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96°C Café (96°C 咖啡) is MediaCorp's first transmedia project related to coffee and romance. It was broadcast from April 29, 2013 to May 24, 2013 on free-to-air channel MediaCorp Channel 8 and consists of 20 episodes. It stars Tay Ping Hui , Desmond Tan , Julie Tan , Romeo Tan , Chris Tong, and Ian Fang as the casts of the series. Prior to the drama serial, prequels of 2 webisodes each week were released on xinfirst's portal progressively, for a period of 4 weeks, Mondays from February 18, 2013 to March 11, 2013.
It was one of the lowest-rated drama series aired at 9 pm, together with Sudden.
Plot[]
Web Series[]
Nestled in a small lane in Singapore is a little-known café called 9°C Café. Former IT engineer, Liqiao, 28, a photography buff runs the café with his wife, Xijie, 27, a dessert chef.
Liqiao loves coffee, and is always the one brewing coffee behind the bar counter, leaving Xijie to hang out with the customers. Xijie, whose homemade tiramisu is a hit with customers, has a habit of reading by a small table next to the bar counter during quiet times. Although business is rarely thriving, there's always a string of regular customers patronising the café and sharing their stories with Liqiao over a cup of coffee.
A day before Christmas, the couple was starting their day at 96°C Café when Xijie realised that she left her tiramisu at home. She then decided to head home to collect it while Liqiao stayed behind to manage 96°C Café. Time passed and just as Liqiao was wondering when Xijie would be back, he received a call from the hospital informing him that his wife was involved in an accident. A panicked Liqiao rushed to the hospital to find an unconscious Xijie. Doctors treating her said she was in a critical condition and advised Liqiao to prepare for the worst. Helpless, the agnostic Liqiao prayed for a miracle.
The next day, Liqiao, who spent the night at the hospital, was awakened by the sounds of footsteps. He went into Xijie's room to find the doctors and nurses surrounding his wife. The doctor congratulated Liqiao of Xijie's miraculous recovery and said she could be discharged immediately.
Incredulous but nonetheless happy, Liqiao brings Xijie home only to find her becoming withdrawn and exceedingly aloof towards him. She spends all her time making tiramisu, and refuses to step out of their home, let alone manage 96°C Café. Liqiao attributes her change to post-accident trauma, and did not mind as long as she's by his side.
Liqiao continues to run 96°C Café but Xijie no longer joins him and he always leaves the little table, Xijie's favourite, empty, in case she decides to come back to the café. Without helpers, Liqiao decides to put out a notice to hire staff.
Yuchen, 21, a Fine Arts student, comes to interview for a job at 96°C Café with the company of her friend, Shuting, 21. Shuting has a basic knowledge of coffee and Liqiao thinks she's cut out for the job. However, it's Yuchen who wants the job and Liqiao, impressed with her enthusiasm, decides to hire her.
Yuchen starts work at 96°C Café. Shuting would tag along whenever she's free, but never did she expect to develop a crush on someone at the café. Meanwhile, Yuchen keeps herself busy by trying to set up opportunities for Shuting and her "crush" whilst she tries to prove her worth to Liqiao. Unfortunately, Shuting's fear of men prevents her from initiating the first move on her "crush" despite Yuchen's constant help to pair them up.
Yuchen learns that Shuting's arrhenphobia (fear of men) is due to her father's over-protectiveness. Liqiao comes to know of Shuting's problem through Yuchen, and makes her a cup of coffee using the Neapolitan Flip Pot. Through the coffee, he teaches Shuting about seeing things from a different perspective. Inspired, Shuting decides to put aside her prejudice and try to understand the opposite sex.
At the same time, Liqiao impresses Yuchen with his passion in running 96°C Café and the latter starts to see Liqiao, who had belittled her initially, in a different light.
Liqiao's friendship with a regular customer, Pei Fen, 26, causes Yuchen to be jealous. Peifen, a DJ with a local radio station hosting a night time chat programme, has been a long-time regular customer of the café, and she was quick to realise the change in taste in the tiramisu ever since Xijie's accident.
Pei Fen's listeners would often ask her various questions about love even though she knows nothing about love. Never been through failure throughout her life, Peifen was not ready for love for fear of disappointments. All that, however, changes when deliveryman, Weida, 24, Yuchen's suitor, caught her attention. Curious about Weida's relentless pursuit of Yuchen despite her countless rejections, Pei Fen is determined to find out why.
One day, Peifen finds the phone that Weida leaves behind at 96°C Café, and in return for her help, Weida agrees to be interviewed by Pei Fen for a day. During the interview, Pei Fen finds it difficult to understand Weida's courage in love. Then Liqiao steps in to explain the metaphor of waiting and giving in love – "One would never know the real outcome if one never gave or acted on something, and even if one failed at the end of the day, the process of giving was already a gain."
Yuchen finds herself admiring Liqiao for his wisdom but did not realise that Liqiao is struggling to resolve his own problem with Xijie, who's been locking herself out of his life.
Together with Liqiao's dedication and Yuchen's assistance, business at the café soon picked up, but Liqiao accidentally injures his arm and affected his ability to prepare hand-brewed coffee. Not wanting to disappoint the customers, the thoughtful Yuchen decides to learn the art of manual coffee brewing from Liqiao.
Learning the task was a tall order but Yuchen never gave up, staying back after work hours to master her skills, and she wonders if her perseverance was a result of her love for coffee or something else...
What will happen to 96°C Café, and what will become of Liqiao, Yuchen & Xi Jie?
Drama Series[]
Xu Liqiao was a cheerful young man full of ideals, aspirations and dreams. Together with his beloved wife Luo Xijie, they conceptualised 96°C Café. They nurture the café and their relationship with tender loving care. Sadly, Liqiao is hurt in love and can no longer pursue his dream nor brew the signature coffee of 96°C Café. Devastated by career and love, he turns morose and demoralised. This causes distress to Xu Ruolin, his elder sister, and his paternal grandmother who raised him single-handedly.
Tang Yuchen who has been secretly in love with Liqiao, chooses to remain by his side despite what happened. Unable to bear the sight of his idol wallowing in misery, she decides to lift him out of his grief, and help him regain his confidence and laughter.
Chuanzhi is a regular customer of 96°C Café. In Yuchen's eyes, he is nothing but an unproductive online addict of the strawberry generation. Chuanzhi has no money to pay for his coffees, so he had to accept Yuchen's arrangement to work in 96°C Café in order to clear his debts.
Chuanzhi comes from a well-to-do family. His mother is confined to bed due to an accident however, his father, Liu Haoren could not overcome loneliness and starts to develop an affair with his colleague, Ann. Chuanzhi unable to accept the situation, conflicts with his father and runs away from home.
In the process of working with Yuchen, Chuangzhi discovers that he has fallen for her. Well aware that Liqiao has started to accept Yuchen's love, he decides to hide his love for Yuchen and quietly watches over her.
Luo Xijie's younger sister Luo Wenjie returns from abroad, the impetuous Wenjie is adamant that Yuchen is the third party who separated her sister and brother-in-law. Therefore, she goes all out to destroy their relationship. As a result of Wenjie's actions, Yuchen is exhausted by her relationship with Liqiao thus decides to leave.
Xu Ruolin is Liqiao's elder sister. She is a modern highly educated single with high income who has no expectations in life, lives conservatively, does not exercise flexibility and behaves nonchalantly. Not only has Ruolin's career remained static for over a decade, even her relationship with her boyfriend Bill, a lawyer, is monotonously maintained for over 10 years. It is only on the eve of their decision to get married that Bill leaves her in the lurch. Bill's action lands his best friend Lao Jingfeng into trouble because the latter was the messenger who delivered the letter to end the relationship. Poor Jingfeng is harassed by Ruolin who resents him.
Lao Jingfeng, a general practitioner, is Tang San's adopted son and Yuchen's god-brother. He is good-looking, dresses well, has a sharp tongue, speaks fast and mercilessly like a machine gun. He and Ruolin seem to be born enemies for they are always at loggerheads with each other. Several of his relationships have been ruined by Ruolin unintentionally. Their relationship becomes increasingly intense and because of this, sparks fly between them and steadily, love blossoms. But then, a third party, Tang Weida appears at this juncture.
Weida is Yuchen's elder brother. Weida and Yuchen are as different as chalk and cheese. He lives up to his name of weida or "noble", being simple-minded, foolish and honest and is frequently taken advantage of by his friends and other people
Weida's father Tang San hopes that he will settle down quickly but Weida develops a relationship with Ruolin unexpectedly. For Ruolin, Weida does not regard Tangsan's objection and prepares to engage in a duel of death over love against Lao Jingfeng as well.
Apart from dreams, laughter and joy, everyone's life and family are bound to encounter helplessness, setbacks, troubles, disappointment and the unexpected. These experiences are scored into little episodes in one's life that are unfolded in 96°C Café. Finally, a cup of 96°C coffee stimulates a deep awakening and closes the chapter.
Cast[]
- Tay Ping Hui as Lao Jing Feng (age 37)
- The godbrother of Wei Da and Yu Chen, Pei Fen's ex-boyfriend (Episode 1-20; not in web drama)
- Desmond Tan as Xu Liqiao (age 28)
- The boss of 96°C Café, Xi Jie's husband, and Ruo Lin's younger brother, who is in love with Yu Chen after Xi Jie's death (Episode 1-20; Webisodes 1-8)
- Julie Tan as Tang Yu Chen (age 21)
- Staff member at 96°C Café and Wei Da's younger sister (Episode 1-20; Webisodes 1-8)
- Romeo Tan as Tang Wei Da (age 29)
- Yu Chen's elder brother, who is in love with Ruo Lin (Episode 2-20)
- Chris Tong as Xu Ruo Lin (age 35)
- Li Qiao's older sister an Bill's ex-girlfriend (Episode 1-20)
- Ian Fang as Liu Chuan Zhi (age 25)
- Staff member at 96°C Café and Liu Hao Ren's son, who is in love with Yu Chen (Episode 1-20)
- Jayley Woo as Luo Wen Jie (age 20)
- Xi Jie's younger sister (Episode 11-20)
- Jin Yinji as Grandma Xu (age 70)
- Ruo Lin and Li Qiao's grandma (Episode 1-19)
- Zhu Houren as Ren Tang San (age 57)
- Wei Da and Yu Chen's father (Episode 1-20)
- Wang Yuqing as Liu Hao Ren (age 53)
- Chuan Zhi's father (Episode 2-20)
- Tracy Lee as Tara (age 27)
- Lao Jinfeng's patient and formerly a singer (Episode 2-20)
- Cynthia Koh as Ann (age 32)
- Liu Hao Ren's mistress (Episode 1-19)
- Christina Lim as Herself (age 26)
- A YES 93.3 FM DJ, regular customer of 96°C Café, and Jing Feng's ex-girlfriend (Episode 6-10; Webisodes 1, 4-6)
- Adam Chen as Bill (age 36)
- Ruo Lin's ex-boyfriend (Episode 1-4, 17+18)
- Zhang Zhenhuan as Wei Da (age 24)
- A deliveryman (Episode 4+5, 7+8)
- Paige Chua as Luo Xi Jie (age 27)
- Li Qiao's wife who died in a car accident and Wen Jie's older sister (Episode 1 & 16, Webisodes 1, 3-4, 6, 8)
- Chantalle Ng as Lin Shu Ting (age 21)
- Yu Chen's friend, who suffers from arrhenphobia (fear of men) (Webisodes 1-3, 6-8)
- James Seah as Zi Wei (age 23)
- A regular patron of 96°C Café and Shu Ting's senior (Webisodes 2, 3, 8)
Soundtrack[]
Episodes[]
Web Drama[]
| Episode | Title | Release date (online) |
Aired (Mediacorp Channel 8) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 01 | "1st Cup" | February 18, 2013 | April 7, 2013 |
| Liqiao and Xijie run a café named 96°C. One day, Xijie forgets to bring the tiramisu to the cafe and insists on going home to pick it up on her own. Time passes by quickly and Xijie still has not returned to the cafe. Just as Liqiao is worried sick for the safety of his wife, he receives a call from the hospital that Xijie has met with an accident. | |||
| Episode 02 | "2nd Cup" | February 18, 2013 | April 7, 2013 |
| Liqiao decides to hire a full-timer for 96°C Café. Yuchen gets hired despite her apparent lack of knowledge and abilities. Her friend Shuting suffers from a somewhat unusual condition - she is afraid of close physical contact with men. Yuchen insists on helping her overcome her problem and it goes hilariously wrong. | |||
| Episode 03 | "3rd Cup" | February 25, 2013 | April 14, 2013 |
| Liqiao is made known of Shuting's condition and he invites her over to 96°C Café to have a taste of a "life-changing" coffee. Shuting heeds Liqiao's advice and learns how to come to terms with her condition slowly but surely. | |||
| Episode 04 | "4th Cup" | February 25, 2013 | April 14, 2013 |
| Peifen, a radio DJ, pops by the cafe for her regular fix of coffee and comments that the tiramisu made by Xijie tasted somewhat different. | |||
| Episode 05 | "5th Cup" | March 4, 2013 | April 21, 2013 |
| Peifen requests to follow Weida while he is on his job assignment and discovers that this is a forthright and fearless young man who listens to his own heart. When Peifen returns to the cafe, she asks Liqiao how is that possible that some people can just give and love unconditionally. | |||
| Episode 06 | "6th Cup" | March 4, 2013 | April 21, 2013 |
| Liqiao's right hand is injured and he is unable to whip up a hand brew. Yuchen volunteers to take over from Liqiao and he is touched by Yuchen's self-sacrificial spirit and enthusiasm. Liqiao returns home and talks to Xijie briefly about Yuchen and Xijie comments that he seems very happy whenever he mentions Yuchen. | |||
| Episode 07 | "7th Cup" | March 11, 2013 | April 28, 2013 |
| After many attempts, Yuchen has finally picked up the skills of making hand brew coffee. There is also a special feeling of affection which grows between Yuchen and Liqiao. Weida sends a parcel together with a letter over to Liqiao from his father-in-law. Piqued by her acute sense of curiosity, Yuchen is about to unveil a well-hidden secret. | |||
| Episode 08 | "8th Cup" | March 11, 2013 | April 28, 2013 |
| On Christmas Eve, Yuchen asks Liqiao if the space reserved for Xijie could be opened up to other guests at the crowded café. Yuchen is told off by Liqiao and after all the guests have left, Yuchen passes him a gift and two letters - one from her and the other, his father-in-law. | |||
Drama Series[]
| Episode | Aired | |
|---|---|---|
| Episode 01 | April 29, 2013 | |
| The sunny Yu Chen continues working at 96°C Café, and starts to develop feelings for her boss Li Qiao. He is however, depressed from the recent death of his wife. Yu Chen meets a rich man's son Chuan Zhi, who realises she has secret feelings for Li Qiao. Li Qiao's sister Ruolin is about to marry her longtime boyfriend Bill. Bill invites his best friend Jing Feng to be his best man, but Ruolin does not think much of him. | ||
| Episode 02 | April 30, 2013 | |
| Ruolin goes for a check-up and realises she had a hysterical pregnancy, and will not be able to have children. Fearing that Bill will call off the wedding, she brings forward the wedding under the excuse of wanting to fit into a pretty wedding dress. Bill agrees. She intends to come clean after the wedding, and prepares for the ceremony tentatively. | ||
| Episode 03 | May 1, 2013 | |
| Li Qiao gets injured because of Yu Chen, and gets amnesia. He has no recollection of Xi Jie, and thinks that Yu Chen is his girlfriend. Granny Xu begs Yu Chen to keep up with the story, in order to help Li Qiao move on. Jing Feng finds out the truth about Ruolin, and wants her to confess to Bill. | ||
| Episode 04 | May 2, 2013 | |
| Bill is furious with Ruolin's deception and fails to show up on the wedding day, leaving Ruolin humiliated and alone. She pretends nothing is wrong and goes to work the next day, only to be mocked by Ann and other colleagues. Jing Feng arrives at that time, and pretends to be her suitor. | ||
| Episode 05 | May 3, 2013 | |
| Yu Chen gets more adept at being Li Qiao's girlfriend and Granny Xu hopes they will continue. It turns out that Li Qiao's amnesia was feigned. Chuan Zhi stumbles upon Li Qiao when he was reminiscing about Xi Jie in the café, and is furious. He wants Li Qiao to confess in order not to hurt Yu Chen deeper. | ||
| Episode 06 | May 6, 2013 | |
| Li Qiao suddenly breaks up with Yu Chen, saying he has no feelings for her, and still does not come clean about his feigned amnesia. Yu Chen is devastated. Chuan Zhi tries to make her smile. Yu Chen's father Tang San catches them and distrusts Chuan Zhi. | ||
| Episode 07 | May 6, 2013 | |
| Wei Da decides to pursue Ruo Lin. He goes to the design agency, only to be mocked by Ann. In order to help Ruolin, he uploads a video of himself breakdancing, proving that he is the boss of a coffeeshop. He takes the opportunity to declare his love. | ||
| Episode 08 | May 8, 2013 | |
| May intends to scam Weida, but is exposed by Ruo Lin. She declares herself Weida's girlfriend, making him elated. Ruo Lin hurriedly clarifies that she only said that to help him. She tells him that their age difference would make a relationship impossible. Weida persuades her to give him a chance, and succeeds. | ||
| Episode 09 | May 9, 2013 | |
| Yu Chen begins work at the design agency, only to realise Ann is her direct supervisor. Ann gives her a hard time. Yu Chen bumps into Hao Ren, the boss of the agency. Hao Ren and Yu Chen have a meal together, and he tries to ask about Chuan Zhi. When Chuan Zhi finds out, he texts Hao Ren to get him not to reveal their father-son relationship. | ||
| Episode 10 | May 10, 2013 | |
| Wei Da throws Ruo Lin a birthday party, but ruins it. Ruo Lin begins to feel their incompatibility, and sees more and more of Jing Feng's strengths. Jing Feng wants Ruo Lin to think it through clearly, to avoid hurting Wei Da. Wei Da feels useless, and Li Qiao uses a salted coffee story to encourage him. | ||
| Episode 11 | May 13, 2013 | |
| Jingfeng feels down, and Ruo Lin accompanies him to the lookout and comforts him. He falls asleep on her lap, causing her to be late for work the next day. Ann deliberately questions her, in name of Haoren. In a fit of anger, Ruo Lin mocks her taboo relationship with Haoren. He overhears, and fires her. | ||
| Episode 12 | May 14, 2013 | |
| Jing Feng does not forgive Tang San, Ruo Lin advises him not to jump to conclusions before getting the facts right. He meets with Tang San's ex-henchmen and asks them about his biological father Ah Xiong. It turns out that they respected Ah Xiong, while Tang San was the disloyal one. Jing Feng's mistrust deepens. | ||
| Episode 13 | May 14, 2013 | |
| Yu Chen realizes she was indirectly involved in Xi Jie's death, and is unable to face Li Qiao. Chuan Zhi is also shocked at the coincidence, but still encourages Yu Chen to be brave and honest in order to get Li Qiao's forgiveness. Yu Chen is unable to come clean. | ||
| Episode 14 | May 16, 2013 | |
| Tang San Is hospitalized for kidney stones, and needs to go for surgery immediately. Yu Chen feels guilty for neglecting her father. Tang San wants Jing Feng to perform the surgery personally but he is reluctant. He turns to Ruo Lin for advice. | ||
| Episode 15 | May 17, 2013 | |
| Weida asks Jing Feng to apologize to Ruo Lin on his behalf. Jing Feng looks for Ruo Lin, but is mistaken for Bill by Granny Xu. She gets them to all go on the Flyer, not knowing both Ruo Lin and Jing Feng have vertigo. The two hold hands tightly throughout the ride. Ruo Lin realizes she has developed feelings for Jing Feng. | ||
| Episode 16 | May 20, 2013 | |
| Ruo Lin bumps into Jing Feng, but the two deliberately avoid each other. She decides to hide in the Flyer, but bumps into Jing Feng there again. Due to their fear of heights, they hold on to each other tightly. About to propose to Ruo Lin, a shocked Weida witnesses this. | ||
| Episode 17 | May 21, 2013 | |
| Li Qiao is devastated after realising Xi Jie's betrayal. Unable to face Yu Chen, he leaves without a word before mailing a letter to her. The café is single-handedly helmed by Wen Jie and Ruo Lin is worried that she might not be able to cope. Yu Chen returns to volunteer her time. | ||
| Episode 18 | May 22, 2013 | |
| The owner of 96°C Café comes by, and wants to discontinue Li Qiao's lease, as someone has made an offer for the land the café sits on. Yu Chen, Ruo Lin and the rest discuss their strategy in Li Qiao's absence. To save the café, Yu Chen suggests buying the piece of land, as long as they can raise the money for the first payment. Ruo Lin agrees that this could work | ||
| Episode 19 | May 23, 2013 | |
| Chuan Zhi injures his right hand, but still insists on joining the barista competition on Li Qiao's behalf. Li Qiao appears suddenly to compete, and successfully brews his signature coffee. 96°C Café emerges as champion, and successfully gets its name out. | ||
| Episode 20 | May 24, 2013 | |
| Jing Feng & Ruo Lin decide to marry. The devastated Wei Da puts on a brave front to wish them well, making Ruo Lin feel guilty. On the day of the engagement, Ruo Lin disappears. Chuan Zhi designs a mansion specially for Yu Chen and hopes she will be the mistress of the house. On the other hand, Li Qiao too refurbishes 96°C Café for her. The two guys express their love, but who will she choose? | ||
| "Post-Drama Song" | May 26, 2013 | |
| (This special conclusion is made after the vote at Chinatown Point. The conclusion was made into a song. In the special song, Yu Chen chooses Chuan Zhi in the end. This features the full edition of the theme song.) | ||
Overseas broadcast[]
This would be the third Singaporean drama after the Unriddle series to be telecast on ntv7's primetime slot.
| Country of Broadcast | Broadcasting Network | Aired | Timeslot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | ntv7 | August 26, 2013 - September 26, 2013 | Monday & Thursday at 9:30 pm |
| Indonesia | MediaCorp 8i | August 21, 2013 - September 17, 2013 | Monday & Friday at 7:00 pm |
| Thailand | Thairath TV | April 28, 2014 - 2014 | Monday & Wednesday at 9:00 am |
Awards and nominations[]
Star Awards 2014[]
96°C Café garnered 4 nominations for 3 awards in the Star Awards 2014, for Best Theme Song, Best Drama Serial and London Choco Roll Happiness Award. The other dramas nominated for Best Drama Series and Best Theme Songs are The Dream Makers, C.L.I.F. 2, Beyond (2012), and The Journey: A Voyage.
| Star Awards – Acting Awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominees | Accolades | Category | Result |
| 《啡情歌》 sung by Wei En | Star Awards 20 Show 1 | Best Theme Song | Nominated |
| N/A | Star Awards 20 Show 2 | Best Drama Serial | Nominated |
| N/A | Top Rated Drama Serial 2013 | Nominated | |
| Julie Tan | London Choco Roll Happiness Award | Nominated | |
| Romeo Tan | Nominated | ||
(The Star Awards are presented by Mediacorp.)
Trivia[]
Gallery[]
