熱烈的中華飯店 ▫️2003 ▫️Episodes

The first episode of this show I was freakin’ pumped up! A hilarious situation is set up with fast paced editing and Nino is here! There’s cooking! And even a boat! What could possibly go wrong…

Well after 3 or 4 episodes I was pretty much checked out, even with Nino’s beautiful face and hair trying to keep me going. I know it’s common for J-dramas to have the same format in each episode, but for this show I think it was too monotonous. I was surprised I didn’t feel more engaged because typically I love cooking shows, and the Chinese cooking in this was pretty neat! There was just a lot of the story lines that kind of fell flat and the novelty of the scenario simply wears off after the VIPs are seen eating the “n00bs” cooking and find it delicious. Every single time.

I don’t think this was a terrible show, but it lagged a bit and it took me more time to finish it than any of the other dramas so far. It had a really strong start and initially I felt pretty engaged, it just couldn’t hold my attention. Nino’s character was pretty fun, actually all of the characters were! But ultimately I just didn’t really care what happened to them.

I’d recommend giving the first few eps a try and see if maybe you find the hidden gems thereafter. It has a nice soundtrack and I did genuinely enjoy the shots of the food. Thanks Nino for doing your best even when your show is flopping.