This film offers a simple tale of a young man trying to form a bond with his late mother. When the film works, it is quiet, delicate, and sincere. That being said, there are times when the dialogue can seem a bit forced and contrived. The journey of the lead character is deeply enriched with wonderful food and culture. The film is beautifully shot and has moments that are deeply profound. T

This movie, while not bad, was a real disappointment. It is quite slow and disengaged. It leaned too heavily on nostalgia and melancholy, without a trace of humor to leaven things. The lead actor was handsome but not at all charismatic. He relied very heavily at looking moody and hurt. His other emotions were never convincing, like a time when he loses his temper and has an angry fit.

At least the secondary leads -- Uncle from now, Mom from the past, the potential love interest -- were much more interesting and perked up the movie as much as they could.

This is like Crazy Rich Asians, minus the crazy rich, but a bit stretched out in time (see belelsene's review). A young chef leaves Japan for Singapore, location of his early life, searching for his maternal family, the secrets to his mother's notebook, and recipes to bring home. Along the way, he learns of the humble origins of the popular noodles, Singapore food, and the origin of his mother-in-law's distaste for his father.