Twogether

I thought it would be nice to try something different yesterday, so I attempted my first Asian variety show. It's called Twogether, featuring Lee Seung Gi (You're All Surrounded and My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (though I only have watched part of 1 episode of that)) and Jasper Liu (Triad Princess).

I liked both of them in what I'd seen of them--even Jasper, though I didn't really love Triad Princess. And in this, they're really just adorable little beans. Can I call them little? They're both 33. Perhaps one of the most interesting things to watch is how they deal with their own communication issues -- Jasper is Taiwanese and Lee Seung Gi is Korean. They both speak a smattering of each other's language (cramming in some study right before the show) and some English. So there's a lot of slightly confused looks and a bit of trying to communicate with hand motions. They're just a joy to watch because they are trying so hard. And, as this is an unscripted show where they get information doled out to them as necessary, they really are confused a lot of the time.

They start off traveling to Indonesia (not even knowing where they were going before arriving at the airport) where they've just been told they will "meet a fan." But then they find out they will be given challenges that they have to meet (while having limited funds) within a limited amount of time. In the first show, they have to descend into a cave, trek through a bunch of mud to come out the other end at the "Light of Heaven" to find a genie's lamp prop. Once they get that clue, they then head to another cave, where they go inner tubing to a fishing hole. The water is cloudy, but they must catch fish to get hints to find the next clue. They do manage, with some bargaining by Lee Seung Gi with the guy who they can buy fish food and nets from.  Then they're off again.

At the end of the first episode, they haven't quite managed to get to their destination, but they are certainly trying very hard. And that's the joy of the show. It's fun to watch them. And, as it's a cooperative show where there's no competition, it's all just...pleasant. I'm not a fan of Survivor type things, so this was a nice little interlude. I'll definitely keep watching it on days that I don't feel like a drama. They really are just adorable.

Also, can I say, it was kinda telling and funny about their respective character as people -- Lee Seung Gi wore shorts & a t-shirt to bed and then there's Jasper in silk pyjamas. 

Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories, Season 2

I'd finally finished Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories season 1 and started on season 2 today (7 minutes yoga, 30 minutes elliptical, 20 minutes arm workout with dumbbells....oi, my arms are useless now). It is, in fact, the second Midnight Diner show...I finally looked it up and there was a Midnight Diner that ran from 2009 to 2014 and then the Tokyo Stories that went from 2016 to 2019 (and is maybe still ongoing? Not sure.). 

Kaosu Kobayashi is Master (owner/chef) in all of them and he is what carries the show, even though it's not as though he has that much dialogue and none of the stories I've seen so far focus on him. Even so, he's the anchor that holds it all together. The thread that weaves the stories into a cohesive whole, however tenuously. 

I like him. He's got a quiet strength. I'm curious to watch him in something else. He's also done voice work in some of Miyazaki's works. 

Anyway, so...the first episode of season 2 was another sentimental one with a successful game designer who had been left as an orphan when he was young and the mother who finds him after seeing him in a documentary shot at the Midnight Diner. A bittersweet but hopeful story. The older I get, the more stories like this make me wobble. Someday, I won't be able to watch a Hallmark Movie without tears (ha, just kidding...I wouldn't even know where to watch one of those and the clips I've seen mostly make me cringe).

This story was centred around chicken fried rice -- in which the recipe is very different from my mother's version. It's red! So I'm a little curious about the Japanese version of the dish vs. the Chinese. I did find this recipe, which calls back to the show, and says it's red because you use ketchup (!) or a tomato based sauce. Not entirely sure about that, but my little sister would have liked it, since she still bathes her food in ketchup. Don't think my little dude would eat it, since he looks at anything with ketchup with both disgust and distrust. His lunch today continued with my lockdown habit of cooking him my version of comfort food--some stir fried thick udon noodles with chicken and bacon in a chiu chow chili oil & sesame oil sauce with a pepper stolen from the plant on the kitchen windowsill and some green onion.

So far, I'd say this season has started out strong and I'm looking forward to continuing the journey with Master.

Cook Up a Storm

I've hit that spot in Oh My Baby where everything is obviously about to get very angsty after a (very) brief honeymoon of joy, the thought of Good Casting is not exciting me, and I don't want to catch up to the subbed episodes of Sweet Munchies or High End Crush. And I didn't want to start another new drama as I've already got too many going at once. So I thought I'd do a movie today, as I needed a good long block of cardio anyway.

I decided to go for Cook Up a Storm (Jue zhan shi shen), a Chinese movie from 2017 (93 minutes, 1023 calories). I'd seen one of the scenes a few times and it looked interesting and we all know I love things that feature cooking. 

The nutshell is that a Cantonese street chef (Nicholas Tse) has to compete against a rival 3 star Michelin Chef of Korean/Chinese descent, newly arrived in town from France (Jeong Yong-Hwa). And I didn't realise this until just now, but Jeong Yong-Hwa I know from You're Beautiful, where he played the lovely Kang Shin-Woo back in 2009. I knew he looked familiar, but I wasn't sure from what. So, whoa. That was a surprise. 

But that's not really the story. Sure, that's part of it, but the plot doesn't keep to that simple premise and, indeed, the two soon find a common enemy and team up. Honestly, the movie tries to do a little too much and doesn't exactly succeed. There's the plot about the rich and crooked developers vs. the regular people. There's the thread about the abandoned young boy who grows up to be a chef like the father who abandoned him and him competing against that same (fairly vile) father while trying to seek approval from him. There's another thread about fancy chef losing his sense of taste, which is obviously a fatal blow to a top chef. 

A lot of the plot turns don't necessarily make sense. Like how the crooked rich people are able to shoehorn their contestant into the big showdown or what happens with their threat to tear down the street (they just go away after an impassioned speech?). Why the dad is such a dick. Why he abandoned his kid. Why the one chef loses his sense of taste and why he came back to China when he'd just been promoted in France. How the actual cooking competitions work. How, in the final scene, street chef dude doesn't even serve his dish to the judges, but instead to his dad. 

What does work is the cooking and the food. And the lead chef guy played by Tse (who I also just realised I've seen in one of Stephen Chow's films -- Shaolin Soccer), who carries it, albeit in a stoic manner. I see from his bio on Wikipedia that he is an actual celebrity chef -- and that definitely comes through in this movie, which is probably why he's what carries it. It's all just visually gorgeous and it will definitely make you hungry. It made me miss the back alley restaurants of Shanghai. 

So, I'd say that, yes, I enjoyed the movie. It's not a cohesive film by any means, but if you don't look too hard and just appreciate it as an underdog story with some very pretty cooking scenes, it's satisfying enough. 

The best laid plans...

So. What's going on, me? 

Good and bad. Pandemic still ongoing, though things are loosening up. House buying still progressing, albeit very, very, very slowly. Still waiting on the valuation. So best guess for moving is late August, early September, which is cutting it quite close for little dude's schooling. Am trying to be proactive and "meet" some writer types out Coventry / Birmingham way so I can get there and at least hopefully "know" someone. 

Little dude hasn't been well. Lethargic, zombie-like, pale, headache-y, no appetite. Finally consulted with a doctor, but the blood work and MRI didn't turn up anything. So they think he has "post-viral fatigue" though no idea what virus that might have been (it wasn't any of the ones they tested for) or when he might have picked it up, as we've been isolating at home and he's literally hardly been out the door. He's a bit better now, but still not great. School, at least, has been supportive, as he's had a few days where he literally couldn't stay awake. I've never seen him sleep like this. Ever. Not even when he was a baby. 

So that's been another worry. And frustration. Because you want to do something, anything, but there's not really anything you can do.

I suspect that some of it might be stress-related. Pandemic. Isolation. Upcoming Move. New School. But, again, not anything I can do much about. I'm doing what I can. I suppose we all are.

Work-wise, finally had a chance to talk to my editor and now have a resolution on how to end book 2 + lead into book 3. No idea whether or not it'll get to book 3 or beyond, but at least it's a plan. Sort of. Right now, it's hard to plan anything. Book fairs and book conferences are mostly all cancelled. Stores are just opening up. I suppose I'm just glad that book 1's release date is September and wasn't, like, now or a month ago. I very much feel for any authors that have had something come out in the last couple of months.

Health-wise, my back is bothering me and it's possible I might be overdoing it a little, but on the other hand, exercise has been the only thing that has felt stable. I am trying to kind of take one day off a week, though not totally. I didn't do the elliptical today, but I did do an hour's worth of yoga/workouts. I am now down 18 lbs. (just over 8 kgs). Down about 8% body fat. Want to lose at least 8 more lbs. and then I'll re-evaluate. If I can keep going, I probably should. But first step is to get down to 120 lbs. Then I'll at least be within a healthy range. 

That's about it. Still watching a number of shows as I do the elliptical, though I wouldn't say I'm *loving* any of them. It would be nice to find something that just brings me joy. I could use some joy.

Anonymous Noise

So, I needed a different filler the other day to make up my exercise time and I was in the mood for anime vs. live action, so I tried out the first episode of Anonymous Noise. I had been debating the manga for some time and so, when it popped up on Crunchyroll, I thought I'd give it a shot. 

The first episode is slightly disjointed and confusing, so I'll be partly paraphrasing from summaries I've seen (honestly, I would have been a bit "huh?" if I hadn't read the back copy of the manga before). Nino, the girl, knew both Yuzu (anime boy with the biggest eyes I have ever seen in any anime ever) and Momo (glasses boy, who was her first crush/next door neighbour) back when she was young, but it has been at least 6 years since she has seen either one. 

She loves to sing and loved making music with both of them. She had promised that one day they would meet again and she would keep singing so they would know her by her voice. I'm not totally clear on this part, but I *think* that she knew them both separately and didn't hang out with them at the same time.

She gets to high school and finds Yuzu when he takes the stage with his band, and he does, indeed, recognise her by her voice when she begins singing along from the audience. So it seems it wasn't just her that has held on to the memories all this time. But...he runs. She catches him, but he's all "pretend you don't know me" and I have no clue why. 

Through reasons of probable jealousy, the lead singer girl of the band won't go on later that day and Nino winds up taking her place after learning the songs very, very quickly. She's a frenetic whirlwind on stage. And then, it's Momo, who is also coincidentally at this school, who hears her from the back of the room and she, amazingly, picks up on his voice through all the cheers and screams and music, and stops singing, recognising him immediately. 

And that was pretty much the first episode. 

Nino seems both straightforward and simple but also wild, in the way of an untamed animal. Yuzu and Momo both seem a bit tsundere, though in different ways. I don't get exactly why Yuzu and/or Momo aren't happy to see her, though Yuzu is already thinking about how much he's missed her at the end of the episode. 

For a style perspective, I like the music scenes. Nino's got energy. Yuzu's humungous eyes are a bit weirdly distracting, especially when the other characters have more normal sized eyes. 

I was going to say that I thought I ought to give it an episode or two more to see what I think, but while I was searching for an image of Yuzu's gigantic eyes, I wound up reading some spoilers where, basically, it sounds like Nino spends the entire manga/anime chasing after Momo, Momo spends the entire thing telling her to F-off, and Yuzu is always there for her, but she's telling him to go away because she's stuck on the idea that Momo was her first love (?) and...at the end, Yuzu goes off somewhere to study music and she winds up dating Momo. 

So...meh. That doesn't sound great. So I might or might not try another episode. I dunno. 

Falling Inn Love (yeah, I see what you did there)

So...I was all caught up on Oh My Baby and didn't feel like Good Casting today and needed something long as I didn't work out yesterday (hubs has been on me to take some days off and after too much sake on Friday night it was, like, erm, yeah day of rest oh yeah). So I thought I'd watch a movie that no one would watch with me i.e. a rom-com. 

So. Yeah. I'd saved Falling Inn Love to my Netflix list a while back when it popped up. It was about the right length (97 minutes, 1245 calories). It looked cute. It's set in New Zealand.

Welp. It's basically a Hallmark movie. 

We meet Gabriella Diaz, a San Francisco architect? designer? not totally sure who is treading water in both her job and her relationship. She soon loses her job, when she shows up to work one day with all the "bros" and the building is locked because funding has disappeared or someone has been arrested? I dunno. Let me just add in that her job makes no sense. There's a "Chad" who is the Chad of all Chads that's her boss? Is this a startup? What is it? What do they actually do? Oh well. The important thing is that she is suddenly jobless. Cue the depressing job hunting montage. 

Then she gives her boyfriend (who after 2 years has made it clear he likes things as they are and has no desire to take things further and is more interested in his phone than conversation, though he's pleasant enough in a non-threatening, non-interesting way) an ultimatum and breaks up with him immediately when he waffles. 

Then she enters a "win an inn" contest while drunk on cheap white wine and wins the next day. Because, of course, that's how Internet contest scams work. 

Upon arrival in New Zealand, the first person she runs into is handsome, slow-talking Jake. And, maybe because she's embarrassed (after hitting his truck with her luggage, which pops open to reveal her lacy underthings) or just because they needed the plot to start out with them hating each other, she's kinda a bitch to him. Though she's perfectly lovely and bubbly to literally everyone else in town, winning them over in record time.

The Inn, of course, is a total wreck.

She resists accepting any help from Jake, even though it's literally his job to renovate things until about the halfway point of the movie when she finally thaws for no apparent reason. He's been nice but confused the whole time, so this is all on her. So, blah blah blah, they form a partnership and fall in love, la and then things come to a head when the Chad (remember him?) calls to offer her a new job + her old boyfriend shows up because the Charlotte (i.e. New Zealand's answer to a Susan or a Karen) had texted him from Gabrielle's phone saying to come woo her over because she wants to buy the inn. 

But then there's the whole quick reevaluation of life choices and bending/thawing and even a random fire and yay, she's going to stay, etc. etc.

Okay, so it wasn't horrible. It also wasn't great. It was kinda lazy. The fact that it works at all is, at least for me, down to the dude who plays Jake (actor Adam Demos) and the lady who played the Kiwi garden centre woman (Claire Chitham) and the goat with the comedic timing. And New Zealand. Since it's a lovely place.

Everything else was a bit of a meh. The actress who played Gabriella plays her as if she's fuelled on entirely too much espresso and is desperate for people to like her akin to a comedian up on stage seeing the crowd slipping away and not quite sure why. Also, extensive renovations cannot be completed in just a couple of months by two people, one of whom is kinda useless, if plucky. The roof had freaking massive holes in it. 

I suppose if you go into it expecting a Hallmark movie, it's a perfectly acceptable example: sweet, not very complicated, and designed for feel-goodedness. 

High End Crush

Yesterday, little dude was sick again and I wasn't sure how much time I'd have to exercise, so I didn't want to have an hour long episode of anything on. So I thought I'd try High End Crush as the episodes are all quite short. It's a Chinese / Korean produced drama with Korean actors (but a bit of Chinese in some oft-quoted Confucius). It's also got Jung Il-Woo, who'd I'd been wanting to watch...and had tried Sweet Munchies to see...but I'm debating on that one because it's not a storyline I'm particularly fond of.

So, Jung Il-Woo plays Choi Se-Hoon, a high powered type A CEO of an entertainment agency. He thinks a lot of himself. Sure, he's good at what he does (maybe?) but he's got an ego the size of the demilitarised zone. It's a very over the top character. Heck, it's a very over the top show, from the zany underlings that follow him around to the histrionics of pretty much everyone to even the OST (which is awesome...but, sadly, so far not available on Spotify or anywhere else that I can find other than Youtube -- very catchy songs by someone called inkii? who hasn't debuted yet? Honestly, the songs might be my favourite thing about the whole show.)

Through mass confusion, Jin Se-Yun's character Yoo Yi-Ryeong, catches his attention while down in Seoul for the day. She usually lives up on a mountain by herself with no electricity (shades of Shopping King Louis here). Her grandfather died a while back and she has no other family. She's supposed to be simple (not simple-minded, just simple...) and a bit naive but sweet. She's also fairly brave and not afraid to stick up for herself. 

Anyway, Se-hoon decides that he wants to "raise her" i.e. develop her talent and even treks up the mountain to try and talk her into it, even though she's flat out refused every time he asks. There's a LOT of ridiculousness and some slapstick comedy. We do see that she's a bit tempted by the idea of the city and flustered by his attentions, but she's also strong-willed. He's trying very hard to pretend to himself that he's after her potential talent and nothing more. There's really nothing about the man that makes sense.

I actually wound up watching 4 of them yesterday (the episodes are mostly around 15 - 20 minutes) and another one today (after an episode of Good Casting). (67 minutes, 880 calories yesterday, 83 minutes, 911 calories today)

It's...silly. That's not a bad thing. Given the short format and the number of episodes (20), I feel like this is going to be a very uncomplicated romp without a lot of digressions. I'm enjoying it. It's definitely not any kind of amazing drama with a plot that makes you think and performances that will stick with you, even years later...it's just fun. And nothing wrong with that. It's also a great length to tack on after an hour long episode of something else.

Edit 23 June, after episode 11: (50 minutes elliptical, 496 calories + 16 boxing + 11 yoga) Nothing really to add -- it's progressing about like you'd expect. Lots of ridiculousness. There's...well...not really much plot. Has anything happened other than he's brought her back to Seoul? Not really. Neither one of them have really moved -- he likes her, but can't admit it; she's curious and intrigued, but inexperienced and unsure. He wants her to sign the contract, she doesn't want to. So, essentially, nothing really has happened. But it's still fun.

Edit 3 July, after episode 14: (32 minutes, 418 calories) Uh, so, yeah, still nothing has actually happened. But they're split up again, though this time Se-hoon doesn't know where she's at because she's moved in with an aunt? This may actually be the slowest moving drama with the most amount of flailing I've ever seen. I'm not saying it's bad. And I do love the music. But, really, nothing has happened AT ALL.

Edit 4 July, after episode 17: (57 minutes, 609 calories + 34 minutes yoga) Feeling exhausted today, so opted for this as the drama requiring the least amount of thought/introspection. Some small plot progress and then an equal amount of regression. He finally confesses to her that he likes her and then immediately gets jealous over something stupid and acts like a 14 year old and tries to make her jealous by being all flirty/close dancing with some other girl while thinking he wants to make her cry. It's actually the first time he's been a complete asshole. Sure, he's been histrionic and over the top, but this is the first time he's been an outright jerk. So. Meh. How old is this dude supposed to be? I'm pretty sure my 12 year old would behave better. Not entirely sure, but mostly sure. Also feeling that, by this time, this girl really needs to have more of a personality. Ah, well. 

Edit 6 July, finished it! (68 minutes, 902 calories) I just wanted to FINISH something on my list, so I tackled this one today as I only had 3 episodes left. Long story short: they finally both admit they like each other. The End. Wah.

Pretty much. Oh, there was some more needless jealousy and flailing around and a few touching moments. I'd say that this one was good for what it was. It wasn't trying to be anything but a funny diversion. And it was that. I enjoyed it but it's not something I would watch again. It's not satisfying enough for a re-watch. 

Did also like that Monsta X was the boy group that she hangs out with/does the music video with. I thought they looked familiar but I'm one of those music listeners that mostly, eh, listens, so I didn't know until reading someone else's review that the boy band was actually Monsta X in the flesh. They were adorable, even before I knew. I definitely figured they were somebody as they were too fluid and talented to just be random actors. So that was a bonus to watching High End Crush. And Bora too, as the blonde Idol -- so glad they didn't turn her into a bully/baddy. She was cute. I liked the little play she had at the end to help get the two reluctant lovers together.

Ascendance of a Bookworm

I needed a filler yesterday after an episode of Good Casting and I'd finished season 1 of Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories, so I thought I'd try an episode of an anime on Crunchyroll for a change from Kdramas.

Ascendance of a Bookworm is another isekai story, though so far it doesn't at all seem like the usual. In this one, a girl named Motosu Urano, a book-loving about-to-be librarian that dies, ironically enough, in an avalanche of books during an earthquake, is reborn into another world. She's in the body of a very weak 6 year old girl named Myne (or Mine, depending on the translation).

Books are her comfort and the thing she lives for. She thinks she can survive in this world if she just finds something, anything, to read. But this is a world where there is no printing press and books are reserved for the nobles. It's positively medieval, down to people not washing very much (which is also something she's having a hard time with).

That pretty much sums up the first episode -- we're simply introduced to the character, her "new" family (mother, father, older sister), and her dilemma. There's a hint that she does find what she is looking for at the start in a flash forward as a high priest (?) gives her a dose of something so he can read her mind -- the rest is the story of what he finds there as he searches her memories.

So far, I'd say it's interesting. Unlike most isekai's, it doesn't look like Myne/Urano will have any kind of über power. She'll have to survive on her knowledge alone. It seems cute but also slow-paced.

It started as a light novel series back in 2013 and has also had a manga adaptation. I'll give it a go. I do love book-loving characters.

Edit: Just a quick note to add that little dude started watching it after I told him about it and he's now way ahead of me at episode 7 and is really liking it.

Guilt and Weirdness; The World is On Fire

There's so much happening that I feel like I ought to at least try and summarise things. I'm certainly thinking about them enough. Every time I think, ah, some breathing space, and then something else happens. But I can't really complain. Or, I shouldn't, really. Unlike some people, I'm relatively healthy. While things aren't totally rosy and one bad thing could tip me over an edge I don't want to even approach, I'm not suffering economically. It's been tough with mom dying and a friend dying, other friends being sick. But I'm still here and going on. So, yeah. Things could be worse.

But the world is on fire.

I mean that in both a literal and figurative sense. Ha. Just a few months back, it was Australia burning. It was bad. Is bad. But now it's riots and cities burning. Police violence has been an ongoing issue for a long time, especially against black people. The one that kicked everything off (though there were a number of really horrible incidents in a short amount of time) was the murder of George Floyd, captured on camera as he begged for air and his mother. His crime? Possibly using a fake $20 bill--in which the store owner even says most people don't even realise they have them. And, apparently, it wasn't even fake in the end. He didn't resist. But a white cop put a knee on his neck and held him down for about 9 minutes, while three others kneeled on his back. While bystanders pleaded with them to let the man breathe. It was bad.

Should I even talk about the other ones? Breonna Taylor. In Louisville, KY, a place I once lived. Shot dead in her own home after being awakened by a horde of cops who didn't even identify themselves and were acting on bad intelligence (the person they were looking for was already in custody).

So, in the middle of a pandemic, now we're also seeing protests -- some peaceful, some not -- all over the world, but especially in the US. It's just bad.

And people are also going to die because the coronavirus isn't remotely contained and mass protests are going to spike things again. Of course, it's also going to spike because places have been reopening and some people are just flocking to parks and beaches and not social distancing at all.

I--I just don't know. Everything feels like such a shitshow right now. There's no comfort or respite. It's all hate and illness and death.

I was gonna write up some more about other stuff; the house, little dude's school, whatever, but meh, I'm just done today. Stick a fork in me.

Sweet Munchies

So. I just didn't feel like Good Casting today and my next episode of Oh My Baby isn't yet fully subbed. Also wanted something more romantic than Mystic Pop Up Bar (as it seems to be more of a silly episodic type of thing and I can't see how it'll have much in the way of romance...one of the leads is a 500 year old ghost after all and the other is a young dude). So. Yeah. I started a new one.

Sweet Munchies aka Late Night Snack Man and Woman (77 minutes, 1016 calories) is also an ongoing drama. And I'm gonna paste in here the description from Viki that pulled me in with it's romantic, light sounding fluffiness:

Nestled comfortably in a quiet little corner of Seoul, lies an odd little late-night restaurant, where the customers are given free reign when it comes to their drinks, but their food is chosen and prepared by the owner, Park Jin Sung (Jung Il Woo). 

Specializing in matching a customer’s food to their chosen drinks, Jin Sung has an uncanny ability to provide his patrons with the exact foods they were craving. Providing the restaurant’s diners with a warm and welcoming atmosphere, Jin Sung has but one goal: to treat each person who walks through his doors with delicious food and outstanding customer service. 

Beloved by his customers, Jin Sung has made quite a name for himself in the world of late-night dining. A frequent post-work destination for television producer Kim Ah Jin (Kang Ji Young), Jin Sung’s restaurant has long been a favorite, so it was only natural for her to ask the chef to host her newest variety show. Knowing that Jin Sung’s talent would make the show a success, she urges him to take the job and with some persuasion on her part, he eventually agrees. But what happens next, neither of them could have expected. 

An overwhelming success, “Midnight Snack Couple” wins Jin Sung instant popularity and fame. Now living in the spotlight, life for Jin Sung gets a little more complicated, especially after he realizes he’s starting to develop feelings for Ah Jin. Working closely with her, things might have developed naturally, but when the successful fashion designer, Kang Tae Wan (Lee Hak Joo) enters the scene, things get taken to a whole new level! Will Jin Sung’s charms be enough to win the heart of the woman he loves, or will he have to use his talent as a chef to ultimately win her affection? 

An adorable story full of sweet smiles and late-night munchies, “Sweet Munchies” is a 2020 Viki Original romantic comedy drama directed by Song Ji Won.

Doesn't that sound lovely and right up my street? It's got food. It's got all the fluffy. BUT THEY LIE. Sure, some of that's correct. Park Jin Sung is a talented chef, but his restaurant is struggling, even though his regulars do love him. And Kim Ah Jin is a regular -- in fact, they've had a bit of a flirtation thing going on and both seem interested in each other and even -- coincidentally, hahaha -- live in the same building. She works as a PD at a TV station, but she's just a lowly put upon contract worker.

Then basically, all hell breaks loose upon poor chef. His lovely dad, who he clearly adores, is in a car accident and requires emergency surgery. He also didn't have good insurance and now, with hospital bills piling up, it's bad. THEN the guy he's been renting the restaurant space from kicks him out without any warning whatsoever (which doesn't seem legal, but okay). He can't get a loan from a bank because he's got no assets. He's got like 400 bucks in the bank and a dad in the hospital and no job.

Meanwhile, our poor cheerful but looked down upon PD Ah Jin has come up with a proposal for a new cooking show called Sweet Munchies featuring a gay chef who listens to people's troubles and gives advice. A GAY chef. You can see where this is going. When she stands up for herself, the Chief Director is all bitchy and basically tells her to find one in 24 hours or she's fired. She's all desperate, posting everywhere and trying to find one. She runs into poor chef as he's trying to drown his sorrows in soju and asks him if he knows anyone. YOU KNOW WHERE THIS IS GOING.

At first, only one dude shows up at the audition and, while he seems lovely, he's apparently got big ugly hands (??wtf) and the Director is all NOPE, you've got 2 more hours. And then chef shows up in a ridiculous polka dot blazer and a scarf tied around his neck and, at the end of the episode, our two leads are giving each other meaningful looks as he is blowing away the audition and he's thinking to himself that he's just got to hide who he is, he's got no choice, he needs the money. There's also a glimpse of who the uncomfortable third in what is bound to be a weird love triangle is in a stoic looking stylish dude that chef bumps into and shares a weirdly deep look with. I'm guessing he's the one that's meant to actually BE gay in the show.

Sigh.

I feel like I've just gone through a bait and switch. I don't like co-opting gayness as a comic storyline. Reversing it really doesn't help, especially when Korea doesn't have a great record on treatment of LGBT (not as bad as some places, but still). I'm also not fond of storylines that feature a fundamental lie as part of the ongoing plot -- this is why I've not watched Coffee Prince or Personal Taste yet, even though I like the actors.

So I'm a bit torn on this. Will I finish it? Probably. Maybe. I'll at least give it a few more episodes. I've been wanting to watch Jung Il Woo in something and I did like him. He and Kang Ji Young seemed to have decent chemistry together too. I liked both their characters and I see WHY he would be desperate enough to lie. They really piled everything up on him. But, at the same time, it looks like it's all going to be for laughs and I am just not at all sure about that. I did like that her character stands up for herself. The dudes at her job mostly all seemed pretty awful (reminded me of when I was fresh out of uni and working for Ernst & Young--the partners were mostly all creeps). But, man, why couldn't the show have been what the description said?

Edit Monday, 15 June (70 minutes, 729 calories + 20 minutes yoga, 108 calories) I thought I'd give this one another episode to see how things were shaking out. In this one we learn that Chef has a younger brother that's gay (and would love to work with Designer dude). I honestly don't know if that makes the story better or worse. But at least we definitely see that he doesn't personally have any issues with being gay and, in fact, is questioning his decision even as he is feeling very desperate and that he has no other way, at least in the short term. 

And I do like that, when PD girl is trying to talk the Designer dude into doing the costuming for the show (after she told off the wardrobe department and got blackballed...honestly, so far she's not convincing me that she's capable of doing anything but getting emotional), he tells her no because he doesn't think she's got a good enough reason for doing a show with a gay chef anyway. Chef himself winds up talking Designer into it with a personal plea.

So, so far I'd say it's going okay. Still not in love with the idea but at least they aren't totally fumbling it. Even the Director lady seems to be sensitive to things, even if she is a bit of a Dragon Lady.

Edit: Have watched another couple episodes and I'm still kinda torn. I am liking the actors but Chef is digging himself such a big freaking hole. He even lied to his younger brother (who comes in on a conversation and is, like, hyung, how are you gay??) That's the first lie where I'm, like, why did you do that? If there was any person he could have been honest with, it could have been his gay younger brother, who knows what the situation is with the dad. The writer could have even incorporated some scenes with the bother helping him out. Though maybe the lie was because he knew the brother, being gay, would likely be offended? I dunno. 

And I'm feeling very bad for Designer Kang, who is apparently very closeted because his uptight dad is forcing him to take marriage meetings. He's obviously developing some feelings for Chef. And he's got no hope and it just isn't nice. I suspect the younger brother might be gay because he's destined to be some kind of consolation prize? Grr. 

And the asshole sunbae at work is SUCH an ass. As for PD Kim, I like her okay, but I don't love her. In some ways, it feels like Chef almost has better chemistry with Designer Kang. But we know that isn't going to happen, and Chef has it hard for PD Kim anyway. He's so obvious that Designer Kang is jealous, even though he thinks chef is gay.

It all seems very much like a no-win situation. But I am liking the actors/characters. Just not so much the plot. Does that make sense? 

In weirdness, it is strange to be watching this one alongside Jung Il Woo's craziness in High End Crush. Very different people.

Edit 26 June, after episode 6 (66 minutes, 871 calories + 20 yoga): Well, it's well into the triangle now and...I just feel so bad for Designer Kang. I think I'm actually watching at this point for him. The FL is okay. Chef is sweet but he's also digging himself a giant hole. But Designer Kang is the blameless hapless one and I just want the sweet bean to be happy. 

At least there's a secondary couple with Writer Yoo and the other PD that used to be Evil PDs toady but has grown a backbone as he's crushing a bit on Writer Yoo. At least that's something clear to root for that *should* work out. Because I don't feel like I can really root for Chef and PD Kim, honestly. I know that's where the show is going, but...

Edit 30 June, after episode 7 (68 minutes, 1005 calories): Agh. In this episode, little brother finds out and is mad and points out to Chef that he's lying not just to the show people but EVERYONE who watches. And slimy PD Nam has had a meet with Chef's old girlfriend & has brought her in at the end of the episode. Honestly, not sure I understand at all his motivation other than that he's on the show to basically piss everyone off and be annoying. Because what's his goal? Out the Chef as not gay and...ruin the show that he's working on and is doing awesome in the ratings and screw up not only the show/everyone else but ALSO his own job? What is the point of him other than to be smarmy and slimy? 

And from the teasers at the end, looks like Chef is going to keep lying after being confronted. WHY? I mean, I know why. They're doing this because that's the main conflict of the plot they've come up with. 

So WHY am I watching it? Honestly, I'm not sure. I am charmed by most of the actors. I am enjoying them. But it is also making me about equal parts mad. And I think that's partly because they've portrayed Chef as a nice guy who has been conflicted all along and so it seems out of character for him to keep making things worse by continuing to lie. And to lie about something so fundamental. GRR.

Maybe I want to just see if they can save it? Do I even think they WANT to save it? I don't know. 

Mystic Pop Up Bar

(71 minutes, 708 calories) I was going to watch another episode of Good Casting today, but something was going on with the subtitles on Viki...so after fighting with it for a few minutes, I gave up. I was caught up on Oh My Baby. So...I started a new one on Netflix that even the hubby had said, hey, that looks like something you'd watch.

It's Mystic Pop Up Bar with Hwang Jung-eum (from She was Pretty) and I feel really bad because I totally didn't recognise her looking beautiful. I spent the entire episode going Who the heck is she? She seems so familiar... I should have figured it out purely from her craziness. Like Jun Ji-hyun, she's not at all afraid of pushing the boundaries of physical comedy. It was a facepalm moment when I figured out who it was. Doh! In my defence, there's 5 years difference between the two shows and she has aged. In a good way! But mostly, it's the lack of frizzy crazy hair.

Anyway. She plays Wol-ju, a 500 year old ghost. The show opens on the start of her life way back when. She had an ability to see/be in people's dreams and went around helping people as a youngish girl (old enough to be married but not a woman, so...eh...maybe supposed to be 16 or 17? Park Si-Eun, who played the young Woo Seo-Ri in Still 17, plays her there. Anyway, she helped out the Crown Prince and fell in love with him (and perhaps "married" him kind of in secret) but this got her on the bad side of his mom and the villagers. Her mom, a shaman, foresaw that she was going to be in big trouble and tried to send her away (wearing mom's clothes). But when she sees a fire, she turns back and finds out her mother (in her clothes?) has been murdered and her house burned. She curses everyone (did anything come of this? no idea) and hangs herself from a sacred tree.

Yikes.

Flash forward nearly 500 years to modern day and she's a spirit who has to help 100,000 people via their dreams or get sent to hell as atonement for committing suicide on a sacred tree. She's got just 10 more to go...but now she's got an ultimatum. Just one month left. She's grown up to be angry (but in that comedic, kinda flailing way) and professes to hate humans but we see her helping the downtrodden in the first episode...just not in necessarily the, er, kindest way.

As she's trying to help one particular girl and not having a lot of success getting her to open up, we also meet Yook Sung-Jae playing Han Kang-Bae. He's always had a spiritual problem...as in, when people touch him, they feel compelled to be completely honest and tell him what's bothering them. This has basically meant that he's got the weight of the world on his shoulders and has learned that secrets are what keeps the world going. Too much truth is a burden. (Heh...kinda one of the themes from my fourth book, so I am predisposed to like this puppy boy) He is able to re-enter the Mystic Pop Up Bar where Wol-ju does her thing, even when he shouldn't be able to see it, because of his spiritual power.

There's also a "handler" of sorts played by Choi Won-Young who is there to try and keep control over Wol-ju. I get the feeling he'll be comic relief. Heck, it's all comic relief, isn't it?

At the end of the first episode, Wol-ju has figured out that she needs Han Kang-Bae so she can hopefully help 9 more people in time. And he is hoping she can help him (probably to change his ability? Because I imagine he just wants to be normal).

So far, I'd say this one looks very fun and interesting. I'm intrigued. It's got a bit of a Beetlejuice thing going on. It's also ongoing (sigh) but there are 4 episodes out already and all 12 will be out by 25th June. I am a little concerned about the 12 thing...most of these have 16 so is this another one where Netflix is breaking it into seasons for no good reason? I hope not. Anyway, production value looks good as well. Love the dresses Wol-ju wears in the modern day, like she's never completely grown out of her past. I imagine that's why.

Edit 10 July, after episode 2 (77 minutes, 1009 calories): Finally watched another episode. Not because I didn't like the first one (I did) but because I've had so many other shows going on. Today, I was thinking I really ought to watch one of the last two episodes of Oh My Baby but I couldn't bring myself to do it because I am about 99% sure they're going to do some Noble Idiocy/Separation plot in the next episode and MEH. I don't want to see sad Yi-Sang. 

Anyway. Mystic Pop Up Bar episode 2 was a bit of a tear jerker too, but in a different way. This one dealt with a woman who had drunkenly caused the split up of a friend & the man she loved and the death of the friend -- then had raised the baby as her own...but now she was about to die from cancer and hadn't been able to find the father...and the grown up daughter was about to get married...So, yeah. Lots of guilt, etc. in this one. 

So even though this is ultimately a comedic show, there's some depth to it too. And we also got a bit more of Wol-ju's background on why she had to help 100,000 souls. Still really liking it.

Edit: 15 July, after episode 4 (93 minutes, 1205 calories -- also an episode of Midnight Diner): Yes, I'm really liking this one. I think I know where some of the story is going (possible spoilers from Twitter) but I don't mind. 

Edit: 21 July. Am up through episode 7. Really loving this one. They've been dribbling in the past history. I'm sure that Manager Gwi (handler dude) is either directly or the reincarnation of the Prince Wol-ju was in love with. And pretty sure that Kang-bae is somehow their son. Not sure how that will actually work, but I don't think it's any mistake that they have all wound up together. And they've introduced the "Evil Spirit" who was once the friend of the Prince 500 years ago. Hoping it will all make sense, but even if not, it's still a charming show.

Momo Salon

I needed a quick short drama to make up some exercise time before a quick road trip and after a quick flip through Netflix (where it seems like almost everything I have favourited is an hour), I found Momo Salon. It had been on my list for a long time -- probably placed there sometime after I watched You're All Surrounded as the dude in it was the ridiculous cop in that show (Park Jung Min). As the episodes are only around 7-9 minutes, it was perfect for the time I had. I wound up watching all but one episode in one go.

Park Soo Ah plays the lead girl, Hye Ni, who has moved to Seoul from Busan to open up her own hairdressing salon. Things aren't going that well -- no customers, no love, no friends. By chance, a delivery man asks if he can leave a package at her shop for Chang Gyun (Park Jung Min), a wannabe salaryman who winds up staying for a haircut (while drunk). Her first paying customer! He comes back the next day, wondering if he got a haircut the night before and gets a blow out for an interview. 

He continues to visit for haircuts/stylings/just for kicks and Hye Ni talks the delivery driver into leaving more packages when people aren't home. This drives business to her shop and things take off from there. Over time, things develop with Chang Gyun into a relationship as well. 

At only 6 episodes of less than 10 minutes each, there's not a lot of character development or plot. That said, it's sweet and simple and a slice of life thing. Considering the amount of time it takes, they do a fair amount with what they've got. 

Coincidentally, Park Soo Ah is also in Oh My Baby, which I didn't realise until I just checked out her credits. I can see it now, though it surprised me; she looks so kawaii in Momo Salon compared to her character in Oh My Baby. She's also apparently the lead vocalist in a Kpop group called After School.

Anyway, for what this was, I thought it was pretty adorable and enjoyable. It was worth it. It wasn't earth shattering or ground breaking, but it was cute. Am I glad I watched it? Yeah. Would I watch it again? Eh, I dunno. It wasn't really meaty enough for that. It was an excellent interlude though.