RECENTLY REWATCHED AND I'M GIVING IT A HIGHER SCORE, THIS DRAMA IS FOOD FOR THE SOUL.
Before I watched this drama I read a lot of reviews and I saw that it actually received a lot of critical reviews, not negative but just very critical in the sense that a lot of people seemed to be bothered by the excessive cooking or maybe it’s just because it’s not like the other conventional historical dramas with big problems and a lot of misunderstandings and royalty and the lot ( love triangles and all). This drama however, brought a whole new light to historical dramas. I always wondered what the lives of commoners in historical dramas were like and this drama really showed me what it was like. the reason I love this drama so much is because

- there are no scandals or unnecessary misunderstanding (problems are not too heavy weight and are resolved quickly, Xiaomai and Yuhuai really complimented each other well and were a very supportive and non toxic couple.
- this drama is totally about self development and the career of our Chef Hua, we see in this drama resilience and strength, it is a very beautiful story showing the value of friendship and family
- this drama also portrayed the beauty of simplicity. so there isn’t any real scandal or over the top drama, there are no wars, no kings and no officials trying to take over the throne, there is no harem or unnecessary killing, (there is no cross dressing) it’s totally different from the conventional Chinese historic, this just makes it so beautiful in its own way.
- I personally think the cooking in this drama was actually very amazing because they were trying to show us the beauty of the foods that were being cooked. I think that was one of the aims.
- let’s also discuss the fact that we should not expect actors to be so perfect in everything, they are actors for God sake obviously there will be expert Chefs hired because there’s no way in the world that they are going to actually be able to cook all those dishes themselves or find someone with exactly the same hands as the actors. If you are looking for perfection then I’m sorry but you are just being over the top. so there is really nothing there. I think the most important thing is that we were able to see and appreciate good food.

I also love this drama as much as I love The General’s lady because the actress (Tang Ming) is a really beautiful and talented actress. I loved this side of her. it’s very obvious that she’s a good actress.

Now let’s talk about our male lead. I initially didn’t want to watch his drama because of the male lead. He isn’t the conventional pretty boy, but I was so surprised by his acting and I actually found him very attractive and manly, much more attractive than most of the normal pretty boys. Also because there was just something about his role as a good husband and a wonderful man. he’s a great actor, you’ll be surprised by his performance.

The side characters are also amazing, let me tell you, you will love the mother-in-law, the sister, the brother-in-law and all other side characters and I love the fact that most of the bad people where either punished or they were redeemed. the end seemed a bit rushed because some people didn’t receive punishment for their despicable actions, I think that was because Chef Hua was graceful enough.

Let me tell you, Chef Hua will not disappoint you. this drama is amazing and the end is beautiful and if you are looking for something with purity and just beauty and the simplicity of life, this is the drama for you. it is realistic in its own way because it shows how life was then. It isn’t overly romanticised, but this drama will touch your heart differently. Just holding hands made me feel butterflies for them. Their love was so strong.
I fell in love with this drama, I fell in love with the actors, I fell in love with the food, with the side characters, with the villains. Everyone was beautiful in their own way and everything was done nicely, in a way that it will satisfy you.
This drama is not perfect and is definitely not the best but I think this is a hidden gem. I really want people to notice it. Rewatch value is a total 10.

Just watch this drama, it’s beautiful and satisfying.