A bit biased, but my opinion

Story: Story was great and an improvement to the Singaporean version as it gives more depth than what the original provided. Character development was actually shown rather than skipped over.

Acting/Cast: My rating is more based on the cast as I personally feel the original would have been better in some roles. Though the chosen actors have done well in the portrayal of the character. A few example of casting downgrades(?) could be Chen Sheng, as the original actor was an actual Paranakan fluent in Malay and gives an added touch of realism. Liu Yi Dao's actor also don't really give off the butcher vibe, Tao Jie's original actress was also better in my opinion. Lastly, I feel weirded out by Xiang Yun taking on the role of Old Mdm Chen, when she took the role of Tian Lan in the original. Acting was great, but affected by the language barrier and lack of dialect. Though the Singaporean version also dilutes the variety of languages, this version takes it to the next level with less Malay, less English, less Dialect and more Mandarin. When English or Malay is needed, dubbing was used and was obvious to see.

Music: For me, the OST and the BGM were uncomparable to the original. Though nice and all, I don't see it truly connecting to Nyonya culture, as the original uses more Malay influence on the song to create the OST and BGM.

Rewatch Value: I liked the drama and all, but I don't see myself rewatching it. I prefer the Singaporean version and would likely choose the Singaporean over Chinese version. However, there might still be a possibility that I rewatch just for the added story and development..

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Credible effort

There has been many attempts to recreate the original story (the Taiwanese version). Korea, Japan and Phillipines done so. None of the could compete with the legendary Taiwanese version. So, I came into this show knowing it would be below expectation. However, I thought this China version could genuinely compete with the Taiwanese version (perhaps due to this being newer, and probably a higher production cost invested). It got my hopes high as the version don't simply Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V memorable scenes. One notable absent scene was the drugging scene, which are present in all other version. This gave this version a fresh take on the plotline, while retaining some of the original scenes. It has appropriate humor and romance. However, the ending dissapointed me thoroughly, especially with how Dylan character arc went. In other versions, Dylan would always want the best for FL, even letting go of his feelings. However this Dylan is more selfish and just not something I liked. He reunites with his sister, and request FL to step down and return the ML?!?! WTF bro! Not cool! Maybe its the timing of this in the series with it being in the last 3 eps, perhaps if it was earlier in the show, it would have been better? So that we get to see more of ML and FL together after they officially reconciles. However, since it was the last 3 eps, the main couple only reconcile for 20mins before the show is complete. Seems like a last minute idea put in by the screenwriter in my opinion, to spice things up but backfired. Before that the story would have been a 9/10 or even 10/10.

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