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This review may contain spoilers
Pasta would be an overall delightful watch if it weren't for a couple of absolutely annoying, infuriating traits.I think it's necessary for me to premise that I have first hand experience of how a high level restaurant/kitchen works. This is why I was attracted to it in the first place.
For the most part, what happens in the kitchen of this drama is exactly the same you will find in Michelin-stars kitchen all over the world: the strict hierarchy, the arguments between kitchen chef and restaurant direction, the treatment of women (things are rapidly changing, but high level cuisine has been for a long time a male domain, where women were treated almost like slaves). Even details in this drama are absolutely realistic, from the utensils they use to the allocation of each cooking-partie.
I had a great time watching the whole kimchi debacle, as I know for a fact that this is exactly the kind of problem a chef in such a kitchen would face.
BUT. Like Beca, the female lead annoyed me. Royally. Not so much because she would say Yes Chef every second word - that's actually quite accurate - but because she was ambitious but never showed any sign of having learnt anything. If you want to succeed in the gourmet world and you have the chance to work with a great chef you don't discuss his menu decisions: you learn! She is at the same time too humble and too conceited. She bows her head when she should show pride (grrrrrrr) and fights against the chef when HE is right (double grrrrrrr)!
And please don't get me started on the way she eats spaghetti. I'm Italian and, believe me, I cringed, to say the least. She would grab a handful of oily spaghetti and thrust them in her mouth with her hands, chewing them as if it were pigswill. In front of other people. I was disgusted. I respect different customs from mine, but you don't work in a 3-star (or even a 1 star) Italian restaurant without knowing how to eat spaghetti, for Pete's sake!
Lee Sun Gyun on the other hand is amazing. He is an arrogant jerk, but he is absolutely believable. I would never fall for such a man, but nothing he does or say comes out as unrealistic. Let me be just a little spoilerish here and say that his declaration is a great one! I finished the drama because of him and the rest of the hilarious, spot-on kitchen staff.
I can't remember the music, I'm afraid. Hence the 7.
I'm not sure I'll rewatch this drama. I laughed a lot, it entertained me a lot, but there are parts I'd need to skip entirely if I wanted to go through a second watch.
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This is a great drama, the characters are great and I loved that it actually did have a lot about food because a lot of dramas, like You're Beautiful, Only You and Heartstrings are about a certain subject but you never get to actually see the writers exploding that.
The thing that really bothered me about this one that made me not like this drama so much was the female lead. She had no personality whatsoever, always letting everyone push her around, even her love interest. I hate that she was alway "Yes, Chef. Yes, Chef. Chef, chef chef chef..." I mean she never even called him by his real name, no Hyuk Woon ah, or Hyuk Woon ssi, or even Choi Hyun Wook ssi.
Also, for the sake of not spoiling I'll really just say that I hated the REAL reason (not the generic, but the one he says) of why the chef broke up with his previous partner. I don't know of it is just because I'm a hardcore feminist, or simply because I thought he was dumb but I simply hated him.
On the other hand I loved all the kitchen drama, with the main line and the pasta line, Italian vs Korean! It was so funny to see them fight for the most minimum thing, I think all that made the drama funnier to watch and lighter.
In general I really enjoyed this drama, though it isn't one of my favorites
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I found myself singing along with the OSTs so much my mom got so annoyed and threatened to unplug the computer if I didn't stop said singing. The music flowed to the scenes, but i will say you;ll get distracted by the story more so than the OST, however it's still really awesome.
This story has awesome side characters and very attention grabbing side stories. The nonchalant AND aggressive jealousy was a sight to see. You grow an attachment to all the characters and you really take a feel for them whether you love, hate, whether want to throttle them, stuff them neatly into a bag of cotton balls, or pinch their cheeks just hug them! :)
In Conclusion: This drama has become one of my ForeverFavorites
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What century are we in? This series, while modern in overall appearance and environment, is like something out of the 1800s before the women’s movement. I think women are fairly progressed in Korea, but this series leads you to believe otherwise. As a woman watching this series, I grew weary of the male leads putting down and disrespecting the female leads.
What's even more offensive to me is the characterization of the female characters in this drama. The lead female is weak and whiney. She argues momentarily, but crumbles rather quickly and is back to saying "yes chef" to everything that is barked at her. The only strong woman in this series is of course characterized as the "evil b*tch," and is also constantly disrespected and treated like crap by all the male leads.
Lastly, there are a gagle of typical gossipy, meddling women who really serve no purpose at all. Women overall are portrayed really poorly in this series.
To say something positive, if nothing else, the chefs on the Italian team serve as wonderful eye candy.
While this drama is not the worst out there, all the sexism, ignorance and stereotyping wore on me to the point where I wasn't sure what the message of this drama was. I suppose it's purpose is to be a "romantic comedy," but I don't find bigotry romantic or funny.
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Story: The mainstream of the story was about an assistant aspiring to become a great chef in an elite restaurant and along the way, she falls in love with the head chef. It sounds typical, but not quite which I'll delve into later. I love the build-up/ formation of the episodes. Its refreshing and informative. Since this was my first food drama, I find the setting, food preparation and kitchen scenes really interesting. Most of the time the conflicts come from the kitchen, its not annoying and repetitive, it's fascinating to watch. The dialogues said were useful and could enlighten the audience about food, cooking techniques and a lot more. I'm most excited on the competitions being held, small or grand, within or outside La Sfera, it's fun and educative on my part. The characters were given twists in the story and their involvement in plot development were delightful to watch.
As I said earlier, the romance maybe is typical, but not really. The relationship development was the one that I really loved the most. It's not slow, not too dramatic either, it's entertaining. On their frequent argument, I smile. In most of the exchange of dialogues, I laugh. They're adorable to look at. They don't have a lot of physical contact, but their chemistry was absolutely convincing. With simple gestures, there's an evident spark. Oh yeah, the confession of love was outstanding and sweet. Their relationship wasn't only a display of affection, its also about them, working and helping each other to become better individuals especially on their working environment. The ending for everyone was creatively done, I was really happy for them, for the couple, well, it's cute!
Cast/ Acting: Most of the characters were likeable, however I love the 2 main leads the most. As a couple or an individual, I believe they're nicely written and well-acted. The lead girl may be seen as weak because she constantly follows orders to almost anyone, however, she stands firm for something she feels right. She bows a lot but she doesn't lose her real self in the process; her goal to become a chef remains there. She's just a very determined, humble, simple but open-minded person ready to accept criticisms because she believed, these will be essential in fulfilling her goals. She can be an underdog, but it's only temporary, for she has a strong fighting spirit. Gong Hyo Jin did a great job on the acting, she acted as expressive way as possible. For the male lead, his character is someone that you'll really want to hate but instead you'll learn to love. For me, he's just misunderstood. He was perceived to be arrogant, chauvinistic, insensitive, don't like women in his kitchen but for all of this, he has a credible reason. I leave the watching to you to know the reason. I forgive him because he made an exception, and for that he's still human after all. Overall, he's a good person, very professional when it comes to work, perfectionist but its not for himself alone; its for the customers, the restaurant and for his own people. His yells doesn't offend me, I don't know whether it's because of Lee Sun Gyuns deep, subdued voice that was very appealing to me or for the constructive criticisms he say upon raising his voice. Lee Sun Gyun was perfect on his role, his eyes were also expressive, I love it.
I can't get enough of those two but the supporting casts made their part shine also. There was no real antagonist here, however, there was no dull character made. The reformed pasta-line was filled with eyecandies you can't get enough but will the sunbaes let themselves lose? Definitely not.
Music: The songs were nice to hear. There was a song having a merry, fast-paced tune that I liked and then theres, La-la-lala-la-la-la song or is it Na-na.. well, either I liked it. There's a lot more songs I don't know their titles, but they're all good.
Rewatch Value: I rewatched this once. I rarely do that. Maybe when I become depressed. I'll watch this again. I have a feeling that this will lift my spirits because of a lot of enjoyable moments it gave me.
Overall: There's nothing much left to say but to encourage you to watch this drama. If you're a rom-com lover, this will surely satisfy your craving. :)
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What really drives the story is the romance between Seo Yoo Kyung and the new chef. From the moment they first meet, I knew I would love this drama. Their flirty mentor-apprentice relationship was fun to watch for the entire 20 episodes, especially because of Lee Sun Gyun. I knew he was good after watching him in Coffee Prince, but now he is officially one of my favorites. I was glad to see him as the romantic lead this time, and swooned over his flirt-spertise. This is also the 3rd drama I've seen staring Gong Hyo Jin, who gives another great performance as a determined aspiring chef. If played by lesser actors, their characters could have easily come across as unbearably mean, or annoyingly stupid. Instead, their characters had depth, which helped the often predictable plot feel realistic, and their "do it again"/"yes chef" relationship became endearing. Another thing I loved about the romance plot is the other members of the "love square", played by Lee Honey and Chu Alex, were actually likable, and sympathetic. As far as Kdrama romances go, this one felt different, and was refreshing.
On the other hand, the restaurant drama was mostly fun to watch, but it was always pretty obvious what would happen next. Rivalries & schemes describe the atmosphere at La Sfera, and there are plenty of scenes showing the cooks working and feuding in the kitchen. I was never bored, but I would have preferred less kitchen bickering, and more of the main couple. I also would not suggest watching any episode on an empty stomach, since the food they make has such a major role in the show.
I really enjoyed Pasta, and I definitely recommend it. It may not be one of my absolute favorites, but it definitely suits my taste.
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Acting/Cast -10: This was where the drama was fantastic. The acting was so good, that sometimes the main couple actually had me smiling like an idiot because I was so happy. I've already mentioned that I watched this for LSG and Alex, but some of the smaller roles were the ones that had me hooked.
Choi Jae Hwan as Jung Eun Soo was absolutely perfect. By far one of my favorite characters from any drama I've seen. I can't even imagine someone else taking that role.
As for the other supporting actors, they all had their moments. The Italian chefs had me laughing a lot throughout the show.
Music - 9: The music was the next best part about the show. Whenever an instrumental would come on, I would smile and dance along like an idiot.
Rewatch Value: 7: This isn't higher simply because there were a few characters throughout the show that drove me insane. You know the kind; the ones that have you wishing you could reach through the screen and strangle them (all of those people definitely contributed to me scoring the acting/cast so high too).
Overall 9: While the story didn't interest me, the acting, music, and chemistry between every single actor/character more than made up for it.
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I loved Lee Sun Gyun so much in this more than that in Coffee Prince. His character was simply superb though he was portrayed as an angry young chef, he has performed so well where i really did not feel irritated but loved the character more. His walking style - filled with attitude has no words to describe WOW !!!!! made me go crazy for him. especially when he punishes the cooks including his pair, was hilarious.
Before watching this series i thought that the lead pair may not get along with each other as Gong Hyo Jin gives me more of a calm and subtle feel - more like a noona/unnie. But she proved me wrong - the chemistry between the leads is simply superb and gives a feeling of a very young and matured love relationship. they have both made fall in for them as a couple too :). Besides his arrogant attitude towards others, his soft love towards Hyo Jin is adorable. Their love bond was quite different from the usual misunderstanding that happens with every other love story.
And also the Owner of La Safera - Alex is simply admirable. he's such a gentle man both in competing with Sun Gyun (Chef) to win Huo Jin's heart and as a supportive friend of Lee Ha Nui (F. Chef).
Choi Jae Hwan or no one else. he's the best for this kitchen assistant role. the scene where chef and him eat lollipops together was cute and pleasant. even guys eat lollipops ??? :) cute !
Last but never the least - No Min Woo (i love this guy). His hairstyle is WOW...!!! have no words to describe but jus to keep admiring it in all his scenes. he so handsome and watta complexion he's got... ;) so glowy... OMG !!!! don't take me wrong, but would definitely say that he was like an eye capturing element/MODEL in the kitchen; no wonder tat Alex's elder sis has a crush on him.
Talking about the plot, make me think how can a kitchen story have so many interesting episodes which were never boring. I really learn't lots of tips in cooking the dishes that they showed. Ain't the quantity of food/pasta served on the plates too less ????
Such a nice ROMEDY :) worth watching it more than once. i'm watching each episode 3 times a week - never got bored ans would never get tired in future too :) though i have watched only 17 episodes, the climax is quite predictable i'm eagerly looking forward to watch it till the end. but i don want this series to get over :(
In short, its worth watching more than once. i would recommend this to everyone who wants to have fun and enjoy the pleasant and strong love bond between lead couple.
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