May 2009. A press conference was held by GTV. The drama is called Love Buffet or Ai Si Bai Hui starring Joanne Zeng (aka Qiao Qiao), Calvin Chen, and Aaron Yan. I was so excited and they said that they will adapt the manga Parfait Tic by Nanamu Nanaji. It looks like the manga has interesting story between cousins who fell in love with the same girl. So I searched online manga sites to check of they have manga scans of Parfait Tic available. And indeed it has. While I was waiting for this drama to air, I had read first the manga in English.
Though it’s not yet complete, I continued reading this manga because I love the story and the characters. Shinpo Daiya is my most favorite character because while I was reading it, I imagined Calvin acting as Daiya.
Love Buffet had faced a lot of struggles. First one is the 88 Typhoon Murakot last August which many of the filming sets were destroyed by the typhoon; so the production and filming postponed. Two months after, there was news that Calvin and Qiao Qiao had rumored that they were in love because their pictures together has seen in internet sites. Three days before my birthday, Calvin posted a blog in Fahrenciti site regarding that issue. He explained that they were not dating; it’s just a gentleman’s gesture to escort Qiao Qiao in buying something in a store because it was raining. At least he first cleared that issue before Qiao Qiao also cleared the issue in her own Wretch blog. Then the drama also had replaced actors but at least they remained Aaron Yan and Calvin Chen to play the Shinpo cousins. Reen Yu replaced Qiao Qiao to play Fuuko Kameyama, Chen De Xiu of Dong Cheng Wei replaced Derrick He to play Isobe Satoshi, and Cynthia Wang replaced Tracy Zhou to play Akio-senpai. I was so happy that the drama pushed through. Unfortunately I had pity on Aaron and Calvin because they gonna reshot the drama that they had filmed before.
After a year and a half of waiting, finally the drama started airing last 19 December 2010. Two days prior that airing date, they released a pictorial book. I badly wanted that photobook. It’s ok for me if I decided not to buy Fahrenheit: The Beginning photobook; I’m happy and contented if I bought the Love Buffet pictorial book.
Also I was part of the Love Buffet Tagalog subbing team of Viki. The first half of the drama I subbed was a coincidence (as I say) because the assigned parts were my most awaited scenes. Example is Calvin’s bath scene: I was screaming when I watched this part online live stream. (You know why this is one of my favorite scenes.) The second half of the drama is the requested one. I asked the Tagalog moderator if she will assign me in the specific part that I want to sub. Example is Calvin and Reen’s first kissing scene on the street.
A week after Valentines Day, I called my best friend to meet me up at a fast food chain near my school to get the Love Buffet photobook. I paid PhP 450. Thanks to a friend of mine who informed me that she had Love Buffet photobooks. Finally, I already had this photobook. I’m happy. I carry this photobook wherever I go; so anytime I open this photobook, I always see Da Ye’s sunshine smile.
Now that this drama has come to its end, I felt sad but honestly this is my most favorite Taiwanese idol drama. If Xiao Feng has Da Ye in her life, I have Calvin Chen of my life. Even though the person I’m talking about is not the real Calvin but indeed he looks like Calvin, at least I understand that “feelings have to be accepted or rejected, you can’t always get what you want” and “love is like a buffet because of its 5 flavors: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and spicy.”
I would like to thank the following who made Love Buffet possible:
- Nanamu Nanaji – for her manga Parfait Tic that she drew and published. This manga has a nice story.
- The diving force of this drama: director, producer, and screenwriters plus staff – for their hard work in adapting the manga to idol drama
- The cast (most especially Xiu, Cynthia, Reen, Aaron, and Calvin) – for their effort in filming this drama and making it real.
I am not only a fan of Fahrenheit, but because of Love Buffet, I am also a fan of Reen Yu, Nanamu Nanaji, and this drama, of course. I will watch this drama all over again.
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