Cupid's Kitchen 舌尖上的心跳 [2022]

[Tofu]

Cupid's Kitchen 舌尖上的心跳

 

Chinese Title:  She Jian Shang De Xin Tiao / 舌尖上的心跳
Novel: She Jian Shang De Xin Tiao by Jiao Tang Dong Gua 
Director: Li Jun
Screenwriter: Meng Yao
Genre: Romance
Episodes: 40
Broadcasting Network: Beijing TV, Dragon TV, iQIYI, Tencent, Youku
Airing Date: January 13th, 2022

 

Synopsis

Blessed with an acute sense of taste, Lin Ke Song (Song Zu'er) has the unique ability to identify the ingredients in any dish, with just a single bite. Despite her rare gift, she has never been much of a cook and as such, has never given much thought to pursue a career in the culinary arts. At least not until the day she met Michelin-certified chef, Jiang Qian Fan (Ethan Juan). Smitten by another man, Lin Ke Song decides to follow her one-sided love to Shang Hai, in hopes of winning his affections; however, all her plans are derailed soon after her arrival. Crossing paths with Jiang Qian Fan not long after, the highly acclaimed chef is intrigued by her rare gift. Taking her under his wing, Jiang Qian Fan begins to teach Lin Ke Song how to apply her skills in the kitchen. Working together, they prepare for an upcoming cooking competition, but the road leading them there is full of potholes. Struggling to find her place in the kitchen, Lin Ke Song endures Jiang Qian Fan’s rigorous training. Difficult as it may be, she slowly begins to develop her own set of skills, gaining not only a newfound confidence but Jiang Qian Fan’s admiration as well. But will any of this be enough to give her what her heart truly desires? (Credit)

 

Official Websites 
Baidu | Weibo | Douban

 

 

[Tofu]

Cast.

Ethan Juan as Jiang Qianfan

 

Song Zu Er as Lin Kesong

 

Spoiler

Liu Dong Qin as Song Yiran

 

Spoiler

Wang Zhuo Cheng as Victor

 

Spoiler

Wang Rui Zi as Chu Ting

 

Spoiler

Xu Jia Wen as Elise

 

Spoiler

Liu An Qi as Lin Xiaoyu

 

Spoiler

Zhang Jun Ming as Li Yan

[Tofu]

English Subs.

Viki: https://www.viki.com/tv/37037c-cupids-kitchen

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpghCOjR4QqoYN3qB-fxnHPErsvHFa5MV

 

Airing Schedule.

 

Character Chart.

[Tofu]

Trailer. 

 

OST.

 

 

[Tofu]

The house Jiang Qianfan lives in is so beautiful! I love that he has two kitchens! @SilverMoonTea, I want to have two kitchens in my house too! 

 

His restaurant.

 

Xiaoyu's dad's restaurant.

Spoiler

 

[Tofu]

I started out this drama with no expectations and somehow I ended up binging 12 episodes in one night. There's nothing spectacular about the storyline, but I'm strangely addicted to it --- or maybe it's the food that I'm addicted to? Haha!

 

I haven't seen Ethan in such a long time and I absolutely adore Song Zu'er. It's a bit strange to see her without Wang Anyu (I loved them together in To Fly with You), but I actually enjoy watching her together with Ethan. The age difference between them reminds me of Dating in the Kitchen. Zhao Lusi and Lin Yu Shen had an 18 years difference and I thought their chemistry was good. Ethan and Song Zu'er has an age difference of 16 years. 

 

One thing I'm not thrilled about is that Ethan's character, Jiang Qianfan, can be a bit temperamental. He is sweet one minute and suddenly turn sour the next. I like that Lin Kesong is not afraid to speak her mind and has challenged him quite a bit. It's always nice to see a strong female lead character. I do not like her cousin and I hope she does not forgive her but Lin Kesong is kindhearted so she probably will. 

 

The second male lead is ok. I'm not that into him. It's taking him too long to recognize his feelings for Lin Kesong and by the time he does, he won't have a chance anymore. I feel bad for his girlfriend though. He's treating her so poorly and the only reason why he pays attention to her is because his brother is demanding that he does (brother needs her for business ventures).

 

With the second female lead, she's a bit erratic. Jiang Qianfan made it very clear to her multiple times that he's not in love with her and never will be, but she continues to pursue him. Their relationship didn't work out for a reason, please move on lady! Elise is problematic and Jiang Qianfan is a fool for believing her. I still can't believe he let Nina go because he chose to believe Elise instead. 

 

 

@NiteWalker @Mouse Watch this series when you both have time? Do it for the food. LOL!

 

 

[40somethingahjumma]

I started watching this because of Ethan Ruan and surprise, surprise... I like it despite the heavy, absurd melodramatic elements. And the female lead is growing on me and her snark is great. Defying all expectations their chemistry is actually adorable. The banter is to die for.  (Well, Ethan can turn on the smoulder when he needs to even if he looks like he is sleep deprived with bed hair to boot) Of course there's the relentless food porn to salivate over. The attention to detail there is quite literally a feast for the eyes.

 

Did I say that grumpy Ethan's pretty darn hot?

 

All in all the combination makes for quite an addictive cocktail. 

[Tofu]

@40somethingahjumma I'm so glad you're watching! Everyone I've tried suggesting this drama to have declined to watch it. It's not the greatest, but it's not bad and I quite enjoy the chemistry. Ethan is a treat to look at and I like that Lin Kesong brings out the playful side to him. 

 

Moving on to the side characters, I would like the doctor to serve jailtime with Elise. He broke doctor/patient confidentiality when he disclose Jiang Qianfan's health records with her. He also never reported her after finding out that she poisoned him intentionally. This is not a doctor I would want to treat me. 

 

[40somethingahjumma]

5 hours ago, Tofu said:

@40somethingahjumma I'm so glad you're watching! Everyone I've tried suggesting this drama to have declined to watch it. It's not the greatest, but it's not bad and I quite enjoy the chemistry. Ethan is a treat to look at and I like that Lin Kesong brings out the playful side to him. 

 

Moving on to the side characters, I would like the doctor to serve jailtime with Elise. He broke doctor/patient confidentiality when he disclose Jiang Qianfan's health records with her. He also never reported her after finding out that she poisoned him intentionally. This is not a doctor I would want to treat me. 

 

 

Yeah... I'm watching. I've just finished another C drama, The Lion's Secret and decided to come back to this. Maybe it's just the relentless food porn. Maybe it's Ethan and maybe it's just the leads' chemistry. Song Zu'er is a bit of a revelation for me.

 

It's like a Charles Dickens novel isn't it? There are so many villains that are crying out to be hated here. Elise being the chief of sinners here. She is just the stereotypical second female lead straight from the pit of hades. Not to mention absurdly idiotic for clinging on to a man whose only interest in her is for her industry experience. The whole issue with the essential oils is not only reprehensible but the height of stupidity. It seems to me though that everything she does in that regard just backfires badly on her. Xie Junbin is in love with her so he'll just do whatever he can to protect her.

 

The problem with Oliver aka Jiang Qianfan is that he trusts her too much. He's managed to isolate everyone in his life to his detriment and so he latches on to Elise as something of a lifeline as an escape from his lonely existence. But he's now having the time of his life with Lin Kesong so Elise is relegated to colleague zone.

 

I honestly don't understand what Chu Ting sees in Song Yiran. He's such a kid compared to her. Why would she want to marry him as he is? He has his charms but marriage? His brother is also rather too much.

 

There's plenty of nuttiness in the story. It's a makjang masquerading as Masterchef. All the worst of human beings on display but as long as the leads are growing as individuals and growing closer, I can live with the garbage. And frankly, they make such yummy looking food together.

[Tofu]

@40somethingahjumma Did you like The Lion's Secret? I heard it wasn't too bad but the ending was rushed. 

 

On 1/25/2022 at 5:30 PM, 40somethingahjumma said:

The problem with Oliver aka Jiang Qianfan is that he trusts her too much. He's managed to isolate everyone in his life to his detriment and so he latches on to Elise as something of a lifeline as an escape from his lonely existence.

I don't understand why he trust her so much. There's been multiple times other characters have pointed out her lies/flaws, yet he still continues to believe everything she says. I understand they have been together for a long time and it probably doesn't do someone any good to not trust their business partner, but how does one not have doubt after all of that? 

 

On 1/25/2022 at 5:30 PM, 40somethingahjumma said:

I honestly don't understand what Chu Ting sees in Song Yiran. He's such a kid compared to her. Why would she want to marry him as he is? He has his charms but marriage? His brother is also rather too much.

Ugh, I know. There's nothing good about him and when they are together, he's constantly thinking about someone else. She's rich (and seems nice), she can probably find someone who will treat her better. I've skipped most of Song Yiran's scene because he's always throwing a tantrum in one way or another. Haha!

 

On 1/25/2022 at 5:30 PM, 40somethingahjumma said:

All the worst of human beings on display but as long as the leads are growing as individuals and growing closer, I can live with the garbage. And frankly, they make such yummy looking food together.

Hahahaha, agreed! I'm on episode 27 and Lin Kesong is still believing all the crap that comes out of Lin Xiaoyu's mouth -- stop giving this girl chances as if she's going to change. 

 

 

[Tofu]

Xiaoyu's dad is such a kind man. How did he get a daughter like her? 

 

 

[Tofu]

Episode 35 was such an emotional one.

 

I read that in the novel, he regains his sense of taste but stay blind. Not sure what's going to happen in the drama though. 

 

I have a feeling nothing is going to happen to all the horrible side characters. I'll just continue to pretend that they do not exist. 

 

I got so used to four episodes each these last four days. Tomorrow and Saturday will only have one episode each! 

 

 

[NiteWalker]

sounds very enjoyable? lols @Tofu

 

sorry that i had been too busy recently 

[40somethingahjumma]

@Tofu Lion's Secret was a fun show for the most part but weakest parts of the show were the overseas stints where the men run off to some fake Asian or European country and fight baddies. I think the last few episodes were really like watching a bad 1980s action flick. The English dialogue was laughably bad. The last episode was rushed and ended on an odd note to my mind. It was worth watching mainly for Zhu Yawen who was consistently great (and humorous) even if the material wasn't.

 

With regards to Cupid's Kitchen and Oliver, more specifically. I think it doesn't occur to him that Elise would do anything really bad to him because he can't imagine she would do anything in this order of stupidity or anything that would jeopardize the Yu Xuan brand which she has part ownership of. She doesn't only have an emotional investment in him but a financial one. Why would she deliberately sabotage the face and the engine of the business? He doesn't realise the level of her obsession with him. What Elise did is not just evil but it was utterly foolish beyond words. She put her scheme into someone else's hands. However it wouldn't surprise me if her mother was involved in the poisoning as well. It's the same thing with Junbin. Oliver just can't imagine his friends stabbing him in the back like this. It feels like the showing is moving them in the direction of some kind of redemption even though Junbin should be at the very least banned from any future practice of medicine. Elise should really end up behind bars.

 

I notice too that they're giving Yi Ran his growth arc. Frankly they should have started that much earlier. I think they should have started a lot of things earlier. But in all honesty I'm only interested in the leads' romance. None of the other pairings interest me that much. I'm not sure what Blu is doing hanging around Xiaoyu. He's a good kid but he has such terrible taste in women. :P Victor's relationship with the bicycle shop owner is so meh as well.

 

The uncle is a principled man and it's heartening that he prioritizes character over material success. Despite the conversation among the Lin family elders in Xiaoyu's hospital room, I don't feel one whit of sorry for Xiaoyu. She is only seeing the results of her choices. She's done so many terrible things that a sob story about abandonment won't do. Blaming Boris won't do either. He's a first-class ass but she already had resentment brewing in her heart.

 

Certainly even after 36 episodes now, it's clear that the leads are the best thing about the show. And the food porn... 

[ktcjdrama]

Yes, I have wandered into Cdramaland... I checked out Lion’s Secret and I checked out Cupid’s Kitchen too... Sadly, I decided to drop Lion’s Secret after 8/9 episodes despite the two hot ML. I really like the story idea but cannot stand some of the executions/logic. Also I read some comments on how they felt about the ending. If I pick it up again, it will solely be to watch the ML’s mischief grin. 
 

Cupid’s Kitchen - love the story idea too, and especially love the food and the places that I have put Hang Zhou into my list of places to visit in China as well as taking note of the delicacies. However, the dubbing is soo bad that I really cannot get into the watching, especially on Elise. I want to hate her as we all should, but I just cannot take the character seriously. That’s why I decided to drop it as well. 
 

So... Hi~~ and Bye~~ 😆

[Tofu]

On 1/28/2022 at 5:16 AM, 40somethingahjumma said:

Certainly even after 36 episodes now, it's clear that the leads are the best thing about the show. And the food porn... 

Completely agreed. I loved watching their journey together and found myself skipping everyone's scenes to get to theirs. 

 

This moment was one of my favorite from the latest episodes. 

 

On 1/28/2022 at 9:49 AM, ktcjdrama said:

However, the dubbing is soo bad that I really cannot get into the watching, especially on Elise. I want to hate her as we all should, but I just cannot take the character seriously. That’s why I decided to drop it as well. 

Hahaha! I skip a good majority of the side characters because the main couple are the best thing about this drama. 

 

[ktcjdrama]

10 hours ago, Tofu said:

On 1/28/2022 at 10:49 PM, ktcjdrama said:

 

Hahaha! I skip a good majority of the side characters because the main couple are the best thing about this drama.

I should probably learn to watch dramas this way... I have only mastered the art of dropping dramas since a couple years ago. Already practicing the skipping scenes with one kdrama now. I shall come back to this when I can do it well! 

[Tofu]

@ktcjdrama The FF button is a must in Chinese dramaland. Haha! Sometimes they randomly put in fillers for no reason. 

 

It's finished! The last bit of trouble with Oliver testing out that medication was a bit unnecessary, but I understand why he did it too. My best friend is on dialysis and she expressed that when you're told your body is not working the way it's supposed to, you find yourself looking for alternatives to "cure" yourself. I think that was Oliver's reasoning behind taking the medication, he had some unfinished things he wanted to do.

 

I think the consequences for Elise and the doctor (plus all the evil characters) were too mild. But honestly, as we got closer to the end of the drama, my focus was all on Oliver and Kesong. I just didn't care what happened to everyone else as long as Oliver and Kesong got their happy ending. 

 

Loved all the dessert at the end -- thought it was cute they did a dessert for each couple. 

 

[40somethingahjumma]

I knew the last episode would be rushed and higgledy piggledy but it even exceeded my expectations of what nonsensical can look like. What was the point of that musical number at the end?

What a waste of a food porn and sizzling chemistry.