I watched Delicious Romance (爱很美味) on a whim while waiting for the completion of several other more recent Chinese dramas including Master Of My Own. Being 20 episodes in all, this production seems like a practical choice for passing time before I move on to the more popular and longer dramas. Surprisingly, it was a good choice especially when I started this with zero expectations. While it is not exactly a polished gem, it is still a very good depiction of the realities of life for women approaching 30. Check out my Delicious Romance review below for more.
My rating: 7.5/10
Episodes: 20
Type: Romance
Aired: November 2021
Images Credit: Tencent Video YouTube
The Cast Of Delicious Romance
- Li Chun as Liu Jing
- Baby Zhang Han Yun as Fang Xin
- Naomi Wang Ju as Xia Meng
- Zhou Cheng Ao as Jiang Shan Mu
- Wang Sheng Di as Jiang Wen Wen
- Ren Bin as Zhang Ting
- Zhang Fan as Lu Bin
- Liu Dong Qin as Song Chao
- Shi An as Ma Zhen Yu
- Yang Bo Xiao as Wang Ji Chong
- Wang Shuo as Liu Jing’s father
- Wu Mian as Liu Jing’s mother
Main Characters
Liu Jing
Liu Jing is an IT worker in a local bank. She is also a foodie and loves to cook which she will stream online during her free time. She can be eccentric with a tendency to give up midway on any endeavors once they no longer strike her fancy. Liu Jing is not someone who stands out since her schooldays but will be quietly happy if she earns some attention.
Fang Xin
Fang Xin is a housewife and has been married for 5 years to Ma Zhen Yu. She was in the PR line before she quit her job following her marriage. She is now a live streamer selling beauty products for side income. Fang Xin is a very pretty woman who is used to getting lots of attention and admirers since her younger days. Since she has been doted on all along, she has developed a habit of reliance on others especially her husband. Fang Xin is also prone to allergy and has to avoid certain food.
Xia Meng
Xia Meng is a Vice President of a media company. She is involved in content development for dramas and entertainment. She is an over-achiever with an aggressive and ambitious personality. While being outstanding is a strength, it is also an issue when it comes to love and romance. Xia Meng has a boyfriend, Ji Chong, whom she has dated for 8 years.
Supporting Characters
Jiang Shan Mu
Shan Mu is an Assistant Director of drama projects. He is responsible for recruiting the right people and getting them ready to act out their roles for the scenes. Shan Mu is a single dad with a 10-year-old daughter. He married young but has since divorced. He lives above Liu Jing.
Jiang Wen Wen
Wen Wen is Shan Mu’s young daughter with a maturity that belies her age. She is an astute little girl who thinks the adults are making their relationship more complex than it should. She is direct and straightforward. Wen Wen likes Liu Jing and the food she cooks.
Zhang Ting
Zhang Ting is a baker with his own bakery in Fang Xin’s neighborhood. He is an amiable guy and a little passive when it comes to romance.
Lu Bin
Lu Bin is a fitness trainer working in a gym. He is a simple-minded and nice guy who hates being deceived due to a bad childhood experience.
Song Chao
Song Chao is an idler who comes from a rich family. He is Liu Jing’s childhood friend as they used to live in the same place.
Ma Zhen Yu
Ma Zhen Yu is Fang Xin’s husband. He appears as a loving and attentive spouse who does everything for his wife.
Wang Ji Chong
Ji Chong is Xia Meng’s boyfriend. They have been together since their college days and he admired her brilliance and outstanding achievements. Ji Chong is also Xia Meng’s subordinate at work and has a more laidback attitude in his job.
Liu Jing’s Parents
Liu Jing’s parents are traditional folks who want her to get a boyfriend and be married as soon as possible. Her mother likes to boasts about her “suitors” to friends and relatives who enquire about her relationship status.
Synopsis
Liu Jing, Fang Xin, and Xia Meng are good friends since their high school days. The 3 women are almost 30 years of age with each having their own unique personality and circumstances to navigate in life.
Liu Jing seems to have a stable job as an IT worker in a bank although cooking is her real passion. She has just broken up with her boyfriend after finding that her feelings for him have faded. Just like with most things in life, she doesn’t have the devotion to see things through to the end but would rather quit when her feelings start to abate. Liu Jing is plodding through life when she is fired from her job due to the pandemic and the need to cut cost.
Fang Xin thought she has a loving husband until she finds out that he has been cheating on her. Her life changes overnight as she decides to divorce him and has to re-enter the workforce after being a housewife for 5 years. After getting used to being taken care of for so long, she has to stand on her own two feet as she encounters various challenges at work.
Xia Meng is the most successful among the 3 of them when it comes to career advancement. She is in a senior management role which is expected given her determination and overachiever personality. Xia Meng and her boyfriend, Ji Chong, started out at the same company as interns but she has now left him behind in terms of position and earning power. They are in the midst of planning for their wedding but the difference in status becomes a source of constant conflict.
What lies ahead for these 3 friends and how will they overcome life obstacles?
Delicious Romance Ending (Spoilers Alert!)
Delicious Romance doesn’t have that typical fairytale ending of a happily ever after. I view it as a neutral conclusion to a chapter of the women’s lives. The story is just a small but significant piece of their lives whereby they encountered some challenges and unexpected events. Decisions also need to be made when they reach a crossroad. Once that is done and we reach the end of the drama, the lives of these women will still go on.
Therefore, the last scene sees the 3 women with choices in front of them as they chat with each other. Liu Jing has agreed to Shan Mu’s proposal but she is having doubts about the marriage. Fang Xin is pregnant with Zhang Ting’s child but has received an offer to join a reputable fashion house to head their PR work. However, she will need to relocate to Shanghai for the job and has yet to tell Zhang Ting about it. Xia Meng has decided to move in with Lu Bin. She is not sure if the relationship will work out but she is prepared to give it a try. Basically, they will have to choose and see where life leads them. The drama simply stops there as they contemplate their future.
Liu Jing And Shan Mu
Liu Jing and Shan Mu become a couple in Episode 10. There have been strong undercurrents between them for quite some time but Shan Mu held back because he was afraid that Wen Wen would be hurt if things don’t work out between them. After all, Wen Wen likes Liu Jing and is developing a close bond with her. But after giving it some thought, Shan Mu feels that they should give it a try to be together.
Song Chao also loves Liu Jing and is hurt when he finds out about her relationship with Shan Mu in Episode 12. But they remain good friends with each other. Song Chao is also always around to help out Liu Jing. He still seems to hope that she will see him in a different light when he decides to quit being a loafer. Song Chao wants to go to Beijing to work in his father’s company in Episode 19 with the hope that he will be able to match up to Liu Jing in time to come.
Liu Jing has already opened her restaurant and trying to make a career out of her passion by then. She also managed to convince her parents with her cooking to be supportive of her decision despite their strong initial objection to her career change.
Fang Xin And Zhang Ting
Fang Xin uses alcohol to pluck up the courage to kiss Zhang Ting in Episode 15. She hopes that it will make him realize her feelings towards him and encourage him to be more proactive. But Zhang Ting remains passive after the incident which frustrates Fang Xin. After Huang Yu’s encouragement, she confronts Zhang Ting about his feelings for her in Episode 18. He explains that he thought she was drunk that night. Hence, he didn’t want to pressure her about the kiss but acted indifferent to give her a way out of the awkwardness.
With the explanation, they are clear about their feelings for each other. Zhang Ting kisses Fang Xin to confirm his feelings for her and they become a couple then.
Xia Meng And Lu Bin
Lu Bin confesses his feelings to Xia Meng in Episode 8. He becomes Ji Chong’s personal trainer at the gym in Episode 9 but the 2 men didn’t know the other is also connected to Xia Meng then.
Lu Bin and Xia Meng slept together in Episode 11. He also asks her to move in with him as he thought she is poor and has been kicked out by her landlord. Xia Meng continues to put up the pretense of being poor as she didn’t know how to tell him the truth and fears the outcome. Lu Bin also learns that Ji Chong is her ex in Episode 11 when the latter shows him a video of Xia Meng. But he still doesn’t know Xia Meng’s real job and financial status as Ji Chong didn’t mention anything then.
Lu Bin only finds out the truth in Episode 15 when he tells Ji Chong that it is awkward for him to continue being his trainer. Xia Meng is already prepared to move in with Lu Bin and tell him the truth but she is one step too late. Lu Bin is angry with the deceit and ignores Xia Meng for some time. Fang Xin tries to explain to Lu Bin why Xia Meng deceived him. He begins to see things from her perspective and his anger gradually cools.
By quietly observing Xia Meng while she is at work, it dawns on Lu Bin that both the poor and rich Xia Meng is the same person with the same qualities that he admired. As for Xia Meng, she also wants someone who doesn’t mind if she is weak and has flaws as she too can be tired of constantly needing to be outstanding to get noticed. Hence, the couple reconciles in Episode 20.
Ji Chong And Xia Meng’s Breakup
Ji Chong asks for a breakup from Xia Meng in Episode 3. Being her subordinate at work, it results in a lot of conflict between them. This is made worse by his lower pay which results in his insecurity and dissatisfaction when they start looking for a house and planning for their wedding.
But Ji Chong regrets breaking up with her and plans to woo her again. He tells her so in Episode 14 and that he has been offered a better position in another company. But Xia Meng rejects him and tells him that she is already seeing someone else already. Ji Chong tries his luck again in Episode 15 with an apology presentation. But Xia Meng makes it clear that it is over between them once and for all in Episode 18. They remain friends but are also business rivals after Ji Chong takes up employment in a new company.
Delicious Romance Review – Short And Realistic
Delicious Romance is the perfect choice for a binge-worthy drama. Why? Because it is short, uncomplicated, and not a stressful story. Many of the episodes are only about 30 minutes long. I easily finished this title in 2 days. Furthermore, it is a very relatable story with realistic characters and life problems. The 3 women could easily be any one of us or people we know. They are not perfect individuals but come with flaws with their unique personality.
Therefore, this is a slice of life drama that gives a peek at the experiences and life challenges of the protagonists. It reminds me of Be Yourself whereby the screen time is divided among the few protagonists with each having their own story to tell. The only difference is Be Yourself is about a group of college students while Delicious Romance takes a look at working women who are fast approaching the 30-year-old mark.
Thus, you can expect divorce, breakup, new romance, career change, work issues, and even harassment as some of the topics being explored. With only 20 episodes and 3 women, there won’t be any in depth romance despite the name of the title. This is not in the mould of a typical romance drama like The Oath Of Love or a rom-com such as Legally Romance but more of life events that come their way with new relationships being a part of it.
A Female-Dominated Drama
Delicious Romance is not a drama that you can catch idols and handsome faces. In fact, the men are reduced to minor roles. This is very much a female-centric drama and the lack of popular names in the cast probably causes this title to fly under the radar. I think the friendship among the women actually makes this enjoyable rather than the romance. The 3 women are very frank and honest towards each other. They speak their minds when giving opinions and advices which may result in quarrels but they also have their own way of settling disputes rather than letting them fester.
I enjoyed their banter and dialogues which are very typical of friends who have been together through thick and thin through the years. They may have vastly different personalities but they understand and are supportive of each other which is heartwarming to watch. Being female-centric, you can also expect the topics to be closely tied to women issues of the day which include parental pressure to get married, prejudice against women at work, sexual harassment, and women earning more than their partner.
Acting
The 3 actresses played their roles convincingly. I like Naomi Wang’s performance the most as Xia Meng. I think she really hits the nail on the head with her portrayal of her character. She displays a headstrong demeanor with a confident body language to depict a highly capable senior executive. Her strength is her outstanding achievements and not her looks and her appearance simply fits that character perfectly.
This is the second time I have watched Baby Zhang after The Lady In Butcher’s House. She plays the pretty Fang Xin in Delicious Romance and I have to say she is quite enjoyable to watch. She appears as weak and lacking confidence in the initial stages but grows to be a career woman who knows how to bite back when bullied. This subtle change in her character is noticeable with Baby Zhang’s acting.
Li Chun plays Liu Jing which is perhaps the most difficult character to portray out of the 3. This is because Liu Jing is a very ordinary woman on the surface with a 9 to 5 job. She is not very expressive and doesn’t know what she wants to do in life. I think it is hard to make this character come to life but Li Chun still managed to give Liu Jing an eccentric personality. She has this indifference in her looks for things she doesn’t care about but she can also display quiet strength once she sets her mind to do something.
My Verdict – A Pleasurable Watch
Overall, Delicious Romance is a pleasure to watch. It is not a masterpiece that you cannot miss but it is still a very realistic drama that will easily resonate with female viewers. This is because all that the protagonists face are common issues that we all can relate to.
However, if you are looking for a serious or pure romance drama, then this will not fit what you are looking for. In fact, I find the romance to be underdeveloped in this production due to the limited screen time accorded to each pair. This is not a love story that will detail a pair’s journey every step of the way like Be My Princess and Dine With Love. Instead, all the 3 romances are featured in a rather simplistic way. There is no in depth exploration of their feelings and how they come to decide to be with the person.
I guess it is understandable as this title only has 20 episodes to cram in quite a lot of happenings for not 1, but 3 women. So, this is a fast-paced drama with not a lot of room for details and fillers. While it doesn’t have a tightly focused plot with 3 women’s story to tell, the brevity and ending will actually leave you craving for more. You will have the feeling of wanting the story to continue so that you can keep on following the leads’ life journey as the curtain comes down. Not many dramas can do that but somehow, this simple story seems like an ideal candidate for a Season 2.
For this Delicious Romance review, I would give it a score of 7.5/10. Watch it if you like a sisterly bond among friends with a female-centric theme. It is a breezy drama to spend your time on and the characters will grow on you as you watch.
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