The Baking Challenge (2023)

Cooking competition that heals past scars!

I came in with little to no expectation to this drama and didn't know what to expect! It was a pretty solid drama .

The male lead is a superb chef but he is really cocky. He lost a cooking competition and became depressed. He has a nephew that makes shao bing ( a chinese fried bread). The nephew is the owner of the shao bing store. Female lead is a french pastry chef, she came back to Su zhou due to someone stealing her idea of a pastry. The female and male lead's pass cross as the Shao bing store gets rented to the female lead. The third male lead in the drama comes from a wealthy family and is trying to wind back his ex gf. Together, the male lead and female lead , nephew and the rich guys creates a team to compete in making dian xin ( small bites )

The drama is interesting because it touches on the four characters lives and their past, through creating and making food it helps heal their past scars and resolve past miscommunication.

I really liked the chemistry between all the , the friendship.

I liked that all the leads found their respected other half. Although it was not heavily focused on romance , it was just a little to get you through. lol wish there was more. The male and female lead was very late in the drama before they had their first kiss.

I must say Wang Yan Ling ( male actor) did a superb job in leading this role! He is funny and smart but also very emotional and sometimes rough but he brings it! The female lead is more tomboyish....

Read More

Almost indigestion for me :(

Comedy with nice and endearing characters, but everything is centered on cooking competitions.

PLOT: The ML, a renowned chef thanks to reality TV, is chased out by his boss. He finds himself on the street, with his nephew (pastry chef). They end up being taken in by FL, a pastry chef returning from France, who opens her own shop. With the Master whom the ML "saves" and 1 young man from a good family with a broken heart, they fcreated a team to beat the ML's boss (the villain) in a series of TV competitions.

+++ I like the ML and the support actors are good. But I don't like the poker face of the FL, nor her character.
+++ enjoyable OSTs

### The story is full of clichés: the great villain, the bad foreigners, the FL more or less goth who rides a motorcycle and knows how to fight, a father who is a gambler and in debt, etc.
### Too many culinary competitions (as if the world revolved around these competitions :) In addition, the conditions are not credible: dessert with seafood and salmon, ...

=> I watched until the end out of pure curiosity and thanks to the FF button＼(〇_ｏ)／

*************************************************************
Comédie avec des personnages sympa et attachants, mais tout est centré sur des compétitions de cuisine.

PLOT: Le ML, cuisinier renommé grâce à des shows TV, est chassé par son boss. Il se retrouve à la rue, avec son neveu (pâtissier). Ils finissent par être recueillis par la FL, pâtissière revenant de France, qui ouvre sa boutique. Avec le Master que le ML "sauve" et 1 jeune homme de bonne famille amoureux dépité, ils forment une team pour battre le ML's boss (the villain) dans une série de compétitions TV.

+++ J'aime bien le ML et les acteurs support sont bons. Mais je n'aime ni la poker-face de la FL, ni son personnage.
+++ OST agréables

### La story est bourrée de clichés : le great villain, les méchants étrangers, la FL +/- gothique qui fait de la moto et sait se battre, le père joueur et endetté, etc.
### Trop trop de compétitions culinaires (comme si le monde tournait autour de ces concours :) De plus, les conditions ne sont pas crédibles.

=> J'ai regardé jusqu'au bout par pure curiosité et grâce au bouton FF ＼(〇_ｏ)／

Read More