Since I watched this drama a couple of years after its original release, I never really saw it heavily promoted on all those "Best Drama: list recommendations. I accidentally ran across it on YouTube, watched the first episode and was hooked. It was strangely addicting because I usually don't like this time period in dramas. It had everything I loved in a drama and more. On their own, Xu Kai (who I adore) and Wu Jin Yan are such great actors and never disappoints. Great cast, great acting, leading couple could have had more chemistry, but I over looked it because overall. was such a good drama. It had palace intrigue, array of royal dishes and various cooking methods, "Kitchen Politics", good guys won over the good guys! Reading some reviews, I guess this drama is not everyone's cup of tea, but for me, it was a definite 10 and I re-watched it already. I personally highly recommend it.