[k-drama review] pasta

Title: 파스타 / Pasta
Genre: Romance
Episodes: 20
Broadcast: MBC
Broadcast period: 2010-Jan-04 to 2010-Mar-09
Airtime: Mondays & Tuesdays 21:55

Synopsis:
"Pasta" covers the dreams and success of a young woman who aspires to become an elite chef at La Sfera restaurant.


Seo Yoo Kyung started her career as a kitchen assistant at La Sfera restaurant. She eventually works her way up to become a chef.

Choi Hyun Wook is the top chef at La Sfera restaurant. He studied the culinary arts in Italy and started out as a chef assistant at a hotel in Sicily. Hyun Wook eventually worked his way up to become the most widely recognized Italian chef in Korea.

Main Cast:
Gong Hyo Jin (Sangdoo, Thank You) as Seo Yoo Kyung
Lee Sun Gyun (Coffee Prince) as Choi Hyun Wook
Lee Ha Nui (Ms Korea) as Oh Sae Young
Alex (from my fave group Clazziquai) as Kim San

Review:
I wasn't really keen to watch this drama, mostly because i didn't like the 2 leads - i thought Hyo Jin wasn't pretty and after watching some of her shows, i find her boring. I didn't like Sun Gyun in Coffee Prince (my eyes were focused on Eun Hye and Gong Yoo.. hehe), but after hearing a lot of nice things about this drama, I decided to give it a try.

Hmm.. the drama was mostly ok but a little average. I've seen Bambino (Jun Matsumoto) so some of the scenes reminded me of that show but sad to say, i liked Bambino more because I saw how Jun's character evolved in just 10 (or 11?) episodes. In Pasta, I didn't see much improvement from Yoo Kyung's cooking (except for her ginseng pasta) - until the end, she was just one 2nd to the youngest chef in the team and it didn't seem like she became better at it at all. The story focused instead more on her relationship with Hyun Wook, which i loved. I thought they had really good chemistry and their scenes together looked cute and natural. But i did hate Yoo Kyung annoyingly call Hyun Wook "Chep" all the time!!! I love that Hyun Wook is such a kick ass chef - it seems like he can do no wrong, but i didn't like that he screamed so much. He could have taught his team more rather than just screaming his head off everytime someone makes a mistake. I did see though that he lessened his angry outbursts and was able to gain the respect of the Korea team. and and i take it back, he can be quite handsome, esp when he smiles and i love his voice!

The second leads - Honey and Alex weren't that bad - it was Honey's second try and Alex's first try at acting. Honey was quite irritating with her endless smirks.. it's like she thinks smirking is the same as smiling. and her clothes are nice but sooo shiny and sparkly! There are 2 kinds of male second leads - the bad one who tries to break the leads apart and the good one who is happy to keep his love unrequited and continue to support the female lead. Alex's character is the latter and while I love having those types of guys in real life, girls just tend to gravitate toward bad boys (Hyun Wook isn't really bad just had a strong personality). oh and i love the cacti pictures that he sends to Yoo Kyung!

Supporting cast - Korea team vs Italy team, definitely i like Italy team better.. not only are they so cute (esp the curly hair who looks so much like Lee Junki), but Korea team just had such low confidence and crappy personalities, it was just well that Hyun Wook was also getting angry at them all the time. On the other hand, while loyalty is a good trait, sometimes Italy team takes it too far with their rebellion that they look like immature kids.

The 3 ex-lady chefs were pathetic. i can't believe that with their cooking skills, they couldn't even get jobs! i mean, come on! they were unnecessary to the story and shouldn't have been part of the entire series at all! and the ex-president-turned-waiter wanting revenge on Hyun Wook? hello, he pocketed money and blamed it on Yoo Kyung! it was totally justified that he got fired! good thing San was such a nice guy and brought him back at all! Though in the end, i like how they showed him to be nicer.

the head waiter had little role.. but he was such a cutie that i just had to include him here:

2 great things about this drama - food and music.. loved the scenes of them cooking the food.. it was just so yummy!! everytime i watch an episode, i can't help but drool and wish there's a nearby italian resto where i can order pasta! i also love the ost! my fave track is the one sung by After School called "You're Cute".


overall, while it was entertaining and the romance was good, it took me quite a while to finish this series. there were some parts they could have omitted (like the 3 chefs) and more parts they could have added (like more problems with the customers) and not just focusing on the love story. i would give this 7/10 stars!