook-off battle...

It seems that this drama featured a lot of prawns/ shrimps... I feel hungry now... :D

I am wondering if Hungry Wok actually exists in South Korea... maybe someone can please tell me the location?!

Last but not least, Dim Sum the little kitten!! Aww, he's too cute... I'm glad they had a kitten in the show... it redeemed the show somewhat... XD

Notable scene

There seems to be a fascination with bus stops in kdramas... I have no idea why! The bus stop scenes in this drama seem to stand out for me... esp the one where Jang Hyuk brought the umbrella...

Conclusion

With the half assed writing of this story, I'm glad they cut short the episodes from 40 to 38... but then again some comments said that the ending was too abrupt. They didn't cover much of Poong's revenge on the CEO and what about his ex-fiance? No closure from there.

Also, the final battle between the two restaurants with the wager on was a tad bit ridiculous. It's like gangster style to settle debts. There is a happy ending nonetheless, Poong won the cook-off and everyone moved into the hotel restaurant... What?! Yeah, seriously mind blown to this point now...

What about the couple? Poong and Sae Woo ended up together, working in the hotel restaurant and Poong suggesting for them to get married (again) No disappointments for kissing fans though, there are enough kisses to keep you happy I presume... XD Jun Ho is quite a good kisser and the female lead is good as well.

Should you watch this drama? Nope. Unless you are a Jang Hyuk fan and you'll get to see him eat, grate dance, looking badass with sunglasses even at night and wearing a cowboy hat... XD Jang Hyuk my man, please come back as the badass butt kicking guy on screen which I know and love! Jaebal (please) Hahaa... yes I heard his next drama he will star as a MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) guy... lots of abs to see I guess?! ;D

Until then, keep eating Chinese food y'all! Jun Ho says so... XD

*image credits Dramabeans, Google and my own screenshots*

Switch: Change the world review

Drama name: Switch: Change the world
Country: South Korea
Year: Mar- May 2018

I can't remember how I came across this drama, but I'm sure glad I did! ;D 

So,what's this drama about?

Sa Do Chan is a professional con-man. He and his rag tag bunch will do elaborate "settings" in order to con people of large sums of money. One day, Sa Do Chan decided to disguise himself as a prosecutor and did a big con job. Unbeknown to him, there was actually a real prosecutor by the name of Baek Joon Soo who looks exactly like him! XD

The latest con job victim was a gangster and had decided to hunt Sa Do Chan down. So he continued pretending to be the real prosecutor and went to the prosecutor's building. It was there when another prosecutor named Oh Ha Ra played along and rescued him from the gangsters. 

Prosecutor Oh recruited Sa Do Chan to be a replacement of the real Prosecutor Baek Joon Soo who was involved in an accident and currently in a coma. Sa Do Chan refused at first but when he saw Prosecutor Baek unconscious he agreed to help them out. 

The rest of the story goes on with Sa Do Chan teaming up with Prosecutor Oh to uncover the powerful underground organisation who deals with drugs and smuggling expensive relics. The mastermind behind it all goes by the nickname "Brown Bear" and it turns out that Sa Do Chan has been looking for him all these years because he believed that Brown Bear killed his father. 

Overall thoughts

It's an exciting drama with lots of "Switches"... Haha, yes identity switches between Sa Do Chan and Prosecutor Baek. Although played by the same actor, I think he did a great job between switching characters. 

Best parts of the drama

Definitely the interior of Sa Do Chan's penthouse! The first penthouse he was staying with his gang had lots of cool stuff including a pac-man gaming machine, life size Ironman figure and funky pop decor... 

After the first penthouse was raided by Brown Bear's men, Sa Do Chan moved to another penthouse but it's not as nice as the first though... :( But I think it's actually the same set, they just remodelled it only! Haha! You can see the same pendant lights being used here....

Sa Do Chan's con man team of course... they remind me of Mad dog team as well... 

The Faberge egg exhibition was really nice... it's so pretty! 

Conclusion

As with most dramas of such it does have a happy ending. :D It may seem dodgy at some point on how they managed to nab Brown Bear and nail him with all the charges... It has to take Brown Bear's real son who turned against him and put him behind bars. Similar to Chief Kim kind of story line where the son becomes good... 

There isn't any romance in this drama as well. I actually love that they don't have any cheesy romance scenes. :D Sorry not sorry! However, there are some tease scenes between Sa Do Chan and Prosecutor Oh during the time they spent together. Their ending is an open ending, where they part ways on good terms... 

I absolutely love the famous line from this show," The biggest fraud is to capture someone's heart..." which is really true.. XD

And another thing which I absolutely love about this drama is Sa Do Chan!! Hahaha!! He's really so badass... I love his character here so much. <333 This is the first drama I've seen this actor in and he's got me hooked! ;DD I shall leave you here with this badass hottie... See you again real soon!