g o u r m e t

I believe Gourmet was definitely highly anticipated, mostly due to the fact that Kim Rae Won stars in it. It has been a couple years since KRW has been in a drama. I feel his presence has been missed, considering his is one of the better actors out there (not the best, but I like him). I heard about this drama way back, months ago, when it was announced that KRW would be playing the lead role. So I added it to my "Want to watch" list and waited.

During all this waiting time I stumbled upon a movie called Le Grand Chef. Considering I am a sucker for all things food related (loves me some Iron Chef), and competition related too, I had to watch it. I heard mixed feelings about the movie after I watched it, but it generally hasn't swayed my opinion on the movie. I really liked it. I would have wanted to see more food action, and the editing for the little action there was was a bit wacky. Of course Kim Kang Woo made me like the movie even more so. It was a funny and very cute movie, with lots of drama and tears. The cow scene made me cry, I admit it.

I would rave on and on about the movie but I must make my point, finally. Le Grand Chef and Gourmet are based on the same Korean manhwa (comic). Which I was unaware of for a bit. And I have yet to read this said manhwa.

So I assume that the story lines will be similar, but so far Gourmet seems very different (okay not so very different, but a bit). I am looking forward to the drama...heh heh heh.

The story is about a young man as he struggles through adversity (my favorite word!) to create tasty and traditional Korean dishes.

Kim Rae Won is looking good. I never did like his hair, and it is a big relief for me to see it short. I sorta liked his hair in My Love Patzzi, it was the best out of many bad choices to pick from. I always thought that his puffy hair made his already big head look bigger. Ouch!

KRW's character Sung Chan seems very familiar...which makes me annoyed. Do we constantly see the same characters churned out by many actors. I doubt all Korean men are like those three or so types displayed in a Kdrama. Maybe KRW is not such a good actor. But it is a somewhat likable character. I have to praise Kim Kang Woo again and say I liked the way he portrayed his character, a serious man who loves his work but he is scared to take chances after his almost killed someone. Now that I describe Sung Chan I see that KRW and KKW got the characteristics down. However, KKW pulled it off better, by my premature judgement.

Apparently Sung Chan was a bit of a gangster, but Oh Bong Joo's father saw his potential and natural talent he had and took him under his wing. Oh Bong Joo, played by Kwon Oh Joong is a jealous little boy (okay a grown hairy man, but mentally a boy) who wants what he thinks rightly belongs to him, talent aside. Oh jeez, the way he was shooting off his mouth was disgusting. No he wasn't swearing and cussing people out...he was speaking English. Oh. My. Poor. Bleeding. Ears. Painful stuff, and he was trying to speak every other language under the sun (Japanese, French, etc). I can't stand the tailored looks every rich Korean man MUST wear. I want to see jeans and a tee. And his poorly styled hair makes me want to scream out in horror whenever his head pops into view. WHY!? WHY!?! WHY!?!?!? Can he not brush his own hair? And that moss growing on his chin...which is almost nonexistent, gives me the shivers. Not that the Oh Bong Joo in the movie version was much prettier, at least he wasn't making an attempt to look so.

Nam Sang Mi (as Jin Soo) is also present in Gourmet. She has been a favorite of mine since I saw her in Bad Family. I hope her character is not too annoying. Because Lee Ha Na was a bit so, but she eventually grew on me. As of episode one NSM has yet to appear...so I can't cut her down. Haha.

Min Woo (Won Ki Joon) plays Sung Chun's old classmate. The bitter Min Woo likes to think his is far superior to Sung Chun. He is the typical bad tempered a-hole who only cares for his own advancement, and will never be a great chef because his is not willing to takes risks. I am sure he is really just jealous because Sung Chun can butter up those ahjummas. But even the ahjummas don't give Min Woo the time of day. A bitter bitter man. Haha.

I almost forgot to mention our beautiful female lead No.2 Kim So Yeon (as Ju Hee). So Yeon is looking plastic fantastic in this drama. Her nose is so pointy it could pop a balloon. I didn't recognize her. I watched enough episodes and despised her guts in All About Eve. I recognized her voice immediately, but her face was a different matter. But everyone likes plastic...oops I mean natural beauties. Sung Chan had his hands all over Ju Hee's tushy. NO LIE! Not that I think she minded.

I completely forgot I was going to mention the soundtrack. It has some poppy songs, which reminded me of older '90s Kdramas. And the ending instrumental had a Nobuo Uematsu feel. I imagined a Final Fantasy battle theme. It is a battle field in their world, eh? Haha.

I think I'll like this drama, considering the food and ADVERSITY! I hope it gets better in the coming episodes.


My Rating: ★★★★☆