REVIEW: Pasta
| Title | Pasta |
| Male Lead | Lee Sun-Kyun |
| Female Lead | Gong Hyo-jin |
| Writer | Seo Sook-hyang |
| Episodes | 20 Episodes | 60 Minutes per Episode |
| Release | January 4 to March 9, 2010 |
| Genre | Romantic Comedy |
| Language | Korean |
| Country of Origin | South Korea |
Plot Summary
Pasta is a romantic comedy set in the workplace of a famous Italian Restaurant in Seoul called La Sfera. The female lead Seo Yoo-Kyung played by Gong Hyo-Jin plays a kitchen assistant who aspires to be a pasta chef. She is the daughter of a small Chinese noodle house owner who has been in business for over twenty years. She has a brother who is studying to become a doctor. Her mother died while she was still in school and this event in her life played a big role in why she wanted to be a chef.
Meanwhile, the male lead is Chef Choi Hyun Wook played by actor Lee Sun-Kyun. He is a well-respected chef. He trained in Italy and decided to accept the position of head chef at La Sfera when the position was offered to him.
Meeting at the Crossroad
The two leads meet while Soo-Kyung was desperately trying to keep the free goldfish given to her by a lady at the market alive while crossing the street on her way to work. She chanced upon Hyun-Wook as he tried to help her. He ends up accompanying her to La Sfera. They are both immediately attracted to each other but Hyun-Wook discovers that Soo-Kyung will be working as part of his team in his new role at the famous Italian restaurant.
Working at La Sfera
No Women in the Kitchen
The new head chef of La Sfera, Chef Choi Hyun-Wook believes that women do not belong in the kitchen. He has bad experiences from his past that made him believe this to be true. The existing team had four women along with four male chefs so this does not sit well with him.
The Korean Trained Chefs and the Italian Trained Chefs
When Chef Choi Hyun-Wook came in, he brought with him 3 Italian chefs whom he trained back when they were in Italy. This naturally created a rivalry within the kitchen. The Korean-trained chefs are feeling slighted because they feel that the Italian-trained chefs are better and more favored than them. Their differences in personalities and constant bickering create havoc in the kitchen especially when Soo-Kyung and Hyun-Wook start to develop their feelings that eventually lead to a relationship.
The Good-Natured President with a Secret
Meanwhile, Kim San, one of the regular customers who always ask for Soo-Kyung, turns out to be the owner of La Sfera. He is good-natured and mild-mannered. He chanced upon seeing her and developed a secret crush. He became not just a regular customer at the restaurant but also a friend who is always there to cheer her up when she is feeling down.
The Repentant Ex
Another famously acclaimed chef, Oh Se-Young secretly plots to join La Sfera so she can work side by side with Hyun-Wook. The two knew each other very well and used to be in a relationship while they were studying in Italy to become chefs. Se-Young still has feelings for Hyun-Wook and has guilt feelings over events that happened in their past. With a weird twist of luck, she ends up sharing an apartment with Soo-Kyung.
Making Dreams Come True
While Soo-Kyung devotes her time and energy trying to be the best Italian pasta chef in South Korea in honor of her mother, Hyun-Wook helps her in his own impassioned way. As they navigate their relationship within their circle, Hyun-Wook in turn learns how to change his mind about his biases and eventually lets go of a past that has hurt him for a long time.
Binge Star Rating – 8 Stars
Pasta Quick Review
Pasta is a feel-good series that is great to watch when you just want to chill and not be tense and on edge with suspense waiting for what would happen next in the drama. The plot is very simple. It tells the story of how a senior chef who has baggage from a previous relationship and a junior assistant chef trainee who is kind and mild-mannered but very stubborn and hard-headed fall in love.
The actors portrayed all their roles well. Lee Sun-Kyun as the brooding protagonist who is strict and always shouting lends a striking contrast to Gong Hyo-Jin’s timid character. I like how Soo-Kyung tries very hard to be good at her craft. She is quiet and persistent. She appears to be unassuming and easily influenced but in reality, she is not. She speaks her mind and has a firm stance on things she believes in. She is very resilient. You will not know it at first glance but she actually always gets her way because she doesn’t listen to what everybody else has to say. She just follows what wants.
The Actors
The supporting actors provide a nice balance of drama and comic relief throughout the series. The conflict they create and their imagined grievances towards the head chef is a constant source of friction. In a way, their reactions and how they handled the situations thrown at them are very realistic. Being blinded by your mistakes and not believing that they are mistakes, to begin with, provides good character development.
The story itself is not complicated. There are no real villains and no real conflicts so to speak. It just navigates through life in the kitchen where precision is the key to success.
And no matter what is going on between the characters, the diners’ pleasure and experience always need to come first. As the saying goes, the show must go on.
Re-watch Value
This drama series is definitely on my re-watch list. I have already watched it twice but just in case I am feeling like I want to watch something light but with substance and great chemistry between the leads, this is right in my top 10 re-watch list.
Where to watch
Watch the full drama with complete English subtitles on the Netflix website.
Images from promotional materials from MBC may be subject to copyright. [Last Update 04262024]
