We had some great highs and lows this week when it comes to the plot. Since this post is only focused on the positive, we might be working overtime to find only the positive for our readers. Come find out if we succeed as we chat Dating in the Kitchen.
Shangnan is a pretty crier
Mean Mom confronts Shengnan to kick her while she is down. Not only is Shengnan exhausted from trying to earn money for her grandfather’s hospital bills, but she is now forced to have the “you are not good enough for my son” talk. To add insult to injury, it isn’t even that Shangnan is poor; it is that she will distract Fussy Lu from focusing his all on his mom’s company. Wow. This mom really has some issues. Now, before you start shouting that this is not positive, what I’m really focusing on is that Shengnan’s makeup, hair, and tears made her absolutely gorgeous in this scene.
Kmuse: Ugh, if I were in that situation and started crying, I would be a disastrous mess of blotchy skin and messed up makeup. I am a bit envious.
Karie the Maknae: Agreed. She cries so prettily! And that HAIR. That hair will come up later.
Drama Geek: A pretty crier and she managed to keep quiet and not freak out on the mom. Kudos to our girl.
MiataMama: Her composure every time she is confronted by Mean Mom is so classy. This girl is beautiful inside and out!!
Just say no to a bad relationship
Meanwhile, Fussy Lu is stuck in Vancouver, dealing with a ton of business problems. Some of them are made up to keep him away from Shengnan and closer to Secretary Min. Secretary Min uses this time to try and make her move, confessing her feelings for her boss and trying to trick him into coming to her room late at night. Like the class act he is, Fussy Lu politely rejects her and says that they need to stay friends and colleagues.
Kmuse: I respect that Fussy Lu is always very blunt and upfront about his feelings but does it in a way that isn’t cruel or embarrassing. He shares his feelings and allows Secretary Min, and sometimes his mother, to keep their pride intact.
Karie the Maknae: I love love LOVE Fussy Lu’s integrity. It makes him worth rooting for, in my opinion.
Drama Geek: Dang, that pilot inspired suit looks really good on Fussy Lu.
MiataMama: Fussy Lu did well. And I think Secretary Min deserves some kudos. Yes, she came off a bit desperate there at the end. But rather than being petty, she apologized and took her defeat graciously.
Mom, what did you do?
After receiving a hot and cold reception from Shengnan upon returning, Fussy Lu realizes that his mother has been meddling. He guesses almost word for word what she told his girlfriend. Fussy Lu then politely tell his mom to butt out of his business since he had no interest in being an emotionless machine for the rest of his life. Once again, it is impressive how he understands and circumvents the people in his life when they go against his wishes.
Kmuse: Would someone please go slap his mother? That would be a positive from my point of view.
Karie the Maknae: I think it’s a positive that we didn’t have to see a long, drawn-out conversation with over-the-top crying as Shengnan explained why she was being so cold. Fussy Lu guessing what was up immediately was refreshing.
Drama Geek: I second the slapping! No, I really don’t. I think the way he handled it was good, though maybe he could draw an even deeper line in the sand, I’m not sure she got it this time.
MiataMama: Fussy Lu is a smart cookie and Mom best be realizing that he’s not going to be her puppet forever. I’m really happy he figured things out so quickly and set Mom straight right away!
Winning over the grandfather
Shengnan’s grandfather has been worrying about his granddaughter and her love life. He originally decides that she would be better off with the second lead. But that doesn’t work out, so Grandfather must now figure out if Fussy Lu will do for his beloved granddaughter. He makes Fussy Lu randomly move around the furniture in his hospital room and then makes him stand holding a heavy wok for a long period of time. Finally, grandfather relents and gives Fussy Lu his blessings.
Kmuse: It is only fair that Fussy Lu has to jump through some hoops to date Shengnan. Especially when she has to deal with his witch of a mother.
Karie the Maknae: The hoops Fussy Lu had to jump through were so absurd that I was laughing. He handled them with commendable calm and stayed respectful to Grandfather — always a plus!
Drama Geek: I may have not watched this part… I’ve been drifting a lot during these episodes.
MiataMama: I think I was looking for a deeper meaning in these tests Grandfather was putting Fussy Lu through. Like, “If you have the strength to hold this wok, you have the strength to take care of my granddaughter” or something like that. Maybe that was just me, lol!
Supportive couples work together
Fussy Lu is determined to fix his relationship with Shengnan and offers to give her money for the hospital bills. Shengnan refuses the money and the offer to hire people to run Grandpa’s stall while he is in the hospital. Finally, Fussy Lu offers himself as an extra pair of hands. She accepts but Fussy Lu ends up being pretty hopeless at cooking.
Fussy Lu begs her to let him help her relax and to go on a date in a few days. Shengnan informs him that if he can get the restaurant pod full and order from her grandfather’s stall, she will go on a date. Fussy Lu promptly calls his secretary, who makes all the security for the company come and eat. This leads to a hilarious moment of awkwardness as they stiffly eat and are obviously paid employees doing overtime for their boss.
Kmuse: This was my second favorite scene of the week. Seeing all the uptight security men in their suits and obviously in work mode had me laughing.
Karie the Maknae: THEY ATE IN UNISON! And they kept looking to Fussy Lu for permission, which immediately gave the game away and was freakin’ hilarious.
Drama Geek: If only I could get this type of loyalty out of the people I work with. LOL.
MiataMama: This was hilarious! To me, they looked like they were there to do the bidding of their mob boss, and I was laughing so much!
Grand gesture
Fussy Lu wins his date with Shengnan and takes her to a building that is set to be demolished for an upcoming shopping center. In the middle, he has a wall that has some cute food-related doodling on it, along with a bunch of paint buckets filled to the brim with paint. Fussy Lu says that this is all for her to create a lasting work of art. Everything else will be demolished and recreated except for this. They have a cute time throwing the paint on the wall and each other. The night ends with sexy kisses and a much more relaxed Shengnan.
Kmuse: This was my favorite scene of the week. Visually it was all stunning, and the closeup moments of their faces, artfully painted while they kissed, just really stuck in my mind.
Karie the Maknae: Throwing paint at a wall? Totally my idea of a fun date.
Drama Geek: I waited the entire show for this scene to show up after seeing it in the intro. In context it wasn’t as exciting as I though it would be, but it did manage to bring back some of the excitement from the earlier drama episodes.
MiataMama: I don’t like spoilers, so I have learned to NEVER watch the intros to Cdramas, until the very last episode. So I was delighted with this scene and excited to see some of our OTP’s chemistry from earlier in the show back on my screen!
Engaged?
While shopping for a fancy dress for an upcoming party, Shengnan randomly tries on a wedding gown (Uhm, who accidentally tries on a wedding dress when their boyfriend is present?). This sets Fussy Lu into a tizzy in which he runs away but continues to fantasize about marrying Shengnan. At the super important part, Fussy Lu gets dramatic and tells the audience in front of him how he has fallen in love and brings Shengnan in to introduce her as his fiancee. Shengnan is shocked but quickly beams at her new fiancee and happily hangs on his arm.
Kmuse: I’m not sure if this is really the most romantic of proposals. They seem to have got things a bit backward. But, I will say, Shengnan’s gown was gorgeous.
Karie the Maknae: Shengnan’s gown is TOTALLY gorgeous, and her uncle was finally sweet as he dropped her off in front of the doors.
Drama Geek: Only positive?? She looks gorgeous.
MiataMama: I agree about the dress – absolutely stunning!!! Yes, the proposal-that-wasn’t totally came out of left-field, but, hey– if Shengnan is happy, then I’m happy.
Sexy arms
Fussy Lu is annoyed that Shengnan is besties with his estranged half brother. When she gets to a point where he can’t ignore her anymore, Fussy Lu whips off his shirt and straddles her on the bed, forcing Shengnan to say she won’t connect with his brother on social media.
Kmuse: Have to admit that the whole time this scene occurred, I was staring at his gorgeous arm definition. Fussy Lu looks good in a suit but looks even better out of it.
Karie the Maknae: White tank tops rarely look good on anyone, but Fussy Lu is the exception. And Shengnan was very quick to wiggle her way out of the situation — also good.
Drama Geek: Sorry, but I have to jump off the positive train for a moment. This isn’t sexy to me and I really hate this type of male lead. Don’t use having sex with you as a punishment for not listening or doing what you want. Okay, back on the train. Um, I guess that’s all I have to say. 🙂
MiataMama: Um, I think my fellow fan girls covered everything!
Final Thoughts:
Kmuse: These two really need to learn to talk to each other more. Fussy Lu is so brilliant in dealing with his mother and her secretary sidekick. But when it comes to Shengnan, he sometimes drops the ball.
Karie the Maknae: We’re keeping things positive, right? His integrity and her gorgeous hair were absolutely stunning this week.
Drama Geek: She looks beautiful in her dress and he looked dashing in the pilot suit. That’s all I got.
MiataMama: I’m ever the optimist – hopeful for a happy ending and some much-missed food shots next week!
Until the next mouthwatering dish,
The Fangirls
Dramas With a Side of Kimchi