The ‘Love Hard’ cast is obsessed with this one Vancouver ramen place

'Tis the season for holiday rom-coms, especially ones with dating app mishap premises that radiate the cuffing season feels. Netflix gets it and offers us the Nina Dobrev-led, Love Hard. 

Joining Canada's very own Dobrev are Never Have I Ever’s Darren Barnet and Silicon Valley’s Jimmy O. Yang. 

Ahead of the release, the cast chatted with Etalk’s Chloe Wilde to reveal what they loved most about filming in Vancouver (hint: it’s a stellar ramen restaurant), give their best tips on how to avoid being catfished and share their favourite Christmas traditions. 

 “Last year was a tough year for everyone, and when I read the script, I laughed out loud," Nina shared. The actress says it was that spontaneous laughter that made her want to help tell a story like this one, especially as the world is still struggling wit the effects of the pandemic.

Love Hard follows Natalie (Dobrev), a writer from L.A. who's been on a million bad dates and has a dedicated column that details her mishaps. While on a dating app (again!), she quickly falls for a guy from the East Coast and spontaneously flies crosscountry to surprise-meet him. The romance! But she's the one who's surprised when she finds out she's been catfished by a guy named Josh (Yang). The person Josh was impersonating (Barnet) is actually someone he knows and Josh promises to set Natalie up with him, but only if she pretends to be his girlfriend for a few days during the Christmas season. Classic rom-com set-up.

And though the whimsical story takes place in the U.S., it was actually filmed in Canada. Vancouver, to be exact. 

“[The movie] felt like the right thing to do at that time and getting to come home during the pandemic and shoot it on Canadian soil was really amazing,” Nina said. Her co-stars agree. 

“I was a huge fan of Vancouver!” Jimmy shared. “All the outdoorsy stuff and all the fresh ingredients – and the Chinese food – honestly I can move to Vancouver.”

“I would move for Danbo Ramen," Darren chimed in, sharing his love for his favourite ramen restaurant. (FYI, Ramen Danbo has restaurants in Vancouver and Japan. The Fukuoka-style Tonkotsu ramen restaurant recently branched out with new locations in Seattle and New York.)

The cast also revealed their best tactics and worst dealbreakers when it comes to a dating app relationship. Sorry, Android users, looks like finding love might be a little harder for you. 

Darren's solid advice: “FaceTime. You just gotta have the FaceTime after a couple of conversations to make sure they’re real”

“If they have an Android—,” Nina started, prompting Jimmy to quip, “If the text bubble pops up green, catfish or not, you just don’t want that person.” 

And what kind of holiday traditions would the cast be bringing their non-Android-using S.O.s to join this season?

"Hot chocolate by the fireplace, games with the family, listening to Christmas music, and smelling pine candles, and actual pine from the tree, and playing in the snow," Nina shared. 

Jimmy’s Christmases are a blend of North American and Chinese traditions. “I grew up in Hong Kong, so Thanksgiving turns into a potluck, so does Christmas. Everybody brings a Chinese dish, and my cousin, who grew up here – they would still bake the ham and the turkey and everything, so it’s like East-meets-West in an incredible homemade potluck buffet!” 

“My family’s always been so spread out so it’s been hard to formulate traditions,” Darren candidly shared. “I am very much looking forward to this Christmas because my sister just had a baby and that is bringing all of the family together really for one of the first times, like all together, so hopefully a tradition will form there. I’m very excited!”

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