It’s an easy watch, the story is simple enough, the acting is good and the food looks great; I didn’t like some of the soundtrack choices (it sounded too modern if that's possible) and I actively dislike the last part of the drama.
The main draw of the drama, for me, is the female lead. She’s independent and smart. Nothing seems to faze her and no matter what she always lands on her feet. She also cares for the people around her, even if she doesn’t show it openly. She is very goal oriented in the first half of the drama and I really liked that. She’s basically a watered-down version of one of mi favorite cdrama heroines, Wei Yingluo (Story of Xanxi Palace).
Unfortunately, the moment they start to develop the romance more, my interest waned a little, the male lead is very unlikable in the first few episodes but melts down fast and is all about the fl all the time which is ok, we never saw him doing much anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My hot take is (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) that I would have prefer a sad ending. The last few episodes are about how the fl is asked to sacrifice a huge part of who she is in order to be with the male lead, and her having second thoughts about it is bad actually. But this happened to other female characters throughout the story; they are the ones who have to sacrifice something in order to be with their male love interest. And what’s worse, this is treated like the only correct choice.
And make no mistake, at no point the narrative asked the same from the male lead, he doesn’t have to make any sacrifices, he gets to have the cake and eat it too. Thus, their relationship is never equal and I hate that, but more than anything I think the ending does a great disservice to the characters as they were presented throughout the drama. Maybe it’s a me problem, but it just left a bad taste in my mouth.