Pasta: Romance finds its way into the kitchen

I seem to be in a Rom-Com mood today, so as I always says let's go with the flow. The next post looks at another one of those dramas that give you the adolescent giggles, and romantic sighs, MBC's 2010 drama- Pasta.  Alright, let's get cooking.  "Yea, Chef."

Let's see, where should I begin?   As its name suggest, Pasta is set in the world of Italian cuisine.  We meet Seo Yoo Kyung (Gong Hyo Jin from The Greatest Love) a kitchen assistant at La Sfera Italian restaurant.  She has been a kitchen assistant for the last three years, and has now finally earned her place as a pasta assistant.   She is clearly a dedicated worker, friendly and well-liked by her work colleagues.  Their kitchen seems to have a great dynamic. 

However, all is not rosy at La Sfera.  The current head chef has reached his limit and resigns, leading to the arrival of Choi Hyun Wook (Lee Sung Gyun).  He's a Korean chef who trained and perfected his skill in Italy.  Now he possesses great skill and knowledge of Italian cuisine.  However, for Hyun Wook, there is only one simple rule that must be abided in his kitchen, "No WOMEN allowed!"  HA.  What are you, five?  This is kind of a problem, when four of his chefs are currently female.  But that does not deter him.

He systematically proceeds to eradicate all of the female employees in the kitchen, like they are some kind of vile bug to immediately remove.  His reasons for firing them are all valid ones, as each of the females prove that they are not fit to be in the kitchen in one way are another.  In fact, one can't help but think, well they deserved to get fired.  Despite agreeing that the females were wrong, Hyun Wook's attitude about firing them is done is such a chauvinistic manner that you forget the women's faults and just want to get mad at him.  It is a well played out scene, demonstrating that the acting and directing of this drama is definitely well done.   (Ok, I promise I won't do any other food metaphors.)

Everyone thinks Hyun Wook is nuts for taking such a drastic move, and its obvious that the restaurant's business will suffer since he fired a total of four chefs in one night.  They are eager for him to admit his mistake, when the next day's lunch time rush turns up and they are running behind on the orders.  However, Hyun Wook is not a man without a plan.  

Enter the Italian team.  They are three chefs who trained in Italy and are currently Hyun Wook's proteges. I mention the Italian team for one reason and one reason only- they were all HOTTT!!!!  And here you can check them out for yourself. 

 Alright, now moving back on to the review.  Hehe.

Although Yoo Kyung is also fired, she takes a different approach to her female counterparts and turns up to work as if nothing has happened. Since she has never been able to establish herself as a chef, she feels deprived of the opportunity, and robbed of her chance to hold a frying pan.  She turns up to work the next day, ready to grovel for her old job and finds herself suffering under the abuse of chef.  Yet, tenacity proves to be her strong point, as she repeatedly returns to the restaurant day after day only to undergo a series torturous task.  Her mission is to change the chef's mind and she is determined to do it.  Hyun Wook is definitely irritated by her actions, yet completely amazed and intrigued.  She seems a glutton for punishment and he doesn't seem to know what to do with her. 

His complex feelings towards Yoo Kyung exist on another level besides the business one because his intial meeting of Yoo Kyung in the street was clearly a flirtatious one, and there is obviously a certain degree of attraction between them.  Even after firing her, he still wanted to date Yoo Kyung (clearly all his mental faculties do not function properly, but then he wouldn't be a K-drama leading man if they did).  Yoo Kyung of course turned him down, but now she is trying to invade his sacred hallow- the kitchen.  For Hyun Wook, Yoo Kying is an unknown entity that does not compute and it is a most amusing scenario to watch play out.

Of course, Hyun Wook's aversion to women in his kitchen is based on his previous detrimental romantic experience.  And since it wouldn't be a K-drama if that haunted past didn't come back into play, we meet Oh Sae Young (Lee Ha Nui).  She was once Hyun Wook's colleague, competitor and lover.  It is clear something happened between the two in the past, as the tension, hatred, anger and pain that is expressed on Hyun Wook's face any time he crosses her path is apparent. To be honest, watching the two interact with each other didn't really appeal to me, but we needed some background fonder and we got it.

As we all know, K-dramaland is never happy with just one love triangle, it likes to create love squares, pentagons, hexagons, basically all sorts of geometrical shapes.  Pasta has its own little love square, as Kim San (Alex) is the man harbouring feelings for Yoo Kyung.  Just as was the case with Sae Yong's character, San wasn't really worth my time.  Both of the love rivals in this drama seemed to simply be background characters and I never considered them a real threat, which resulted in my not really caring whenever they were on screen.

On a whole, there is nothing truly unique about Pasta as a drama.  There is love, misunderstanding, struggles to communicate and relationship strife.  Pasta simply follows the journey of Yoo Kyung from kitchen assistant to a pasta chef, and the way in which she thaws Chef Hyun Wook's heart in the process.

The most appealing aspect of Pasta therefore lies once again in the dynamic between the two leads.  Goo Hyun Jin is just one of those actresses that does Rom-com well.  She embodies the character of Yoo Kyung so well, that the chef's nickname of "goldfish" to describe Yoo Kyung two second memory seems so apt and suitable, that calling her anything but goldfish sometimes feels wrong.  She comes across as hilarious and funny and you just can't help but smile at her two second memory, which facilitates chef's teasing and torturing of her.  As for the chef's character?  Well, Lee Sung Gyun and his gruff, harsh and chauvinistic interpretation of the character kept the chef just irritating enough for me dislike him from time to time, but not so much that I wanted to throw something at the computer.  He struck the perfect balance of a male lead that was annoying enough for me to like him and dislike him interchangeably.  It always amazes me how K-dramas take male personalities that I could not tolerate in reality and make them bearable on screen.  It is definitely to the benefit of the script writer, director and actors that they are able to achieve this.

As far as rom-coms go, Pasta definitely meets its target and its a thrill to watch from beginning to end.  Watching the interactions between Chef and goldfish are two things that you don't want to miss, therefore, Pasta rakes in four stars on the Bel Scale.

According to Bel: It's boiling.

Personal Taste: What's my taste? It's Personal.

Personal Taste is one of those K-dramas that no matter how many times I watch it, I still laugh and giggle hysterically even though I know exactly what's going to happen next.  This drama came out in 2010, and I am not ashamed to admit that I have probably watched it about ten times since then.  HEHE.  Kind of obsessive I know, but it just tickles me pink.  I honestly believe that my love of this drama has to do with phenomenal acting on the part of Son Yi Jin and Lee Min Ho, they are the dynamic duo of this drama, and have such great chemistry.

The drama's title Personal Taste is actual a very good useful play on words.  The Korean the title is Gaeinui Chwihuang which can also be interpreted as "Gae In's Taste".   Gae In is the name of our lead character in the drama, so that takes things to an even more interesting level, when we realise this drama is all about her taste.  I always enjoy a good play on words, so that adds to the amusement factor.

Our drama starts off by introducing us to our leading lady Park Gae In (Son Yi Jin).  She is obviously a disorganised and careless person as we meet her hurriedly dressing and rushing to make an appointment.  It is also clear that she is not very ladylike, as she is unable to carry herself with the necessary grace and elegance required for wearing those little black dresses that TV land is so fond off.  As she is unfamiliar with the high heel and black dress combo, she trips and breaks the heels.  She then changes into a poorly coordinated and badly mismatched outfit and heads runs out to make it to her appointment.

Then we meet Jeon Jin Ho (Lee Min Ho), he's the opposite of Gae In.  His room is need, tidy with everything in place.  He is the epitome of perfection, or so it seems.  Leave it to dramaland to create the neat, perfectionist male.  Anyway, he awakens (side note, I love the directors use of alarm clocks to show the extreme opposites of the two leads lifestyles) to find a half dressed woman in his bed, giving us the initial impression that he is a player.  Thankfully that is cleared up immediately, as we find out that the girl in his bed snuck in after he was asleep and is obviously a close family friend who is interested in him, but he has never given her the time of day. I always pity these characters in K-dramas, they never know that they have been friend zoned since childhood, and no matter how hard they try, they are not getting out of that zone.  

Jin Ho heads out for his own appointment, every thing in place and ready to go, yet, due to unforseen circumstances, namely someone blocking him in, in the parking lot,  he too is forced to rush to his meeting today, and ends up on the same bus as Gae In.  Ah yes, fated meetings, where would dramaland be without them? 

Anyway, the two have an unfortunate, but hilarious exchange on the bus and both end up being irritated with each other.  Their dislike for each other further grows, when they meet at the same business expo and he insults Gae In's table design, not knowing who it belongs to or that she over heard him.  Then, Jin Ho realises that she is connected to Han Chang Ryul (Kim Ji Suk), Jin Ho's biggest rival, who only beats Jin Ho due to his underhanded deals.  There is great tension between the two men, and its clear that it isn't just based on business.  So the dislike between the two leads deepens.

Later that night, Gae In goes out drinking with her colleague Lee Won Ho (cameo by Bong Tae Kyu) and gets blind drunk.  Won Ho takes her to cheap motel where she can sleep it off.  Meanwhile, Jin Ho's subordinate Kim Tae Hoon (Im Seul Ong) has also gotten blind drunk and Jin Ho takes him to the same hotel.  Jin Ho leaves him there, but before departing, he leaves Tae Hoon a message on the mirror, (just as a lover who sneaks out would) telling Tae Hoon that he's fired.

On the Gae In side of the hotel exchange, after, Won Ho tries to pull a sleazy move, Gae In runs out of the room and right into Jin Ho.  They recongise each other and Jin Ho suggests that she is a lose woman, citing that "Actions speak louder than words" when Gae In tries to deny it.  This is then hilariously thrown in his face when Tae Hoon comes out of the other hotel room and grabs Jin Ho while begging and pleading with him not to abandon and leave him like this.  HA HA HA.  He is of course, referring to being fired but, since he never says it, it looks like a lover pleading not to be abandoned.  Of course, Gae In thinks such is the case and hilariously accuses Jin Ho of being a gay playboy and re-quotes his assertion of actions speaking louder than words. HEHE.  

Though seemingly small these exchanges help to build up the premise of the misunderstanding that will run throughout the drama- the issue of Jin Ho's sexuality.  Is he straight or is he gay? 

As fate in dramaland would have it, Gae In must rent out a room in her house, in order to pay off a loan that Won Ho has borrowed after naming her as the guarantor. Her very famous and unique house "San Go Jae"- an architectural marvel- has been put up as the collateral and so as not to lose the home, and have her father kill her, she decides that she will take in a boarder to help with the expenses.  Meanwhile Jin Ho must find a way to get inside "San Go Jae" and take photos of the grounds, since it is the perfect example of the architectural construct required in order to win the bid for his next architectural project.  It's a project he has to win in order to save his company.  So what happens?  Gae In decides to let Jin Ho become a new house mate, after all he is gay, so he poses no danger to a straight woman.  HA. HA. HA. 

The entire misconception that Jin Ho is gay is the premise for the hilarity in the drama.   Gae In, who is usually awkward around men is able to act her usual lazy, messy and unkempt self around Jin Ho, since he will never have interest in her as a woman, so she feels more relaxed around him.  Of course because she is so relaxed around him, she starts to share her deepest and darkest secrets with him, and even develops feelings for him.  Similarly, as Jin Ho works to help Gae In become more ladylike through project "Make Gae In a woman" he slowly develops feelings for this endearingly childish woman.

As I highlighted earlier, what really makes this drama sizzles is the dynamic and chemistry between Son Yi Jin and Lee Min Ho.  This is why I always have to admire casting choices, because with any other actors in these roles, I can't imagine this drama functioning as well as it did.  They have impeccable timing and seem to feed off of each other comically.  Furthermore, watching a straight man pretend to be gay, and in turn using his fake gayness to teach a woman to become more ladylike is thoroughly amusing, not to mention completely ironic.  I don't know if the comedic factor comes from the fact that the Jin Ho character is so good at teaching Gae In to be more feminine or how bad at being feminine Gae In actually is.  It is that kind of hilarious undertone that keeps you guessing.

Aside from the romantic story and the hilarious is he gay, is he straight story line, I especially enjoyed the bonds of friendship in this drama.  Even before the romantic feelings develop between the leads, I enjoy how their friendship grows and then evolves into love.  The level of trust and assistance that they share between them is wonderful to watch, and makes all women go, "Aah, I wish I had a guy friend like that."  It's to Personal Taste's benefit that it can continually evoke that kind of emotion and that's exactly why Personal Taste gets a whopping 4.5 on the Bel Scale.

According to Bel: It`s all a matter of taste.

Dae Mul: Women make great leaders too

The road to becoming a president is never an easy one, but it's oh, so much harder when your a woman.  SBS's 2010 drama Dae Mul is an intensely filled 24 episodic journey through the life of Seo Hye Rim (Go Kyun Jung-the phenomenal actress who played Lady Mishil in Queen Seon Duk) and her rise from an ordinary widowed mother to becoming the first female president of South Korea.  The road ahead is not an easy one, but with the help and support of the right team, it all works out well.

The Elegance of a president

Dae Mul, which literally translates to "big things", reminds me a lot of the drama City Hall, which I mentioned in an earlier post.  The similarities come from the exploration of the political world through a female protagonist.  Once again the female lead is trying to do the best for her constituents in a political arena dominated by men.  Both have comedic undertones, but delve deeply into the seriously dirty and nasty world of politics.  The main difference between Dae Mul and City Hall is perhaps, the way in which the stories unfold.  Dae Mul is definitely the more serious drama, while City Hall ventured more in the world of satircal comedy.

In Dae Mul, our tale begins with Hye Rim already installed as president of Korea.  So it's one of those dramas where we start in the future and then head back to the past to see what events led to this future.  As I've mentioned before, I love when dramas do that.  President Seo is handling a major crisis, where a Korean submarine has sunk in Chinese waters.  It's a situation that could be the start of a major economic and political crisis, leaving all those around her in a massive state of emergency.  

Political schemers

President Seo heads to China for friendly discussions about rescuing the soldiers on the sunken submarine, her priority is definitely saving these citizens rather than following the typical political train of thought of plausible deniability.  She even offers herself as a hostage in exchange for the rescue of those trapped in the submarine.  Due to her actions in admitting that Korean was spying on China, she is facing criticism by her compeers led by Kang Tae San (Cha Im Pyo), and as a result, they are calling for her impeachment.  We then travel to an unspecified time in the past.

The Ha Do Ya appeal

Here we meet, Ha Do Ya (Kwon Sang Woo) - a playboy and apparent gigolo.  We see him dancing his way into the hearts of older women, seducing them with sweet words and sexy dance moves.  Ironically, it turns out that he is still a high school student.  A bit of a digression here, but trying to make me believe that Kwon Sang Woo is a high school student is a bit farfetched.  I suppose it works that he looks older than he is so that he can seduce these women, but still I mean come on- HIGH SCHOOLER?  I get that they wanted to keep the same actors, so that it would be easier for us to bond with them, but still there is no way I would ever think that he is that young.  Anyway, back to the review.  

His father Ha Bong Do (Im Hyun Shik) barges in and drags his son out while lamenting and his wayward son and listings all of his son's shortcomings.  The father is now determined to solve all of these failings through the only means he knows- CASTRATION.  LOL.  How hilarious is it, that castrating his son is the solution to stop his gigolo ways. HA HA.  Do Ya argues that its insane to take such extreme measures since that would mean the end of the Ha family line, but his father counters that his family bloodline does not need to continue through such an unworthy source.  LOL.  Who would've thought a father would actually threaten his son with castration.  Hilarious.

Do Ya manages to escape his father and finds himself on the same bus as Hye Rim.  She is obviously older than him, and we see her practicing a pronunciation script that is kind of like a tongue twister.  She is very focused on it, but is distracted when another passenger  begins to grope her.  Do Ya witnesses it and is about to come to her defense, but Hye Rim is a tough cookie and confronts the man herself, then orders the bus driver to take them all to the police station where she reports him.  

At the police station, we find out that Hye Rim has an exam in Seoul to become a televsion annoucer (I guess that explains the tongue twister).  After the incident is reported she rushes to the bus station, but the bus to Seoul has already departed.  Thankfully Do Ya pulls up on his motocycle and offers her a ride to the other bus station.  From there interaction, you can tell that they know each other in passing but on not very close.  It's that of a neighbourhood acquaintance more than anything else.  They head to the station being while being chased by the guy who groped Hye Rim on the bus and his gang of hoodlums, but manage to make it safely there without them getting them.  

Do Ya drops off Hye Rim, who advises him to do well in life.  We can see its just her being a good noona trying to point a wayward younger guy in the right direction, but Do Ya is clearly smitten.  When they separate, Do Ya has a further encounter with bus pervert Kim Chul Gyu (Shin Seung Hwan), who turns out to be a congressman's son.  Do Ya beats up Chul Gyu and faces imprisonment, but his father pleads to the congressman in a most degrading manner, including licking the congressman's shoes.  It is a moment of awakening for Do Ya, who gets his first experience of the nasty world of politics and he vows to becomes a prosecutor himself and right the wrongs of injustice in the world.  

Do Ya begins to study diligently so that he can become the ideal man for Hye Rim.  Meanwhile, for Hye Rim's, we see her do well at the audition only to flunk out of reporting due to her nerves and fear of heights.  She suffers setback after setback and ends up working in a children's broadcasting segment.  While there, she meets Park Min Goo (Kim Tae Won) a photographer at the station and the two marry. 

Some time passes and Do Ya's successfull studying has allowed him to pass his exams successfully and he is ready to enter law school.  He rushes to Seoul to find his noona, anxious to share the news with her and declare his love.  It is only then, that he meets her and realises that she has already married someone else.  His world is shattered and we see him walk away.

More years pass and we meet Do Ya as the diligent and hardworking prosecutor, while Hye Rim is a mother and wife still working diligently on children's programming.  Her husband, as a station photographer, is sent to cover the war in the Middle East.  Unfortunately, he is taken hostage and eventually killed. Do Ya, who has still been following up news of Hye Rim, learns of this and enters the role that he will continue to hold throughout the drama, that of supporter, protector and a guide to Hye Rim.  

Because of her feelings of disappointment with the government and the way they handled her husband's hostage situation, Hye Rim finds herself at the centre of a protest.  She is just retaliating for herself, but it gains national acclaim bringing her to the attention of those in the political circles and the public eye.   Kang Tae San,  a man who dreams of one day sitting in the Blue House, sees Hye Rim as just the kind of person his political party needs to gain some points, so he approaches her to run for office.  He pushes her into the political game, that she never intended to enter, and she becomes a force to be reckoned with.  It is the typical drama irony that the one who brings her into the political world is the one who will become her greatest opponent, as we have seen that he is person leading the call for her impeachment. 

Being a prosecutor is hard work, but that doesn't mean you can't look fine doing it.

The rest of the drama follows Hye Rim as she moves from constituency representative, to Governor, to president.  It is a remarkable and intense journey, where she is constantly faced with the dilemma of sticking to her values or becoming as dirty as the other political players around her.  How far can one go in politics if one isn't willing to get some dirt on one's hands?  It is the underlying question of Dae Mul and beautifully interrogated episode, after episode.

Of course, there is also the beautiful and intriguing romantic vein as we watch Do Ya's unconditional love for her and the sacrifices that he makes to protect her.  I have to admit, that while older women, younger men story lines are not usually my cup of tea, this one was well implemented and I loved watching it. 

I found Dae Mul to be a well thought out story line, which was intriguing and appealing.  It was great to see a female fighting her way in a male dominated world and holding her own.  It was a definite twist to the age old adage that behind every great man is a great woman.  In this case, behind this great woman was a great man.  Dae Mul is by no means a perfect drama, there are enough typical drama cliches to make you go, ah I could see that coming, and the likeable characters are as likeable as they should be, while the irritating ones, truly irritate you.  It is a just a tale that you can sit back and enjoy when the feeling hits you.  So on the Bel Scale Dae Mul gets 3.5 stars.

According to Bel: Big things from great people.