[Eng] Chef Hua Ep 11

Apologies for the delay!

Synopsis: A novel adapted drama about food and romance follows Hua Xiao Mai as she falls in love with a mercenary for hire. Through her passion for the culinary arts, Hua Xiao Mai starts small and slowly makes her way up in the food business. After being saved by Meng Yu Huai, who heads a mercenary agency, in the hills behind the Huodao village where she has just moved in to stay with her elder sister. Hua Xiao Mai falls in love. She does her best to attract his attention but he just doesn’t get her feelings. But as Xiao Mai shows her intelligence, her culinary skills and her boldness in professing her love for him, he slowly realizes he will not be able to escape from her. But success in love is not her only ambition, her goal in life was to show the world that any edible food can be delicious if made properly. From a small food stall to a famous restaurant in the city, she slowly builds her way up, improving her skill in the process before finally realizing that the best part of life is simply a simple delicious meal with the ones you love.

Notes:

1. Money: There are 4 main types of money circulating in ancient China. Bits of silver, (their value depending on their weight which is in taels), bronze coins which have equivalent value in silver, gold and notes (usually for a large sum of money to make it more portable) that is similar to the paper money we have today that equals a certain value of gold.

2. Fried dough: this is a savory snack made of flour with baking soda and fried that is often consumed with soy milk or congee.

3. Dimsum/snacks: to the chinese dimsum can mean different things in different parts of the country. The food we associate dimsum to in the West is the traditional Cantonese dimsum dishes but in other parts of the country it can be other snacks/biscuit/cookies

4. Coldness of the body: this has to do with traditional Chinese medicine. One of the most principles in traditional Chinese medicine is that the body has to be in a state where there is a balance of coldness and hotness within the body and this is always due to the different situations we put ourselves in. If there is an imbalance we will suffer from the effects. It’s a principle that still affects the lives of many chinese for example many chinese women would drink a brown sugar or molasses tea or a ginger tea during their period because it’s during that time their bodies have too much coldness and hence we need something warm to tip the balance back.

Video