Sweet Relationship - synopsis

Sweet Relationship:
 It is a Taiwanese drama belonging to the romantic genre. The funny part for me is that it is also categorized in the cooking genre! This is the first time I saw any drama called a cooking drama. But Sweet Relationship definitely fits the bill. It is aptly named 'Sweet' because that is exactly what this is- a sweet, simple drama. And it is also a cooking drama revolving around restaurants, chefs and food.

The story follows Chang Bai Hui ( played by Patty Huo) , a rich yet an unassuming and simple girl. She has been brought up very lovingly by her gourmand father. Food has been a very important part of their life starting with a lovely feast after her mother's funeral. Her father believes that 'A person who can't enjoy a meal, he must have a mental problem'. It actually makes so much sense - if we are mentally preoccupied with some issue or the other, we don't taste our food. I was hooked onto the drama after that dialogue came up.
And so the drama begins. Bai Hui loses her father on the day of her graduation and is turned penniless overnight. She has a complex and very well developed palate for her age. Food brings her comfort, hope and joy on bleak days. While she is trying to find a job and face the new realities in her life, she comes across Little Bear restaurant. A small independent shop selling affordable western food to locals. And she finds a soup which evokes memories of her father, so she convinces the shop owner to hire her as the new waitress and kitchen help.
Enter Fang Zhi Tian(played by Vic Zhou), the head chef at Little Bear. A mean grumpy ole' bear if there ever was one. Even though he is an accomplished chef, he doesn't find any joy in food. He considers her a spoiled little picky princess who doesn't know how to do anything. He tries to bite off her head at the slightest chance. Thus starts their sweet journey down a path of food, work, camaraderie and relationship. They face their past and their present while learning valuable lessons in the process. And the friends and customers who make up the rest of the cast, all have something important to contribute to the story. Special kudos to Alan Kuo ( plays He Ma Yang) and Billie ( plays Jin Dao puopuo) who add some hilarious flavor, while Megan Lai (  plays Ren Ke Xin) adds a tinge of bitterness which help balance the sweetness.
Overall a beautiful tale. The pace is nice and slow and the relation develops gradually. It leaves you with a warm feeling just like a perfect dish that has simmered long and rested well for all the flavors to bloom and marry splendidly.
If you are looking for steamy scenes and intense romance this is not it. But if you are looking for some nice old-fashioned romance and clean sweet relationship then you must check it out.
Available both on youtube ( uploader; minervaajane) and veoh ( intangible FS).

The Prince who turned into a Frog

We all have read the story of the Princess and the Frog when we were small. Here is another version of the beloved fairy tale with an Asian twist. To me it is a more real and hilarious way of telling this story. Also, at first glance, it has similarities to Cinderella - the traditional rags to riches tale. What makes this drama adorable is the humor and the excellent acting of the main characters. It is believable enough at times to make us hate the "bad guys/gals" for what they do to the "hero/heroine". Without further ado -
" The Prince who turned into a Frog".
Ye Tianyu lives in the small fishing village of Guan Mei, with her step mother and step brother. They are a tight knit family with only one aim - to get rich in life. They own a small provisions store called " Money Come" and Ye Tianyu works as delivery girl and general handyman oops!.. handygirl around Guan Mei. She wants to meet and get married to a rich man so she and her family can leave behind their tough life and have all luxuries. She seems to be a greedy and money grabbing girl at first glance but is also a kind, compassionate and very loyal person. This last trait leads her to 'Senwell' hotel to find and save Tang Shun Ming, the owner of 'Guan Mei Motel' and her step-mom's ex-husband. There she hears about the ruthless GM Shan JunHao of 'Senwell' who is taking over Guan Mei Motel (before the stipulated time for debt return is over ) and takes an instant dislike to him. She also meets Xu Ziqian, the creative director of Senwell who is kind, compassionate and rich. In short, Tianyu's dream prince!
But the old jester Fate has something more interesting in store for all of them. Shan Junhao happens to visit Guan Mei and butts heads with Tianyu. She dislikes his ruthless and blunt manner whereas he loathes her lying money grabbing ways. He returns home to plan for his engagement with childhood love 'Fan YunXi' which leaves their other friend Ziqian, heart-broken. At this juncture, things go haywire. Of course, things can't go smoothly in a drama. After all, it is drama !
An accident leaves JunHao with no memories and at Tianyu's door step. He is named Dang-ou and starts his new life as helper at Money Come. And thus begins their journey down love lane. Fate must be a romantic at heart! sighs! A series of mishaps and sweet courtship follows. But then Fate becomes bored with this storyline and boom! JunHao has another accident and forgets everything again! Tianyu and Guan Mei are wiped clean off his mind.
The rest of the drama deals with how each of them (Tianyu, JunHao, Yunxi and Ziqian) handle what fate brings forth and how love sneaks in and out of their lives. The humor, as in most taiwanese dramas, is a highlight, light and clean. The chemistry between the lead pair will satisfy even the toughest romantic. They made me smile and cry quite a few times. Ming Dao who portrays JunHao does an excellent job. He changes from the ruthless prince into the cute frog effortlessly. My personal thought is that the adorable frog Dang-ou is the real prince and the ruthless prince JunHao is the real frog. And he does a good job with the crying scenes too.
Chen QiaoEn who plays the role of TianYu is very believable and her huge eyes convey her feelings so beautifully. Sam Wang and Joyce Zhao do a decent job as Ziqian and Yunxi respecively. The rest of the crew who play the friendly neighbours of Guan Mei receive special kudos for doing their over the top funny roles so convincingly. The sometimes unbelievably cheesy scenes only add to the fun and feel good effect of the show.
This is essentially a romantic/comedy drama. When you feel down and need a pick me up, especially love-wise, this can be one of your go-tos. The kisses are very sweet and tender. The dates are dreamy and romantic. The hero is handsome (swoons!) and the heroine good (emphasis on inner beauty). On the whole, this is a good drama for beginners in love and simple romantics. 

Good place to catch this drama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjR6T-FRTX0
youtube.com, uploader mingdaoqiaoen4ever

image courtesy: blogskins.com No copyright infringement intended.

My Lovely Samsoon

I am seeing a Korean drama on youtube. It's called ' My lovely Sam-soon'. It belongs to the romantic, comedy genre and is set in Seoul, Korea. The series is at a stage where the male protagonist has broken up with his previous girlfriend and finally moving ahead with Sam-soon ( the female protagonist of the series). But his ex-girlfriend has a history of Gastric cancer and because of stress caused by the breakup, has turned anorexic.
I see that most comments in this episode are strongly against her taking support from Jin-Hun at the moment. Really makes me wonder that so many people out there still see the world as Black & White. But for me I realized long ago that the human world is almost all Grey. I don't remember who said this but I still repeat " The difference between fact and fiction is that fiction has to make sense and fact seldom does so." And hence the reason behind most fiction having a protagonist and an antagonist.
But Hee-Jin I feel is not an antagonist. She is just another human living her life. She made tough decisions too. She was born in a privileged family but that doesn't make her struggle any less difficult for her personally. Whether her decision was right or wrong is all in the hands of Fate. But when she made it, it was still a tough decision. She left her love and the life she knew behind to go fight a battle. She wanted to spare her love the agony of seeing her die. She didn't call him once because she trusted him implicitly and nurtured the hope that he would be able to do so too. She won the battle and comes back to reclaim her right, as she presumed his love to be. But she finds him bitter and also moving away from her.
She doesn't seem like an antagonist. Look at it from her eyes. They had loved each other for long and trusted each other. The tough decision she made was still keeping him in mind. She wages a silent battle against cancer away from home and love. Finally, she wins and is able to come back and hope to make amends and start off from where she left. But not only does she find her trust misplaced but also that Jin-Hun has fallen for Sam-soon. What should have been hers rightfully has been usurped by Sam-soon. Moreover, Jin-Hun's mother, who adored her once is unwilling to accept that she is completely cured and does not wish to take her back.
All the stress would make even a completely hale person to get ulcers, I think. Her condition is much delicate. If at this stage she doesn't want to meet Sam-soon, I guess I understand. Is it wrong for her to even expect any kind of sympathy or apology or affection from Jin-Hun? I guess not, after all she's human. As are we all. Weak creatures who depend so much on others, expect so much from others. We want affection, company, sympathy, encouragement, reprisals, anger and love. But it is these weaknesses that make a stronger human. You haven't lived if you did not expect anything from anybody ever.
Does Hee-Jin hope that she can get back with Jin-Hun - yes. Does she think that Jin-Hun would cut her some slack because of all that she went through - maybe. Is anything wrong in hoping that - I don't think so. Is she using her illness as a crutch - definitely not.
If her hope and longing make her an antagonist then we all are antagonists too. For which of us has not hoped and not longed for, whatever it is that the heart runs after. Was her decision right or wrong is not for anyone to say. She herself wishes that she could turn back time and redo everything. But that gift is not granted us, just like we are not granted the gift of foresight. For what would we live if we could see it all at one glance.

They Kiss Again

I just couldn't help myself. I have to share this with you. Jiang Zhi Shu and Yuan Xiang Qin's journey as a married couple in the series 'They Kiss Again' lives upto expectations. But first and foremost my heartfelt thanks to the artist Tada Kaoru, may God rest her soul in peace. She did a great job with the story not only in the student life but in the newly wedded phase too. I was skeptical about how Zhi Shu would be as a husband, how Xiang Qin's life would turn out after the D-day. But the story doesn't disappoint at all. Zhi Shu is still himself, cold and distant, while Xiang Qin is her bumbling and naive self. You have to see the show to feel the subtle differences in their characters.
Some of the old friends are still in the picture while the new ones bring more fun and more depth to the couples relation. Zhi Shu's studies and training as a doctor, how he deals with jealousy and his growing warmth and affection towards Xiang Qin are heart warming. Xiang Qin's own trials and tribulations as Zhi Shu's wife, change of course and uphill struggle to become a nurse are heartening as well as hilarious.
You have to see it to feel it. The genre is romantic comedy. The series is available on youtube. Try the link below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHoS-P0e_7I&feature=related
Happy Viewing!

Snowy day

It's snowing and snowing some more! We cleaned the first batch from our driveway. But lots more is coming down now. But I like it! CV says I'm wierd and my best friend rolls her eyes at me when I say this. "I love snow". But I guess I talk from the comfort of my warm home sitting in a comfy couch with a throw to keep my toes toasty. And I do hope that no one has to be out there in the middle of a snow storm.
Right now is a winter wonderland outside my window and I'm gonna enjoy tonight with some of my favorite comfort foods. Happy Snowing to you.

Mood Therapy

The day is cloudy and I feel a little down in the dumps. So what's a quick pick-me-up? Shopping, of course. So a quick trip to Walmart and a couple of good bargains made me almost happy. There was just a little 'but' still hanging around me somewhere, like a Wrackspurt.
Coffee! Yes, that's another quick pick me up. But there's no Starbucks nearby. Therefore, my solution - The Coffee Prince, a funny korean drama, I started seeing just last week. It comes under the romantic drama genre. I'm giving a link below, so do give it a try.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJmfRS0YBYs

Just copy paste the above link in your browser window and it should work. The reasons why I like the drama, I'll post another time. Right now I have to go back and catch up another couple of episodes myself.

picture courtesy: google/kupypspwallpapers website. No copyright infringement intended.

PAINTINGS

' A picture is worth a thousand words.'

I really believe that it is true. Why? Imagine a beautiful sunset . Now imagine how many words it would take to describe it's beauty. At least a thousand, if not more. But it takes only one painting to convey the description. Now don't take me wrong here. I am not talking in terms of effort. Most probably the effort that goes into both the writing as well as the painting is comparable. Personally I believe that the effort that goes into painting is more ( after the inspiration, to be specific). Imagine if one had to paint all the relevant verses of the 'Mahabharata' or 'Illiad' !!! These are just some of the random thoughts I was having today.

The crux of the matter is that I wish I could paint all that I wanted to. And as well as I wanted to paint. But it takes a lot of inspiration to start a painting and then a lot of work to finish it to your satisfaction. Painting is one of those things that bring me joy :-) There was a time when I used to paint. I had taken all possible classes - in watercolor, oils, fabrics etc. Each summer vacation I would attend some class or the other and spend hours painting pictures. I had a lot of inspiration and enthusiasm. But I am empty handed now, because paintings and painters are considered worthless in India. The family decided that I should be doing something more worthwhile with my time. And all my paintings were sold to the "kabaadiwala" because to get them framed would be a waste of hard earned money. Probably, it was right.

Maybe I should paint now and get them framed. Only now I don't have any inspiration.

I am not writing all of this to gain sympathy. The only reason I write this is to implore that if you have anybody in your life that paints or maybe writes or sketches, hang on to every scrap that comes your way. He might not be tomorrow's Picassa or Monet. The scraps may well be worthless monetarily but you'll be saving a piece of his soul within. A moment of his happiness captured by that finished piece of painting.

Enough of the lecture for today :-D I wanted to share with you some of the beautiful pictures that I came across today. Hope you like them and experience the same happiness that the painters did when they painted these.

The painting on top of the post(sunset in rorutunga) and the landscape( a swiss village) are by a painter named Roland Lee. The painting 'yellow hibiscus' is by the painter Bob Ross. He has a show called 'The Joy of Painting' which is aired on local PBS stations. And the Tulips painting is by Marlies Merk Najaka. The websites are given below. Please check them out for more lovely paintings (on sale) as well as step-by-step painting lessons. And let me know if you have any other such lovely sites on your list :-D

for Roland Lee - www.rolandlee.com

for Bob Ross - www.bobross.com

for Marlies - www.watercolor-paintings.com

Go put up a piece of beauty and happiness on all the walls around you. And my thanks to these excellent painters and the innumerous others out there for bringing us such Happiness.

note: no copyright infringement or plagiarism intended.