Tuesday, August 18, 2009

NEW LAYOUT!

Hello, There! Please visit www.dramaqueenreviews.com for the same information but new and improved layout. Thank you!


Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Rolling Love - 翻滾吧!蛋炒飯

Guan Xiao Shu is a singer who is blind that leaves her home so that she wouldn't be a burden on her aunt and friends. She finds herself at a small diner where she falls in love with their fried rice dish. Wanting to meet the chef and to try other dishes, chef Michelin disappointed everyone since he was only able to make one dish well. He can only make fried rice. After meeting and becoming friends with Xiao Shu, Michelin teaches her to be independent and she encourages him to use all his senses in cooking and develop a knack for good flavor. Leng Lie is a good friend of Xiao Shu who has been admiring her from afar. He is a trained gourmet chef that is ready to compete with Leng Lie. Who will the challenge in cooking and love? This drama has a weak plot and the acting was poor. Emotions could not be felt by the audience when there were dramatic times. Rolling Love rolled out. Unfortunately, I rate this drama 1 out of 5.


Release Date: May 2008
Episodes: 12
Main Cast:
Genie Zhou as Xiao Shu
Jiro Wang as Michelin
Tang Yu Zhe as Leng Lie

Monday, August 10, 2009

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Star's Lovers - 오! 나의 여신님

Cupid's arrow hit two people that are completely opposite. Lee Ma Ri is a famous actress who leads a chaotic lifestyle with paparazzi and media always interested about her love life. Kim Chul Soo is a reserved person who works part time as a professor and dreams of writing books. In Korea, ghostwriting is frowned upon, but Chul Soo accepts a ghostwriting job because his sister is ill and needs to have surgery. Even though he wanted to be a writer with dignity, he also needed the money. The ghostwriting assignment was for Lee Ma Ri who even though was famous, Chul Soo knew nothing about. From spending time together, they develop feelings which gets very complicated when the media finds out. A scandal begins and his ghostwriting is exposed. He loses his job and opportunity to become a full time professor and author. To spare Lee Ma Ri from damaging her career further, he draws her a line and tells her not to cross it. Something he learned from his mother when she abandoned him and his sister. Her manager brings past lovers into her life to help her forget about Chul Soo. Both with the names Woo Jin, one is a childhood friend and the other is someone she shares fond memories of and were to be married but he disappeared. Which guy will Lee Ma Ri pick? Did Cupid's arrow really go through? This drama tells a story of destiny and the efforts between the main characters to change it. The performance and the chemistry between the characters were very good but I felt the storyline would have been better if there was only one big scandal with consequences instead of the same one that keeps repeating itself. I rate this drama 3 out of 5.

Release Date: December 2008
Episodes: 20
Main Cast:
Choi Ji Woo as Lee Ma Ri
Yoo Ji Tae as Kim Chul Soo
Cha Ye Ryun as Choi Eun Young
Choi Phillip as Kang Woo Jin

Friday, August 7, 2009

In the Kitchen

Happy Friday!! I'm taking a break from posting a drama review today, so if you're taking a break too and hungry for a quick snack, check out my food blog to make a BBQ Chicken Naan Pizza. www.cravingflavors.com

See you back tomorrow for a review on Star's Lovers. Yes!! I am finally done with it.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Prince Princess 2 - 王子看見二公主

Being the middle child in a poor family, Zhao Ke Rou finds herself defending her family when the loan sharks come. She is the least feminine of her other two sisters but also the one who works hard to help support the family. Her eldest sister Zhao Mu Fan is the pretty, pride and joy of the family. She was trained from an early age to play the piano and was treated like a princess because the family's intention was to marry her off to a wealthy family. Ke Rou is a talented clothing designer who makes dresses for her eldest sister so she can attend her elite blind dates in style. Ke Rou gets a job as a personal assistant to a fashion designing Manager. The manager is a young boss who was actually in her designing class before she quit and from working together they begin to develop feelings. The only problem is that her handsome wealthy boss, Ning Huan Yu gets arranged to go on a blind date with her sister Mu Fan. After meeting so many men, Mu Fan tells Ke Rou that this one is the perfect one and she really likes him. Being a good sister, Ke Rou holds back her true feelings, but Huan Yu doesn't. A love triangle always end up with someone or all being hurt. Which sister, if any, will Prince Huan Yu end up with? The storyline and cast to Prince Princess 2 is a bit disappointing. Ke Rou is not a character that you would normally see two guys fighting over, especially two good looking, high ranking, wealthy guys in a drama. It would actually be 3 guys, but Xia Kuan's character got written off earlier in the show, though I could see a decent storyline with him as a supporting role. Ke Ruo also didn't quite display any extraordinary quality that would deem this attention. Then we have Mu Fan who tries to be too sweet and cute when she talks that her whispering voice sounds more like scratching on a chalkboard. Ahhh!! It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. On top of all this, I can't speak too highly of the acting either. Unfortunately, I rate this drama 1 out of 5 stars.

Release Date: December 2008
Episodes: 16
Main Cast:
Annie Chen as Zhao Ke Ruo
Dylan Kuo as Ning Huan Yu
Hong Zi Han as Zhao Mu Fan

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Easy Fortune Happy Life Update

Today is a catch up day for me. I haven't been watching the dramas that aired over the weekend so I just finished watching episode 9 of Easy Fortune and Happy Life. It is FINALLY getting exciting! I love seeing Chen Qiao En, but there hasn't been too much excitement to this drama. If you're watching something right now that you would recommend, send me a message. Come back tomorrow for a review of Prince Princess 2.

Good night, all!
Annyonghi Jumushipsiyo in Korean
Oyasumi in Japananese
Wanan in Mandarin

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

You are my Destiny - 너는 내 운명

You are my destiny is a very loooong drama with 178 episodes, so I will summarize it briefly. It has some dragging moments, but overall each episode was anticipated to see if Jang Sae Byuk and Kang Ho Se would ever get married. Jang Sae Byuk is a girl who despite some hardships in her life with having a cornea transplant and not knowing her parents remained quite positive. She is a hard worker and dreams of being a kitchen designer. She meets Kang Ho Se who works for a kitchen designing company which his father is CEO of and works there as well. Her adopted mother works as a housekeeper for Ho Se's family and her adopted father was a driver for Ho Se's father. When their relationship is discovered it becomes chaotic because his family, especially his mother did not want her son to date "the help's kid." Ho Se really aggravated me during parts of the drama because of his mama's boy behavior, perhaps because I can relate. Sae Byuk and Ho Se were meant for each other, but he placed his mom first too much for their good. Will their destined relationship work out or will their families ruin it for these two soulmates? With 178 episodes there are far too many stories for me to ramble about. Prepare a tissue box though because Jang Sae Byuk will be torn to make decisions that just breaks your heart. She is considerate of other's and their feelings and ends up always hurting herself. I rate this drama 4 out of 5.

Release Date: May 2008
Episodes: 178

Main Cast:
Im Yoon Ah as Jang Sae Byuk
Gong Hyun Joo as Kim Soo Bin
Park Jae Jung as Kang Ho Se

Monday, August 3, 2009

Bad Love - 못된 사랑

Na In Jung a talented cellist finds herself hopelessly in love with a business man by the name of Yi Suhwan. Unfortunately, he is married and works for his father in law. He is torn between succeeding in the business world and losing everything to be with Na In Jung so they continue their affair for quite some time, until Suhwan’s wife finds out and separates them. She injures Na In Jung’s hand which makes Na In Jung leave her dream of playing the cello to move to a small village. Starting a new life, Na In Jung opens up a small fried chicken business where she meets Yonggi. He came there after losing Joanne, his ex girlfriend. As Yonggi and Na In Jung get close they both forget their pasts and move on with their relationship. Things get heated though when it is discovered that Yonggi is actually Yi Suhwan’s half brother (in-law). The love triangle begins. Yi Suhwan is ready to drop his career and family to be with Na In Jung now, but does she desire to live in the past or will she move on this time? Like most dramas, Bad Love portrays love that must endure hardships. However, the characters each have an intriguing way of expressing their love or hatred such as Joanne with her suicide and Kang Julan (Suhwan’s wife) with her extramarital affair. By the way, very nice scenes too. I rate this drama 4 out of 5.

Release Date: December 2007

Episodes: 20

Main Cast:

Kwon Sang Woo as Kang Yonggi
Lee Yo Won as Na In Jung
Kim Sung Soo as Yi Suhwan

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Check out my Food Blog

I don't know about you, but after drooling over some of the yummy foods that I've seen in the dramas, I really wanted to have some myself. I've had a bit of a delay in getting my weekly food blog started, but my first post is finally up. If you get a chance, please visit www.cravingflavors.com to check it out. Feel free to send me a message if there is something you crave and would like to see posted. Happy Cooking and Bon Appetit!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Currently watching

I am currently watching a new show called Roseate Love. I was a bit unsure after watching episode one as to whether or not I really want to finish. It was a bit slow, the acting is not the greatest, but something interested me enough to watch a second episode. I'm glad I did because I am really enjoying the music within the show. It seems to be getting better now so I'll do a review on this when the show is done airing.
Not sure if anyone knows about an upcoming drama called Extravagant Challenge with Jerry Yan and Ariel Lin. I'm looking forward to see these two together. I can't wait until it airs!! Send me a comment if you have any info.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Female Artists

Happy Friday, all!! I would like to share my female artists that I'm adding to my IPOD today since I shared the males yesterday. I'm all for equal opportunity. I was able to find some of their music to share. Listen to the beautiful and talented artists below.
1) S.H.E.
2) Amei3) Ai Otsuka4) Yuna Ito w/Celine Dion

Thursday, July 30, 2009

What are you listening to?

It's been a long Thursday...I am currently watching Star's Lovers and would like to write a review on that when I'm done. In the meantime, I am trying to move some new music to my IPOD so that I have some different songs to jam to while hitting the treadmill. Please share your favorites!

My favorite male singers and groups are: (not in any particular order)

1) Lee Hom Wang
2) Fairenheit
3) F4

4) Van Fang

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

StarLit - 心星的淚光

Xiao Lu is a talented advertising artist that is diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. While traveling to Taiwan on a business trip she has an episode in the middle of the road and cannot move her legs, Ah Yue who is nearby runs to push her out of the road to avoid being hit by a truck. Unfortunately, he is injured and ends up in the hospital. Xiao Lu returns to Beijing but tries to contact him at the hospital to check up and to repay him for his kindness. Ah Yue was a pianist who was going to make it big, but after the accident, his hand is injured and needs time to recover. Escaping the disappointment from his mom and friends, he leaves to go to Beijing, where he coincidentally meets Xiao Lu again. She is a kind girl and helps him establish a job in Beijing at her advertising firm. From working together, they eventually develop some feelings for each other that is more than just a friendship. She is afraid that her terminal illness will one day separate them and continues to reject Ah Yue. Her illness gets worse and she loses control of her mobility but she is still happy because Ah Yue's love is there beside her. Starlit is a beautiful drama about living life to its fullest and creating memories each day. Don't take your loved ones for granted. Create and cherish those beautiful memories. I love the melodies in this drama. Jerry and Terri are so cute together! I rate this drama 5 out of 5.

Release Date: January 2009
Episodes: 22
Main Cast:
Jerry Yan as Cheng Yue
Terri Kwan as Dong Xiao Lu
Alice Ceng as Yan Lu Shan
Chen Zi Kai as Li Shi Chuan

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Shining Inheritance Music

Please correct me if I don't have the right songs, but enjoy regardless.


Monday, July 27, 2009

Shining Inheritance - 찬란한 유산

Shining Inheritance aired the finale and it is definitely going to move up to my number 1 spot. Go Eun Sung's unfortunate events turned into opportunities for her that made others envy. After her Father's death, her step mother forced her and her autistic brother, Go Eun Woo out. Not too long after living on their own, Go Eun Woo gets lost and is abandoned by the step mother. Go Eun Sung meets new friends and love interests as she is in search of her missing brother. By accident one day she meets an elderly woman whom she takes in and cares for. This elderly woman briefly had a memory loss after a fall, but when she regained her memory, she goes home and invites Go Eun Sung to live in her mansion. Jang Sook Ja is actually a CEO of a large food company and tells her family that she has signed a new will in which she is giving part of the company to Go Eun Sung. This creates tension between Go Eun Sung and the family, but also her friends who are envious. I highly recommend this drama. It shows how people can change and what others will do for money and power. Unlike most other dramas where the mini stories of the other character's life is somewhat pointless, I really enjoyed how it was presented in this drama. I think the main characters did a really good job at portraying their roles and the script was very clever. The love story within the drama is quite sweet and touching as well, but I hope there will be a Shining Inheritance II in the near future to discuss that. A show to laugh and cry. I rate this drama 5 out of 5.

Release Date: April 2009
Episodes: 28
Main Cast:
Han Hyo Joo as Go Eun Sung
Lee Seung Ki as Sun Woo Hwan
Bae Soo Bin as Park Jun Se
Moon Chae Won as Yoo Seung Mi

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Rainie Yang Weekend Compilation

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!


Friday, July 24, 2009

Miss No Good -不良笑花

Jiang Xiao Hua is a girl that Tang Men a stylist calls “Christmas Tree” because of her many accessories. From head to toe she has no sense for good fashion. Her childhood friend Jia Si Le returns from Japan and he is no longer the chubby kid she remembers. He is now fit and handsome. More importantly, she learns that he comes from a wealthy family and wants to marry her. By accident she meets Tang Men who is a popular stylist who agrees to help her become more lady like after she bribes him to grant her three wishes for returning his special scissors. Tang Men finds her annoying because of her tasteless choices, but his feelings change when she helps in a couple different occasions to regain justice at work and at home. Will Jia Si Le like the new transformed Xiao Hua or will Tang Men fall in love with her? I love Rainie Yang and her music, but what is with the screeching annoying voice for the entire drama??!! I actually muted the drama after the second episode and just read the subtitles because I could not bare it any longer. There were lots of funny crazy parts, if you’ve seen it then you’ll know what I mean. I rate this drama 2 out of 5.

Release Date: September 2008

Episodes: 14

Main Cast:

Dean Fujioka as Jia Si Le

Rainie Yang as Jiang Xiao Hua
Will Pan as Tang Men
Chen Yan Xi as Jiang Mi

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Knock Knock Loving You - 敲敲愛上你

Yao Zi Wang is a hard working, business savvy girl that runs her father's enterprise Yao Shi Corporation. Her mother is on a death bed, while her father marries a younger lady. She is treated poorly by her new step mother and step sister, but that doesn't matter to her. She just wants some attention from her father. Unfortunately, he doesn't treat her well. She is just a pawn in his game of business chess. One day she meets Cheng Zhi Ang whose business, The Wei Lin Resort is going bankrupt. He is very ill and before he dies he asks Yao Zi Wang for help. After his death, his son Cheng Xue Ge took over and learns from Yao Zi Wang to restore his father's business. It took alot of work before he could trust Yao Zi Wang because she always seemed cold hearted and ruthless, but together they rebuilt the company. They certainly developed a relationship after working together. She falls in love with him, but keeps quiet because it is of her nature to protect those that she loves. Being a successful business woman and hard to get, Zhao Guan Xi was up for a challenge to get her hand in marriage. Belonging to a Huang Xin Financial another powerful enterprise, Zhao Guan Xi had no problem persuading Yao Zi Wang's father to give her away in exchange for another business partner, but will Yao Zi Wang follow her heart or her father's order? Cheng Xue Ge finally realizes that he has been in love with Yao Zi Wang all this time, but can he save her before the wedding bells ring? This drama was off to a really good start. It was quite entertaining for me but then it just dragged. The audience sympathizes for Yao Zi Wang and the many faces she has to wear while her heart aches. Everything she did was to please someone else or to keep someone else from getting into trouble. Her character is very charming, sophisticated, and beautiful. She suffers so much in the drama and I wish the storyline gave her some happiness instead of the constant beatings. This was an okay drama. I rate it 3 out of 5.

Release Date: April 2009
Episodes: 13
Main Cast:
Maggie Wu as Yao Zi Wang
Dylan Kuo as Cheng Xue Ge
Ming Dao as Zhao Guan Xi
Coco Jiang as Zhao Guan Li

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Last Friends - ラスト・フレンズ

Do you have a friend that is considered family and you will do anything for them? If you've answered yes then you will understand the feelings that the friends in this drama share. Michiru is a girl that lives with her mother in a very unstable environment. Her boyfriend Takeru is a Child Welfare representative who works with children that are abused. He is very understanding of her situation and provides her comfort and support. She eventually moves in with him to get away from her home life, but to her surprise he is a completely different person after this happens. Ironically, he is a complete control freak and abuses her for no reason. At around the same time she coincidentally meets a childhood friend by the name of Ruka who drags her out of the situation and makes her a roommate. This doesn't end the relationship between Michiru and Takeru though. Takeru stalks her everywhere and things get worse when he finds out that Ruka has been keeping her sexuality as a secret and that she is in love with Michiru. He begins to stalk Ruka too and things get violent. Last Friends is a dark drama that portrays love as being painful. This drama will have you at the edge of your seat, pulling your hair out and wanting to join the fight...for some air and independence. I prefer comedies so this is not my favorite drama. The story is well written though and the characters have the audience's sympathy for their individual situations. I rate this drama 5 out of 5 stars.

Release Date: April 2008
Episodes: 11
Main Cast:
Nagasawa Masami as Aida Michiru
Ueno Juri as Kishimoto Ruka
Eita as Mizushima Takeru
Nishikido Ryo as Oikawa Sosuke

Monday, July 20, 2009

Prince Who Turns into a Frog - 王子變青蛙

Is everyone truly a nice person deep down inside? Apparently so, because Shan Jun Hao who is known for his fierce, arrogant and heartless actions becomes super sweet and nice after an accident and loses his memory. Ye Tian Yu who was at the accident scene thought she caused the accident so in order to cover up the incident she takes him home unconscious. Only meeting him once before she has a terrible impression of him. However, when he awakes, he is a completely different person who is kind and caring. She falls in love with this Jun Hao who she calls Dang O. One day he gets into another accident and remembers who he is from before, but does not recall any of the events during his time with Tian Yu. How will Tian Yu get Jun Hao to regain his memories of her? Will she fight for their love? This is a really cute drama with all the animated sounds. Towards the second half of the show it seemed to drag a bit, but I didn't mind watching a bit more Chen Qiao En, Ming Dao and Sam Wang. My favorite Taiwanese couple is Chen Qiao En and Ming Dao in a drama. They have such great chemistry in the dramas they act in together. I would recommend this drama to anyone looking for something fun to watch. The characters get a bit silly. I rate this drama 5 out of 5.

Release Date: June 2005
Episodes: 20
Main Cast:
Chen Qiao En as Ye Tian Yu
Ming Dao as Shan Jun Hao
Sam Wang as Xu Zi Qian
Joyce Zhao as Fan Yun Xi

Sunday, July 19, 2009

You're My Pet - Kimi Wa Pet

This drama unfortunately requires a little too much exaggerated imagination for me. Goda Takeshi is found in a box by Iwaya Sumire outside of her home so she drags the box in and takes him in as a "pet." She names him "Momo" and treats him as a pet and he behaves like a pet, until they start to develop feelings for each other. Will "Momo" remain as a pet or will he transform back as a human and have a normal relationship with Sumire? I watched the entire drama because there was such a hype on the show, perhaps because of the actors in it or even the success of the manga. However, I cannot say that I enjoyed this storyline. It is a bit too extraordinary for my taste. Please feel free to comment if you have seen this and think otherwise. I rate this drama 1 out of 5.

Release Date: April 2003
Episodes: 10
Main Cast:
Koyuki as Iwaya Sumire
Matsumoto Jun as "Momo" Goda Takeshi

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Fairy From Wonderland- 七仙女

A love story between a goddess and mortal, Fairy From Wonderland is a drama about the trials and tribulations that the two must go through in order to be together. Goddess Xiao Qi played by Ariel Lin was punished by her father in the heavens for going down to the mortal world to help her sister. As a punishment, she was sent back to the mortal world but without any of her magical powers and in order to return home she would need to perform charitable acts. She learns alot from the mortals and learns that she is in love with Dong Yong. Love between a goddess and mortal is a no no. Having the ability to see everything from the heavens, her father sends the guards to take her back to the heavens and to make Dong Yong have a miserable life. Is their love strong enough to rebel against heaven's power? Ariel Lin does a really good job at being cute and silly. Hu Ge as Dong Yong also does a great job. They both did well at letting the audience feel the struggle they were having to fight for their love. I recommend this drama and rate it 5 out of 5.

Release Date: February 2006
Episodes: 39
Main Cast:
Ariel Lin as Xiao Qi
Hu Ge as Dong Yong
Tae as Yuan Bao
Dou Zhi Kong as Shangguan Hao Qi

Here are some songs from Fairy From Wonderland for you to enjoy.


Friday, July 17, 2009

Cinderella Man - 신데렐라맨

Cinderella Man is a story about Dae San who grew up as an orphan and works at his own clothing shop at Dongdaemun Market (flea market like shops). He dreams of having a successful store and becoming rich. His dreams come true when he meets Joon Hee who is heir of a designer fashion empire called Sophia. Joon Hee is sick and needs to have heart surgery but doesn't want to let anyone know so he pays Dae San to fill in for him. Joon Hee is sophisticated, more on the serious side, well mannered and well dressed, Dae San on the other hand wears and sells imitation products, speaks his mind, and is quite comical. Even though they looked identical, they both behaved very differently which left Joon Hee's assistant/caretaker quite worried that the two would be discovered sooner than later. In the meantime, Dae San meets Seo Yoo Jin who studied design in France and returned after her father died to run his store in the Dongdaemun Market. She falls in love with Dae San and vice versa, but is confused when she finally gets her dream job at Sophia's to design clothing and meets him again as Joon Hee. Dae San knows that Seo Yoo Jin is feeling betrayed and lied to but he cannot reveal the truth to her when he discovers that Joon Hee is actually his twin brother. This would not be a Cinderella story without a wicked step mother. His step mother wants her son Lee Jae Min to be heir of Sophia and will do whatever it takes. Lee Jae Min is
even more upset when he thinks that his step brother Joon Hee is also after Seo Yoo Jin the girl that he crushes on. How long will Dae San last playing the role of Joon Hee? Will he continue playing the role of a rich guy or go back to being Dae San the one Seo Yoo Jin cares about? Overall, Cinderella Man is a good love story. I was touched by the dedication Dae San had towards fulfilling a wish of a dying person even before he knew it was his brother. The acting was ehhh...okay. Seo Yoon Jin's character played by Yoona was very stiff and I couldn't really feel any of the emotions that she was trying to bring out. It doesn't quite matter though because if you're a Kwon Sang Woo fan, it's definately worth watching as he plays two different characters. I rate this drama 4 out of 5.
Release Date: April 2009
Episodes: 16
Main Cast:
Kwon Sang Woo as Oh Dae San and Lee Joon Hee
Yoona as Seo Yoo Jin
Song Change ee as Lee Jae Min
Han Eun Jeong as Jang Se eun

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Corner with Love - 轉角*遇到愛

Would you feel sorry for Paris Hilton if she lost all her monetary possessions and really had to live a simple life? Probably not, but if you watch Corner with Love you may develop some sympathy. Xin Lei is a girl that comes from a wealthy family and is engaged to Lu Jia Xin, son of another wealthy family, but everything changes for her after an accident. Qin Lang is a struggling artist from Taiwan that goes to Shangai to pursue his dream. Fate has it one day as Xin Lei’s driver was on the road and Qin Lang on his bicycle happened to be on the same corner that they collide. Luckily it was a minor accident with no injuries, but Princess Xin Lei feels that it’s Qin Lang’s fault for not watching where he was going and vice versa. They didn’t think they would ever see each other again, but it is a small world after all. Xin Lei has a rude awakening when her parent’s leave to go in hiding without saying goodbye because their company goes into bankruptcy. They left her with only a plane ticket to Taiwan and a key. Feeling even more abandoned, her fiancé was forced by his parents to break off their engagement as well. With no one and nothing left, she leaves to go to Taiwan thinking that the key her parents left her was to a fancy vacation resort, but it turns out to be a shack that is already occupied by Qin Lang and his grandmother. With a bad taste still lingering from the bike/car accident the two struggle to get along. Xin Lei has a lot to overcome with the new lifestyle she needs to have and the shock of losing her parents. Qin Lang understands her pain and even though he can’t stand her rich girl stubborn attitude, he helps her along the way. The events that happen during the time they are together and develop their relationship are a mixture of comical and touching emotions. Her fiancé still cares about her and after months have gone by helps her reunite with her parents. Will Xin Lei return to her princess lifestyle or has she enjoyed the simple life? Corner with Love is a drama with good actors, great music, and a very sweet storyline. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I rate this drama 5 out of 5.

Release Date: January 2007

Episodes: 16

Main Cast:

Show Luo as Qin Lang
Barbie Hsu as Xin Lei
Lu Jia Xin as Cai Xiao Yang
Dean Fujioka as An Teng Feng


Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Some Tunes from Corner with Love OST




A Game About Love - 剪刀 石頭 布

A Game about Love is a love story between friends and family. A mother's secret to protect her child, a grandfather's selfish love to want only the best for his grandchildren, a sister's love towards her sibling, and a friend's pain to avoid hurting their relationship. Paper, Rocks, Scissors is a game that two best friends, Qi Xiang and Ke Luo play when they need to make a decision, only this time it's over a girl. Duo Li is a hardworking and kind girl that wins the heart of these two friends. They put her in a difficult position as they both make their confessions and she has no intention to hurt either of them nor ruining the great friendship they already have. Will the person that wins the rock, paper, scissors game also win the girl? To me this drama was entertaining because of the actors ( I love Chen Qiao En and Sam Wang). However, I felt there were too many other stories going on which drowned out the main plot of the story. I did enjoy seeing the character's develop and mature as the story went on. Especially Duo Li who goes from being this timid, weak girl that obeys what she is told to secretly taking flamenco dance lessons and courageously performing in front of an audience in the end. With a weak plot, I rate this drama 3 out of 5.

Release Date: Novemeber 2006
Episodes: 27
Main Cast:
Chen Qiao En as Ye Duo Li
Sam Wang as Wei Qi Xiang
Michael Zhang as Chen Ke Luo
Gina Lin as Yang Jia Shan

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Love at First Fight -武十郎

The Chinese culture favors the male gender much more than the female. Afraid that her husband would find a mistress to birth him a son, Mrs. Wu dresses up and pretends that their 10th child is a boy. Wu Shi Lang grows up playing with the other boys, learning kung fu, and getting into fights to please her father. However, she gets older and wants to wear dresses like her other 9 sisters. This is a funny drama as Wu Shi Lang conceals her identity and at the same time has a desire to reveal it. She often sneaks out at night putting on makeup and wearing dresses and just dancing happily being able to be her true self. The drama begins as she falls in love with her childhood friend whom she practices and fights kung fu with, but is unable to tell him the truth. Things get really complicated for her when she fights in a tournament to help her crush, but it was a tournament to become the fiance to a wealthy girl. The storyline is quite complicated with the love square between Wu Shi Lang, her crush Li Yao Shou, and the siblings of Lei Sheng Da and Lei Xiao Yu. Overall, it is an entertaining show to watch even though the plot is not possible. It wouldn't be an asian drama if the plot wasn't exaggerated a bit. I rate this drama 5 out of 5.

Release Date: June 2007
Episodes: 32
Main Cast:
Miriam Yeung as Wu Shi Lang 武十郎
Wallace Huo as Li Ya Shou 李亚寿
George Hu as Lei Sheng Da 雷声大
Zhang Meng as Lei Xiao Yu 雷小雨

Word of the Day

How to Say Hello in....

Cantonese........nei ho (prounounced nay ho)
Japanese..........doumo or moshi moshi (when answering the phone)
Korean.............ahn nyeong (prounounced ahn-yan)
Mandarin.........ni hao
Vietnamese......chao

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Sweet Relationship - 美味關係

If you enjoy cooking and dining on gourmet food, you will appreciate Sweet Relationship. Bai Hui is a girl that grew up with a father who worked at a five star restaurant and made her delicious meals every day, but when he passes away and leaves her with no assets, she is forced to find a new place to live and a job to make ends meet. Just graduating from school she has no experience and no one seems to be hiring. One day she stumbles into a small family restaurant called Little Bear and after eating the Golden Soup that reminded her of her father, she begged for a job there. Here the brewing of friendships and romance begin. Zhi Tian is the head chef at Little Bear. He is known for being cold, rude, and discriminating against females being in his kitchen. He is not quite as bad as Chef Ramsey from Hell’s Kitchen, but I think he would have been inspired. Will Bai Hui survive in Zhi Tian’s kitchen? Besides having beautiful faces to drool over, the cuisines are equally mouth watering. The message in the drama of a chef’s passion for cooking and the goal to bring happiness and warmth to each bite is touching. This show had parts that could have been eliminated or that could have moved a bit faster, but overall it was good. I rate this drama 4 out of 5
Release Date: September 2007
Episodes: 20
Main Cast:
Vic Zhou as Fang Zi Tian 方織田
Patty Hou as Chang Bai Hui 常百惠
Alan Kuo as He Ma Yang 何馬揚
Megan Lai as Ren Ke Xin 任可欣


If you're in the mood for something sweet, try making this version of a Green Teamisu.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

MASCARPONE MIXTURE
6 egg yolks
5 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of green tea powder or regular green tea (grind to a fine powder in blender)
16 ounces of mascarpone
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
21 lady fingers


GREEN TEA SYRUP
1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of green tea powder


DIRECTIONS:
1) First make the syrup by boiling the water. Add the sugar and let it dissolve for about 2 minutes. Remove it from the heat and add the green tea powder.

2) Next, In a large bowl mix the egg yolks and sugar until it is thick for about 5 minutes. Add mascarpone cheese and mix it all together until it is smooth. Then add the vanilla extract and green tea to make the filling.

3) To prepare it for layering, dip each ladyfinger into the green tea syrup and allow for the ladyfinger to soak up the liquid. Place the ladyfinger on the bottom of a 5' x 9' container.

4) Continue to soak the ladyfingers until the first layer is complete.

5) Spread half of the mascarpone mixture on top of the first layer of ladyfingers.

6) Repeat steps 4 and 5.

7) Now cover it up with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but overnight is best.

Before serving this light dessert, sprinkle on some green tea powder on the very top. Serve with a cup of green tea. YUM!!!

-Revised recipe from Teality.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Absolute Boyfriend - 絶対彼氏

What would you do if you can’t seem to find love and match.com wasn’t available? Izawa Riko was scoped out by Kronos Heaven a company that develops intelligent robots for a test trial on their latest invention. She signed up for a male humanoid that was programmed and designed to her desires. He looks the way she dreamed and obeys every order to satisfy her. Night is the name of Riko’s human robot and he IS the Absolute Boyfriend. He is too perfect though and she ends up falling in love with him. In the meantime, another love interest (human) enters the love triangle. Will Riko give up her robot for the human? I can see this being more successful as its original form…a manga than a drama series. It dragged on and on… The acting was good, casting was good, story line is not bad. Unfortunately, I just did not enjoy it thoroughly.
I rate this drama 2 out of 5.

Release Date: April 2008
Episodes: 11
Main Cast:
Hayami Mokomichi as Tenjo Night
Mizushima Hiro as Asamoto Soshi
Aibu Saki as Izawa Riiko
Sasai Eisuke as Shirasagi Yuki