J-Drama: Chugakusei Nikki (8.8/10)

The leads

I was sick recently and all I did was sleep and marathon some dramas that had been on my list.

The one I want to review for you all most is Chugakusei Nikki because I have so many thoughts on this and ultimately want to recommend it to anyone who is comfortable watching the content, which is very controversial.

It’s about the inappropriate relationship between an adult teacher and her much younger student. Even though every person on earth may have a slightly different take and level of aversion to this idea, I am highly recommending this drama because it’s amazing.

I still don’t know how to feel about the idea. I feel like I understand – to a point how women teachers get caught up in these imbroglios. Many women feel unfulfilled and unappreciated, even while in relationships and the panting puppy dog love and attention of pubescent boys might flatter some of them enough to act on it. But even understanding that, if a 25 year old teacher did anything inappropriate with my daughter when she’s 15, their days would be numbered.

There are also the social ramifications for this behavior, which vary from country to country, city to city. It is generally seen as wrong, although a century or two ago, it typically wasn’t. The current age of adulthood also varies from place to place so what is illegal in one place is legal somewhere else. But despite how wrong it is considered to be in most places, it still happens. Possibly the most famous of these types of relationships was between 15 year old student Emmanuel Macron and his much older teacher, who is now his wife and the first lady of France. Chugakusei Nikki adds to his conversation.

This show is dramatic and very interesting, and some parts of it are beautiful. It follows a young, somewhat demure teacher, her fiancee, the student who falls in love with her, the student who is in love with him, his mom, his friends, the fiancees boss and some other characters as they navigate around the growing feelings between the teacher and her pupil. And shows the many repercussions the teacher, student and their friends and families faced as a result of their feelings and actions.

I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say that watching all this play out kept me captivated. I also rooted for happy endings for everyone, as I always do, but here it felt much more strange to do it. I am not sure I would have hoped that the student, once he reached adulthood could be with the woman he loved if he hadn’t already looked like an adult when he was meant to be 15. If he had been a realistic 15, all gangly arms and legs and pimples I may have viewed him much more maternally. Instead though, Okada Kenshi who played the male student looks like a hot Japanese jock in his twenties so it was a little harder to see the age power dynamic at play with his teacher, played by long time actress Arimura Kasumi who only looked a couple years older. Kasumi did a phenomenal job in the role.

If you don’t mind watching something controversial, watch this drama because the story is interesting, the acting is good, the production is good, and it will leave you thinking about it even after it’s over.

Asian Fusion Cooking

Kimchi Pancakes

Long before I ever watched a drama, I had a passion for Asian food. Watching them cook and eat in dramas just makes me hungrier for it. Chinese food (Americanized) is my favorite if I have to choose, but after trying every single kind under sun I realized that my true favorite is a fusion of different kinds mixed together. And that’s usually how I cook when I make food at home, so I thought I would share some of favorite fusion meals with you all.

My love for Asian fusion food started on Clement Street in San Francisco, which is one of my favorite places on earth. Here is a great guide to it, called 13 Reasons to Love San Francisco’s Clement Street. Clement Street includes almost every type of food in existence, but it’s primarily Asian. Within a 6 block radius you can find amazing dim sum, bahn mi’s, the best thai noodles in the country at the OG King of Thai (which PS does not wear crop tops 😂), korean bbq, sushi, and food from Burma Superstar, one of my all time favorite restaurants. And if you’re like me and try a dish and think it would be even better if you only added blank, there are also many Asian groceries. New May Wah is my personal fav.

New May Wah is how I got started mixing my cuisines together and coming up with really successful results. I could never resist their fresh chow mein noodles, but sometimes I would want them with one of the dozens of Thai curries pastes that they sell. I also LOVE sweet tofu skin, which is the outer home of Japanese Inari. It’s usually stuffed with rice, but I eat it straight, and have stuffed it with chicken teriyaki, avocado and really anything that sounds good at the moment.

So without further adieu, here are some of my favorite fusion dishes and meals in case you are looking for something new to feed yourself or your family.

This weekend I went full Asian fusion since the closest grocery store between my daughters school and home is Asian Mexican (yes really : ) One night I made Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce and Thai basil, Korean kimchi (which the stores sells fresh!) and Thai rice, which all pair really well together. I also made Kimchi pancakes with Japanese rice on the side. Yum!

Some of my favs:

  • Tofu stir fried with Thai Sweet Chili Sauce (preferably the spring roll dipping sauce which has carrots in it) and Banana Sauce from the Philippines (which I am addicted to). This sauce mix is also great to use for shu mai or spring rolls.
  • Sweet Potato or Carrot bisque with light coconut milk. Bonus if you add Vietnamese caramelized shrimp (Slanted Door style). Adding some kimchi is also great.
  • Bahn Mi’s with teriyaki chicken, Hawaiian bbq, pulled pork, bacon OR bacon flavored meatballs. Just make sure to use the freshest bread you can find! Also, I sometimes pickle my daikon and carrots for it inside a jar of sweet and spicy jalapeno liquid after I eat most or all of the jalapenos from it.
  • Rice noodles with peanut miso sauce
  • Rice Noodles or spaghetti with Thai basil pesto, just omit the parmesan from the regular pesto recipe. It can be strong so adding some sweet soy sauce is always a plus or even an alfredo.
  • Spaghetti with green curry and pineapple and any vegetables you want to throw in.
  • Korean burritos (not my invention. I first tried one at a cute Korean place run by youngins that looks like a pink house on Seventh Street in Long Beach, CA). Just add anything you like into your tortilla: bbq, bibimbap, anything, include rice, some sauce, maybe some kimchi. You can also make them with Thai bbq or cambodian, or Chinese beef, shrimp or chicken.

I could go on for days but I’ll stop here. If you ever want a recipe or a recommendation for food in Northern or Southern California or parts of the Northwest and the South, I’m happy to help.

C-Drama: A Journey to Meet Love (8.6/10)

First, I have to say that this drama has a stupid name, which may also explain why it was 5th in the ratings in China last week despite being an amazing show. Guys and other people who aren’t into pure romances and romcoms probably don’t realize from the name that this show is so much more than that. It is action, slice of life, romance, mystery, intrigue and cop show all in one.

This show is so good that I will probably judge all other c-dramas by it in the future the same way I do with A Love So Beautiful. I highly recommend you watch it, even if you don’t normally watch Chinese dramas. I’m just a little more than halfway through and I already like it so much that when Vidfish had technical problems so only the subs were visible, but not the show itself and Youtube had raw episodes I McGuyvered it so I could read the subs on vidfish on my phone while watching the show on Youtube on my computer. I mean, that’s dedication.

Why I like it so much:

The plot is really interesting

It is about an undercover cop who ends up investigating a girl in her twenties who is somehow involved in an art theft and potential drug or money laundering operation. He is tasked with learning abut her role and retrieving the stolen art. The audience gets to know right away what her role was while the cop has to put the puzzle together himself by embedding himself in her life using false pretenses. The leads and supporting characters end up on a trip together across part of China where the girl and cop take part in a reality show while gangsters and thugs of all kinds follow and try to take them out. And of course feelings develop, but this drama makes the romance part a much longer, more natural progression than many others, which is nice.

The scenery is incredible

The characters drive from Shanghai to Shangri-La and I could not ask for a better tour of China. Not to mention that the people filming are really talented. A lot of the shots are stunning.

The law enforcement element is very well done

One of my favorite parts of this drama are the law enforcement scenes because of the way the investigation is portrayed. I wouldn’t say it’s exactly realistic, but it’s close for drama world. It’s a lot of logistics and coordination, but in an interesting way. And the relationship between the fairly conceited cop and his boss is fun to watch. I wish all shows about law and order were like this.

There are a lot of fight scenes

Almost every episode has a fight scene with lead actor Chen Xiao against one or more people. They are really well choreographed and he does a great job, which I judge because I watch his fight scenes with the same breathlessness that I watch Jackie Chan’s.

The character development is fantastic

Every single character is interesting and has been completely fleshed out during the drama to the point where you could imagine that they exist in the real world.

The lead male character Jin Xiao Tian is insanely likable despite the fact that his undercover persona is slightly annoying and loserish. Its because he is clearly a determined cop, with a tongue and cheek humor who continually protects people, sometimes at his own expense. And his fight scenes are badass. And even though he isn’t my type, he is appealing in a puppy dog eyes, superman savior kind of way. I presume this is because Chen Xiao is close to perfecting the craft of acting and embraced the character wholeheartedly.

The lead female is slightly less likeable to me, but I don’t blame actress Jing Tian who did a great job with her. She plays a girl that (although scheming) is very low maintenance, and self reliant, and mostly on the side of right. My issues with her are that she is somewhat self absorbed, willing to tank other peoples plans to ensure hers are safe. And she will not listen to Jin Xiao Tian even though he keeps proving that his advice is good, so she keeps getting herself and him and others into dangerous situations. Of course this drama would be much shorter if she didn’t do this, so I get really annoyed when it happens and then grin and bear it.

Second lead He Min Han who plays Chu Zhi Han, who is an heir, business startup owner and the coordinator for the trip the characters are on is pretty much faultless in his performance. His character strives to be kind and ethical at all times, even when it hurts him. Although he is single minded when it comes to a lady he likes and unable to see past her to any other options. The lady after him was Qin Shan, a professional livestreamer who is also very likable, as is Chu Zhi Han’s’s best friend A Pei and the entire cast of parents and baddies and law enforcement agents.

My only gripes so far are the leading ladies bad decisions and the fact that one of the villains isn’t all bad, so it’s hard to hate him. There are also long musical interludes, which are nice but sometimes I just want to get to the action.

Watch this show. Really! You won’t be sorry.

K-Drama: Abyss (0 impressions ☹)

Y’all, Abyss is out and I am so excited I can’t stand it. The leads are two of my favorite actors, Park Bo Young, who is good in everything and Ahn Hyo Seop who killed it in Thirty But Seventeen and in Queen of the Ring, which is one of my favorite lighthearted k-romances of all time. How could they not be great together? I think that’d be impossible.

BUT I can’t watch it yet 😢 😢 😢 because there is no way I can watch the first episode and then wait, patiently, for the next one. I am not that girl. It is a lesser of evils to wait until 3-5 episodes have dropped, so at least I can watch knowing that I will see a little of what happens next.

Waiting will only be a little less painful, and about equal to the pain I felt when I maturely decided not to take a whole donut from the box my co-worker brought in to work this morning.

Please think good thoughts for me while I try to pretend Abyss didn’t come out yet 😉

The plot is below:

“Abyss” is about a man and a woman who tragically die and are given another chance at life through soul-reviving marbles in a magical abyss.

Go Se Yeon was a tough, accomplished, and an unrivaled beautiful female prosecutor who worked in the Seoul District public Office but gets into a fatal accident and dies. However, due to the mysterious magical marble—Abyss—Go Se Yeon is revived, but now in a totally different appearance. Go Se Yeon now possesses a common appearance based off of how “good” her spirit was in her previous life.

Cha Min was the highly intelligent heir to Korea’s top cosmetics company but was also a smart, humble, and a kind-hearted man. Although he has both the brains and an astounding amount of wealth, he considers himself unattractive and is insecure about his looks. Like Go Se Yeon, Cha Min gets into an accident and dies. Due to the mysterious magical marble—Abyss—he comes back to life with a different appearance as an exceedingly handsome man just as bright as his spirit he had in his previous life.
Go Se Yeon and Cha Min begin to work as a lawyer and an administrator at a private law firm and decide to investigate the magical incident. Romance blooms in the office as the two intertwine together to accept their same fate.

K-Drama: Her Private Life (1st Impressions)

I didn’t expect to like this drama as much as I do. I am not much of a fan girl, so I didn’t think I would relate to the plot. But I have been excited to see how Park Min Young and Kim Jae Wook are together. Her drunken scene in What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim is everything and who doesn’t love the Waffle Guy in Coffee Prince. And Robin’s post about the show got me hyped enough to start watching while it’s still airing instead of waiting til it ends so I can binge the episodes if it’s addictive. And now I cant’t wait for next weeks episodes.

So far this drama has just the right amount of comedy, intrigue and chemistry. I have not been able to guess episode to episode what would happen next with the leads, the gallery they work at or with the idol the leading lady is such a fan of.

I’ve enjoyed it a lot so far. The only things I am not a fangirl of (get it ha ha) are the dramas incorporation of love triangles and misunderstandings, which may have enlarged the script and increased the show count, but aren’t, in my opinion, adding anything beneficial to the plot. That said the show so far is great and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

K-Drama: Cunning Single Lady (8.5/10)

This is one of my favorite k-dramas.

When I first read the synopsis I was so-so on it. And the name didn’t help. Luckily MDL rarely does me wrong. Most viewers seem to have similar opinions as me on shows so I can trust most of the ratings and reviews. And the reviews for this show were good. I am actually rating it higher than they did because it checks all the boxes on the things that I think make up a good drama. I rate it 8.5/10.

Basically if you ignore the plot summary and read mine instead it may sound better:

Young couple gets married with the expectation that the husband will work in civil service and the wife will be a homemaker. Except the husband decided to start his own business, which forces the wife to support them both until she can’t take it anymore. After a series of events, she divorces him and tries to work her way out of debt (accrued while supporting him) and poverty. He is heartbroken and thinks his wife broke her promise to stand by his side, but his business succeeds and he becomes a sad single* successful, wealthy businessman.

The ex-wife who is still struggling learns of his success and decides to get revenge, but its hard when she still deep down loves him…

The plot is good, but what really makes this drama is the cast. Lee Min Jung who plays the ex-wife is fantastic (Note: She is currently one of my favorite actresses). Joo Sang Wook who plays the ex-husband is adorable, so adorable, even when you want to kick his character, you also want to smile at him i.e. his ex-wife’s dilemma becomes every viewers dilemma, thanks to his performance. And the supporting lead is none other than Seo Kang Joon (one of my favorite actors and cause of my 2nd worst case of second lead syndrome in Cheese in the Trap).

I like the characters in a Cunning Single Lady, which were well developed, was absorbed all the way through and really happy with the end, which is all I can really ask for out of a drama. These are also the reasons why I recommend it.

*Bridgette Jones reference 🙂

C-Drama T-Drama Hello Again is So Cute!

This show gets pretty high marks from me because it is ADORABLE. It meets all the criteria of a standard drama, but flips some tropes on their head in the very best way. The actors are great, especially lead actor Bruce Hung who makes this show shine.

Hello Again! is about a male and female who went to high school together but weren’t friends. The female, Chang Ke Ai was the top student in their grade, and the male, Yang Zi Hao was good at extracurriculars, but not a great student. He also rubbed Chang Ke Ai the wrong way for interrupting her speech to the school and study hall with his antics. During an argument between the two they make a bet that if Yang gets into the same school as Chang she will have to carry his bag there everyday.

This motivates Yang to study hard and get accepted. So he wins the bet, except it gets foiled. Watch to find out how 😉

The story centers around their time together 10 years later when they meet back up under very different conditions and end up working together.

What makes this drama different in a way I find refreshing is that instead of a long drawn out hate to love relationship between the two, Yang is very clear that he likes Chang and most of his actions involve helping her and keeping her in his orbit.

He finds tons of cute and ridiculous reasons to get her to spend time with him, like making a business bet where she wins a steak dinner with him as the prize or giving her a loan where the interest is having breakfast with him. In most cases, his secretary, played by Sean Lee is rolling his eyes at Yang’s nutty and immature antics, which is pretty funny. And Bruce Hung acts all this out so charmingly

Hung is another one of those actors that I probably wouldn’t look at twice if I saw him in the grocery store, especially in his earlier days like in A Good Day, but he has officially grown up, and away from the days when he dabbled in the ladies bikini pond 😂😂😂.

OMG LOL

Now when he’s on screen showing off his insanely adorable dimple and washboard abs, and being so sincere while in character, it’s a whole other story. The Chinese idol judges are always talking about auras as a determinant for idolhood and Hung definitely has one.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwpj2r-HNdn/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

In the show, Chang has no idea that Yang likes her and never even considered him as a love interest, which is why she is immune to his charm and cant see why he repeatedly takes actions on her behalf. I would not have that problem. In fact this is an open invitation to Hung and his aura to come to the U.S. and have dinner with me anytime 😉

I’m only halfway through this drama, but so far it’s only gotten better, so I can’t wait to see the rest. And I waited soo long to see it. I have had it on my to watch list for awhile now, but it just, and I mean just got English subtitled episodes that are available to see in America up to episode 13 out of 16. For weeks only the first episode had subs and I was dying to know what happened next.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I am learning Mandarin, and c-dramas are a perfect way to practice (note: I met a guy in Spain who learned English through a Netflix marathon of an American show which influenced this decision), but my proficiency isn’t high enough to understand entire dialogs – yet. And it’s not always easy to find a c-drama that I love, but this one, I love. At least so far.

My only major critique is that although actress Amber An does a really great job in the role, and is pretty as pie in real life, in this drama she looks like a fairly unattractive mess who dresses herself in the dark. It makes it hard to see why her character, although very smart and spunky, is so attractive to the males (and females 😉 around her, or how she has a job in fashion. Her outfits are atrocious and do nothing to flatter her. Same with her hair. The girl wears banana clips, which went out in the 1980’s last I checked! Her pants are floodwaters, she wears frayed denim on denim and grandma sweaters. There is one scene where the guy is supposed to be wowed by her in a dress he picked out, except that dress is a 1990’s knock off with no shape to it. If Hung or his character actually finds that look attractive I will start wearing mumu’s which they must find equally seductive 😂. My 2 cents: An’s costume designer and hairdresser for this show need to find a new line of work – pronto.

Amber An in real life

Hello Again! is not a work of art (I dont want to mislead you) and some situations are completely improbable, but it is quirky in the best way! It’s lighthearted with some very sweet and funny moments. It has a business storyline where they actually do business (so rare lol). The actors do a great job and hopefully the show continues to grow on me for the 7 episodes I have left.

Note: Just You is still my favorite Taiwanese Drama of all time (and one my fav dramas period) and I hope directors and producers will magically find this post and take note that we need more dramas like Just You and Hello Again! – maybe one starring Puff Kuo and Bruce Hung.



J-Movie: Tori Girl

I adore this movie and highly recommend it. Tori Girl aka Tori Garu! is everything good wrapped into one. It’s lighthearted and funny, with a great protagonist. And it possesses something that I love about Japanese movies and shows, which is a plot that is about people working hard towards their goals, which is always motivating.

The movie is about a girl, Toriyama Yukina, who enters a college of science, which she is excited about, until she realizes that most of her classmates are dorks.

She gets dragged to a meeting for a “human powered flight” club. For anyone, who like me had no idea what that is, it’s basically a plane made with bicycle parts that runs when the pilots synchronize their pedaling. (Note: It is very similar to the extreme sport Flugtag).

Yukina is not particularly knowledgeable about or interested in human powered flight until… she sees the club president who she immediately likes, especially after he tells her she should join because “she has a good body.” After that, Yukina joins right away, excitedly training to ride into the sky with the club president.

Only, Yukina soon learns that there is another pilot that the President rode with before, who he is also trying to recruit. A big jock like fellow, who spends his time drinking beer and looking mean, named Sakaba Taishi. The two do not hit it off, and spend most of their time squabbling. Squabbling that is extremely entertaining to watch.

Yukina and Sakaba end up having to fly together, just the two of them. Despite their never ending disputes, they somehow manage to perform in the human powered flight competition.

By the time their bike-plane took off, I was so sucked into the movie, and rooting for them, that I realized I was actually holding my breath. And their time in the air was not only suspenseful, but sweet, slightly heartbreaking, and very funny.

This movie is not especially deep or romantic, but it is great. To put this into context, I will only re-watch films or shows after years have gone by because I don’t see the point in seeing something I recently saw. But, I’ll be making an exception for Tori Girl, and will probably watch it again soon because I like it that much.

C-Movie: Fall in Love at First Kiss

I watched this movie after having failed to complete any of the First Kiss, Missin Kissin franchise thinking that a bite size version is what would work best for me. This turned out to be true. Unfortunately, this version was not that great.

My 8 year old and I watched this movie and not only did she pick up on the couples very unhealthy relationship (even by c-drama standards), but I had to keep telling her not to be like them if she liked someone later in life.

What made it unhealthy?

The lead girl was a complete stalker (my 8 y/o pointed this out to me, so you know it was bad) to the point where she had a picture of the guy on her blanket and pillow so she could faux spoon him during the night, plus a wall of memorabilia to him. And no matter how many times she was rejected (at least 20) she kept on pursuing the guy.

The lead guy was a jerk to her, which is most c-drama leads, but usually they turn nice by halfway through the show or movie. This guy called the girl stupid, told her not to to tell anyone they were living together, humiliated her, shooed her away repeatedly and even said he was marrying someone else. I mean come on. That might be considered love, if you’re dysfunctional, but it was just sort of pathetic to watch.

There were some cute moments, but not enough. And the idea we viewers were supposed to have, as pushed by the dialog, was that the lead guy became “more fun” because of the girl. And their relationship blossomed while he helped her study. Except none of that was obvious from the scenes they showed. There was no cute montage of them having fun together, and not only did she blackmail him into helping her, he mostly called her stupid the whole time.

The only highlights were lead actress Jelly Lin who was both believable and adorable and Kenji Chen (the second male lead), whose physical comedy was pretty entertaining.

I give this movie a 7/10.