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Standalone vs Adaptation
I just finished watching Cupids Kitchen and it can only be considered to be loosely associated with the novel "Heartbeat at the Tip of the Tongue".
First to Review as a Standalone Drama:
Overall if you did not read the book and watched the drama on its own, I think it is a solid drama. The male lead and the female lead have good chemistry during their arguments and playful moments. I actually wish that there was more focus on them as an official couple. While they are close and have byplay throughout, they are not an official couple till the last quarter of the drama. What stands out about the drama is that it has a more mature tone and feel than a typical rom-com and more a slice of life type. A lot of the characters are in their thirties, and it shows in the personalities and decision making of the characters. I would say that there is more focus on character growth than on actual romance. One of the main topics is what it means to be successful and winning vs happiness. It is based around a cooking competition, so this is to be expected. I would say instead of a romance that this drama follows the ebb and flow of relationships. The willingness to let go of past relationships and the courage to accept new ones. Like the cooking competition this drama has all the flavors from sweet- bitter. The side stories and characters ranged from interesting too completely unnecessary, there was more quantity of second storylines compared to quality. I surprisingly like the character of Chu Ting , you think she would be boring and irrelevant, but her poise and calmness mixed with backbone made her admirable, but the awarded for best female character will go towards the leading lady, because of her humor and whit.
Second Review as an Adaptation
The drama could barely be called an adaptation. The only similarities to the novel is the female lead, her childhood crush and the cooking competition. They threw in a few other tidbits here and there, but 90% of the drama is completely unrelated to the book.
1. Jiang Qianfan- The ML is the complete opposite to the Jiang Qianfan in the novel. He has a hot temper and is super competitive instead of cold and just wanting to pass on the love of cooking. For the majority of the drama, he had lost his sense of taste instead of being blind, he does go blind for a bit at the end, but that is like a last-minute throw in just to create some intensity at the end. He iloveable on his own, but he is NOT the novels JQF at all.
2. The storyline felt more like "what would JQF &LKS have been like if" than an adaptation.
3. Elise/Iris is an ex-girlfriend-business partner from hell that just won't go away and is as mush if not more involved in the story and part of JQFs life than Ke Song.
4. Victor and Mom Quentin are actually similar to the book. I kind of enjoyed Victors little side romance. Mrs. Quentin's was ok just a bit boring.
5. Ke Song- She is very well played and very similar to the book character. I found her fun and adorable.
6. Cousin- the cousin is a competitor in the competition and like in the book a pain in the butt. She plays a much larger role and they did a good job I think in making her into one of the "villains".
7. Song Ran- the high school crush is also very different from the book. He doesn't have feelings for KeSong initially and there is no hidden plan to be with her from the start. He does develop feelings, but quickly gets over it. All his motivation are different from the novel, his character is really not very relevant in the drama except as a catalyst and a side story.
8. I think the biggest disappointment for the people who loved the novel is that you don't get to see JQFs pursuit of LKS. In the drama they basically just come together naturally. You don't get to see him actively trying to get LKS to fall in love with him and the passion of it. As someone who read the novel, I enjoyed JQFs dedication to KS and his wanting to push her to achieve, then his passionate dedication to pursuing her. While the slow growth friendship in the drama is nice it just doesn't compare to the novel. Also, there was a less time of them as an official couple in the drama than in the novel.
Overall- If you haven't read the book it is a solid drama and very enjoyable. If you have read the book just completely forget it and enjoy the drama as "what if Ke Song met JQF before he was blind" alternative universe.
First to Review as a Standalone Drama:
Overall if you did not read the book and watched the drama on its own, I think it is a solid drama. The male lead and the female lead have good chemistry during their arguments and playful moments. I actually wish that there was more focus on them as an official couple. While they are close and have byplay throughout, they are not an official couple till the last quarter of the drama. What stands out about the drama is that it has a more mature tone and feel than a typical rom-com and more a slice of life type. A lot of the characters are in their thirties, and it shows in the personalities and decision making of the characters. I would say that there is more focus on character growth than on actual romance. One of the main topics is what it means to be successful and winning vs happiness. It is based around a cooking competition, so this is to be expected. I would say instead of a romance that this drama follows the ebb and flow of relationships. The willingness to let go of past relationships and the courage to accept new ones. Like the cooking competition this drama has all the flavors from sweet- bitter. The side stories and characters ranged from interesting too completely unnecessary, there was more quantity of second storylines compared to quality. I surprisingly like the character of Chu Ting , you think she would be boring and irrelevant, but her poise and calmness mixed with backbone made her admirable, but the awarded for best female character will go towards the leading lady, because of her humor and whit.
Second Review as an Adaptation
The drama could barely be called an adaptation. The only similarities to the novel is the female lead, her childhood crush and the cooking competition. They threw in a few other tidbits here and there, but 90% of the drama is completely unrelated to the book.
1. Jiang Qianfan- The ML is the complete opposite to the Jiang Qianfan in the novel. He has a hot temper and is super competitive instead of cold and just wanting to pass on the love of cooking. For the majority of the drama, he had lost his sense of taste instead of being blind, he does go blind for a bit at the end, but that is like a last-minute throw in just to create some intensity at the end. He iloveable on his own, but he is NOT the novels JQF at all.
2. The storyline felt more like "what would JQF &LKS have been like if" than an adaptation.
3. Elise/Iris is an ex-girlfriend-business partner from hell that just won't go away and is as mush if not more involved in the story and part of JQFs life than Ke Song.
4. Victor and Mom Quentin are actually similar to the book. I kind of enjoyed Victors little side romance. Mrs. Quentin's was ok just a bit boring.
5. Ke Song- She is very well played and very similar to the book character. I found her fun and adorable.
6. Cousin- the cousin is a competitor in the competition and like in the book a pain in the butt. She plays a much larger role and they did a good job I think in making her into one of the "villains".
7. Song Ran- the high school crush is also very different from the book. He doesn't have feelings for KeSong initially and there is no hidden plan to be with her from the start. He does develop feelings, but quickly gets over it. All his motivation are different from the novel, his character is really not very relevant in the drama except as a catalyst and a side story.
8. I think the biggest disappointment for the people who loved the novel is that you don't get to see JQFs pursuit of LKS. In the drama they basically just come together naturally. You don't get to see him actively trying to get LKS to fall in love with him and the passion of it. As someone who read the novel, I enjoyed JQFs dedication to KS and his wanting to push her to achieve, then his passionate dedication to pursuing her. While the slow growth friendship in the drama is nice it just doesn't compare to the novel. Also, there was a less time of them as an official couple in the drama than in the novel.
Overall- If you haven't read the book it is a solid drama and very enjoyable. If you have read the book just completely forget it and enjoy the drama as "what if Ke Song met JQF before he was blind" alternative universe.
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