Gourmet in Tang Dynasty (2021)

Silly but funny

This "Gourmet in Tang Dynasty", as far as I'm concerned, was the very definition of "guilty pleasure"...^_^;
With a quite absurd but funny premise, mostly nicely developed thanks to the histrionic skills of the hilarious FL (Li Zi Xuan), it was at the same time totally silly but also pretty entertaining, filled with anachronisms but also one of the very few (if not the only?) costume drama that had the courage to be honest about the period's beauty standards; incidentally: whereas other productions seem to fit in the occasional "stocky" character just so as to comply to the politically correct "overweight quota" (which imho should actually come off as offensive to overweight people, coming to think about it...but that's another story...), in this drama the overweight character (the FL's sister) not only makes a whole lot of sense, but it's really a well-rounded (pun unintended!) and full-fledged character (I personally found the subplot about the sisters' relation one of the best moments of the drama, so beautifully scripted and acted it was! ^____^)
Why don't I give this a higher grade then?
Well, honestly, I think it got a bit too confused here and there, particularly towards the end: the obscure plots and machinations of a coupla characters weren't really to my liking and felt pretty much out of place in a drama whose strong point had been, until then, that it hadn't taken itself seriously...

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Gourmet & Tang can Tango!

This speedy historical romcom attracted my attention with favorite tropes like time travel, body swap, food, unlikely romance. Soon I was drawn into the story.

Story

In the first episode we meet a modern plus size heroine, Xiao Xiao, who curses the social norm to be lean and mean; she loves her food and longs to live in a tv drama set in the Tang Dynasty, where voluptuous women seemed to be the rage. One day she chokes on her food and her soul is swapped with a girl in the Tang Dynasty, Yuan Wan' er, making her wish come true.
At first Xiao Xiao is delighted, but soon trouble is ahead. Wan'er isn't voluptuous at all, even ugly in the eyes of people from her era. Her older sister, a big dominating woman who manages a tavern and a slender husband, positively hates her; Wan'er seems to be engaged herself to a good-looking fiancé, Bai Yi Ming, but he's angry too, demanding the return of his bride price; and her brother-in-law is worried about some object she seems to have stolen from him. Xiao Xiao realizes there's work to be done. She puts all her positive energy into her new ancient life. Will she succeed in getting her memory back, giving people the things they want, while enjoying her stay with cooking, eating and real life drama adventures?

Acting/Cast

The whole cast seems to enjoy this production, and it pays off. All actors have good chemistry; the result is very agreeable, light-hearted comedy in an un-Chinese fast pace. I only knew Li Zixuan as Wang Yibo's heartthrob, but she deserves making a name for herself. She's perfect for the role of Wan'er that demands a quick silver attitude, light footing and cutie-pie insta-pouts in close-up camera. Liu Run Nan nails it as her grumpy fiancé who knowingly lets himself led by the nose, because he's already head over heels for her. The scenes between the older sister and her husband are a story on their own, just watch episode 13 to know what I mean. In short, I laughed out loud, a lot.

Music

The OST is easy to the ear, following the pace of the series.

Rewatch Value

The choice for 10 minute episodes is a risky one. I wonder if people stay tuned if they aren’t paying for a streaming service. This influences the rewatch value as well.

Overall

Gourmet in Tang Dynasty has an interesting theme that pays homage to the ideal of enjoying food and accepting whatever body size. It's a modern day dilemma. On one hand, there's the abundance of deli food, but on the other hand, there's this development of body ideals over time; and we all know, It Takes Two To Tango.

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