It’s not every day that we encounter an anime like Meng Qi Shi Shen. You probably just finished watching the show and is left wanting for more.
We’re not surprised as the show is binge worthy and checks a lot of boxes for long time fans of “Donghua”, which is the localized Chinese name for the anime produced there.
The show is surprisingly well animated and provides a good blend of comedy and romance. The female protagonist, Ye Jiayao accidentally finds herself in the body of Ye Jinxuan, a girl who resides in Ancient China.
Unfortunately for her, she gets kidnapped and brought to a bandit named Xia Chunyu, the male protagonist.
Henceforth, she begins her new life that is tangled by a love-hate relationship with Xia Chunyu.
Being an exceptionally skilled chef and having talents she picked up from the modern world; her dream is to establish the best restaurant in Huai Song and live a simple life.
She hopes to achieve this, despite the fact that she’s troubled by villains constantly.
The English name of Meng Qi Shi Shen, titled “Cindrella chef”, is a series that all Chinese anime fans will come to love and enjoy at the same time.
It was adapted from the light novel labelled “Adorable Food Goddess” written by the author Ziyi 281.
Anime like these are filled with many twists and incorporate different mixtures of genres like romance, comedy, historical and family drama.
Without further ado, let’s jump straight into the list of similar anime like Meng Qi Shi Shen.
# 1. Xie Wang Zhui Qi (The Demonic King Who Chases His Wife)
Genres: Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Martial Arts, Fantasy
Episodes: 13
Aired: Jan 24, 2019
Xie Wang Zhui Qi is a Chinese anime that focuses on a girl who was an assassin in her past life. She gets to watch her soul transmigrate into the body of a girl who everyone around her views as a useless and purposeless individual.
The setting of this anime takes place in Ancient China where our protagonist has to go through and endure constant bullying by her new family.
However, there is a certain individual who sees her plight and isn’t willing to let her go.
Throughout Xie Wang Zhui Qi, we get to watch the cat and mouse drama between the demonic king and the girl who had already experienced betrayal in her past life. Will her new story be any different?
The similarities between Xie Wang Zhui Qi and Cinderella chef don’t stop at the identical genres – they also share the sequence of character progression and problems that the main protagonists go through. Both anime have fantasy and historical elements sprinkled throughout them.
# 2. Tong Ling Fei (The Psychic Princess)
Genres: Comedy, Historical, Drama, Romance
Episodes: 16
Aired: Nov 30, 2018
Tong Ling Fei is an anime produced in China which has been adapted from a Chinese web novel that currently has almost 460 chapters, so there isn’t any shortage of source material. This means that the anime has a significant chance of getting another season.
The female protagonist in this anime is Quan Yun Xi, the eldest daughter in the Qian household, who was subjected to a tragic past. She was abandoned by her family due to her powers and was forced to live in solitary exile in a forest.
When her father was summoned by the emperor and forced to conduct an arranged marriage between his youngest daughter and a member of the Ye household, he was left with a dilemma.
This is due to the fact that both their families had bad blood between them, and the youngest daughter was terrified of being treated harshly by the Ye household.
He devised a plan to marry off Quan Yun Xi instead, who was not known to anyone else outside the family.
After the marriage, the groom who is the male lead, Ye Youming is hesitant and decides to treat Quan Yun Yi miserably.
However, he can only resist her cute personality and boldness for so long.
To people who are consistent fans of Chinese animation tropes and cliches as well as fantasy elements, they’ll love the combination of genres that are identical to Cinderella chef.
There isn’t any cooking involved and it doesn’t take the center stage. However, the next addition to the list explores a plot which revolves around food and cooking.
# 3. Food Wars! (Shokugeki no Soma)
Genres: Ecchi, School, Shounen
Episodes: 24
Aired: Apr 4, 2015
This is your straightforward, adrenaline pumping battle Shonen series that revolves around cooking and as the title suggests, food wars.
From all the hype and anticipation surrounding different scenes in the anime, you’d easily mistake it for a fight centered anime.
Romance takes a back seat in this anime and it’s all about different types of cuisine, food and characters who strive to be master chefs.
There’s a surprising amount of detailed and intricate consideration given to each dish the characters in the anime come up with.
The anime is adapted from a manga written by Yuto Tsukuda and published by Shonen Jump.
The story is about a teenager, Soma Yukihira, a casual stoic individual who strives to be a full-time chef in his father’s restaurant.
His father had other plans and set off to travel the world to pursue his ambition so he had to close down the restaurant.
Soma instead gets enrolled in the famous elite culinary school, Totsuki Saryo Culinary Institute.
Here he learns that his father was one of the best chefs in the institute during his older days.
Determined to surpass his father, he decides to become the best culinary master the institute has ever seen.
However, he has to face a plethora of obstacles in the form of renowned chefs and skilled cooks who also share a common ambition.
Fans of the anime, Adorable Food Goddess, who are interested in the cooking aspect behind the show will love to watch Shokugeki no Soma.
# 4. Kaichou wa Maid-sama! (Maid Sama!)
Genres: Comedy, Romance, School, Shoujo
Episodes: 26
Aired: Apr 2, 2010
This Japanese single-season anime has a similar romance dynamic that the anime Cinderella chef has. It’s an adaptation from a manga story written by Hiro Fujiwara.
The plot focuses on our female protagonist, Mizaki Ayuzawa, a strong and bold high school girl who is enrolled in a school that was until recently a male only school.
The school has since been transformed into a co-ed school. However, even after the change, the female population still remains a minority.
Mizaki has been hard at work making the school a better place for girls and in trying to do so, she has excelled in a wide range of extra-curricular activities to be in the good graces of teachers and students alike.
Her image as an ideal student however, is under threat as she is seen working on a part time job in a maid café.
The person who witnesses her working there is none other than the male protagonist, Takumi Usui, a popular student at the same school she studies at.
What will Takumi do – spill the beans and ruin her reputation in the school? Or keep it to himself and slowly get close to her?
The drama between the main protagonists has the same vibe as that of Meng Qi Shi Shen. Fans of the Chinese anime will love to watch Kaicho wa maid sama.
In both anime, the female character acts disinterested in the male lead but in actuality, is attracted to him.
# 5. Sheng Shi Zhuang Niang (The Beauty Blogger)
Genres: Historical, Drama, Romance, Shoujo
Episodes: 20
Aired: Jul 24, 2018
The title of this anime in English is “Beauty Blogger”. It’s a stunning Chinese anime that has an attractive art style and makes use of beautiful background scenery.
The story is built around the female protagonist who suffers a fatal accident which forces her soul to only be alive in a video game environment.
Thus begins her life in a different world full of new people to meet and places to explore.
Following the makings of a typical “transported to another world” series also known as an Isekai anime, the protagonist is taken to medieval China and will have to deal with a very unfamiliar environment that comes with its own set of problems.
Here, she completes quests and missions by using cosmetic products and makeup kits.
The plot also includes drama sprinkled with some romance, hilarious encounters as well as action packed animation sequences.
Its story aesthetic is very similar to the anime, Cinderella chef and it overlaps with many of its genres as well.
# 6. Akatsuki no Yona (Yona of the Dawn)
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Shoujo
Episodes: 24
Aired: Oct 7, 2014
This is an addition to our roster of anime like Meng Qi Shi Shen was adapted from a Japanese manga written by Kuzanagi Mizuho and its English title is “Yona of the Dawn”.
Here, the female protagonist is a princess who has up until recently lived a sheltered life far away from troubles or obstacles.
However, this all changes when a coupe leads to the murder of her father, the king.
She is forced to exile herself from the kingdom with her guardian, Son Hak. It’s an anime series about a girl who starts out shy, naïve and stubborn and is forced to change herself.
Throughout the anime, you will watch as Yona becomes strong-willed and bold which is similar to the female lead of the anime, Meng Qi Shi Shen.
It’s also comparable as they are both set in a medieval setting and both have a fair share of romance involved.
It’s filled with stellar fight scenes and interesting characters who follow our protagonists on their journey.
# 7. Skip Beat
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Shoujo
Episodes: 25
Aired: Oct 7, 2014
Finally, to end this list, we have a Japanese anime series titled “Skip Beat”. This anime starts off as the main female character accidentally finds out that her romantic interest and childhood friend only keeps her around because all she’s good at are doing household chores and not because he likes her.
This motivates her to become more famous and successful than Sho. However, she isn’t good at singing. So, she chooses acting and decides to achieve her goal that way.
If you’ve loved the anime, Adorable Food Goddess, then you probably admired the determination, independence and diligent mindset of the female character.
In that case, Skip Beat doesn’t disappoint as the female lead, Kyoko Mogami is a shining example of a strong female protagonist.
There you have it — the most enjoyable anime alternatives for those of you who loved Meng Qi Shi Shen. Do let us know if we’ve left any unmissable ones out of this list.
