Genre: Modern, light-hearted romance, friendship
# of Episodes: 30
Producer: Amy Wong
Casts:
- Kevin Cheng as Chan Ka Lok (Gai Jai)
- Charmaine Sheh as Chow Man Hei (Mandy)
- Raymond Lam as Yau Hok Lai (Daniel / Ngor Siu)
- Tavia Yeung as Chow Chi Yan (Yan / Lemon)
- Ben Yeo as Wong Fuk Sang (Terry)
- Natalie Tong as Chan Ka Bo
- Michelle Chia as Yuko Leong
What's It About?
Five people, after a food contest, become friends. Together they try to open a restaurant while maintaining their friendship. Lots of quarrelings, love triangles, misunderstandings and of course heart-warming moments. Attractive casts but failed script. Enough said!!
- Spoilers Alert -
This series is rather choppy. The script is so poorly written because everything seems so incoherent and the events are forgettable. There are also a lot of unnecessary moments, draggy moments of uninteresting events that make you wonder when it's gonna end. This series is technically a collection of many subplots, and a lot of them end within 2-3 episodes. 30 episodes are also too long for this because that means they are just stretching the story out without making it any better. IMO, 20 episodes would be the perfect length for this.
Some of the subplots are so pointless and redundant, like the case of Gai Jai's mom. Why make him an adopted child in the first place? That has nothing to do with the story. And in the end, his mom just left like that, without coming back? What's the point of that then? Raymond's part of the story is a bit better because it's more developed. It's actually stretched from beginning to end, slowly showed how a spoiled, useless brat became a more responsible man. However, his relationship with Yuko is ridiculous. At first, it was just her admiring him. Then, he rejected her. Then, she got mad and pretended to go out with a bunch of guys just to get him jealous. And finally, they got together....... one word: LAME!!!
The half-sisters story of Charmaine and Tavia is not original, but I like it. I like how they were best friends even before they knew they were related. Mandy is a strong character so she stood up for Yan many times. But then, when Mandy found out that they're sisters, she turned cold and kept ignoring Yan, reason being Mandy really hated her dad. I felt really sorry for Yan, getting blamed by Mandy even though it's not her fault. It's good to see that she can finally let go of her past and be nice to Yan again at the end.
But then they just have to kill the story one more time by adding the love triangle story of Mandy-Yan-Gai Jai. So draggy!! Gai Jai, can you make up your mind already? Go for the one you like, no need to hesitate. I was technically yelling at him the whole time!! It's all his fault, he made both of them unhappy!! And this whole time, I again felt sorry for Yan. It's so sad watching her crying alone while the ignorant Gai Jai knew nothing about Yan liking him. And then it's Mandy's turn to cry and I felt sorry for her as well. I myself was rooting for Mandy and Gai Jai all this time so I'm happy that they got together at the end. However, the ending was rushed.
Terry's part of the story is repetitive and rather boring. Throughout the whole series, he had to deal with his strict mom, who wanted him to attend university but he didn't want to. And then when he was at HK, we see him running around looking for his girlfriend. It dragged for so long that I felt asleep each time he's on screen. Though I must say that he and Natalie Tong together were cute.
Now thinking back, I would say the only good part of the whole series is probably the beginning, when they were competing in the Yummy Yummy Food Contest. I like how everyone came to know each other, realizing each others strength, covering each others weaknesses. They didn't get along well at first, but slowly accepting each other, and together they worked their way to the finals.
Characters/Performances
Gai Jai - Kevin Cheng
Kevin didn't do too well here. Even though his character is supposed to be all nice and likeable, I find him rather annoying, especially towards the end. Other than that, I don't think his character requires much acting, and still he didn't do too well~~
Mandy - Charmaine Sheh
Same old, same old~~ Strong, determined character with a 'sad' past and is emotionally weak. I don't find Charmaine's character that outstanding, and most of the time, she just sinks into the background. Charmaine portrayed this kind of character millions of times already so she shouldn't have troubles doing it again. I don't have much to say, except that she has good crying skill!
Daniel / Ngor Siu - Raymond Lam
Raymond is in his rich boy character again. Acting wise, I find Raymond acted better than Kevin here, probably because his character has more development. The part where Ngor Siu had a crush on Mandy was hilarious. He cornered her and even had a perverted look on his face. So funny!! I like how his character slowly changed for the better.
Yan - Tavia Yeung
This is the Tavia I like to see, not the Tavia now!! I miss her already, so sad!! I like Tavia's character Yan. I really pity her, throughout the whole series. She had to deal with her dad's sickness, her sister, her family business and her love for Gai Jai. However, it's really nice seeing her turning from someone who's so shy and lacks self-confidence to someone who's very supportive of her family, sister and friends. You can say that she has matured by the end of the series. Her acting could still be improved but I think she had good chemistry with Kevin and Charmaine.
Terry - Ben Yeo
Do Singaporeans actually speak like him? I'm sorry but I really hate the way he spoke. It's like a big bowl of salad where he just technically throws everything in, English, Cantonese, Mandarin and sometimes even Malay. Other than that, I think Ben Yeo is cute himself, though he can't really act. I don't like his Terry character, so annoying with his constant "Yes, yes"
My rating: 6.3/10
Worth watching? Only if you like the cast, or have time to waste. Certainly not a must-watch. Both the opening and sub themes are nice to listen though.
