This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans (2024)

Loved the Taste Even Without the Long Beans

This show wont give you any bitter after taste. I fell inlove with the first episode, was consistent till the end!

At first i was worried - there are so many cooking themed Thai BL shows that has disappointed me in the past - from "Bite Me" to "Baker Boys" to "Cooking Crush". For a country blessed with the richest treasure of cuisine, these shows ended up making me crave for more. So I am really glad to say that this show stands out among these titles.

The story also wasn't that unique, to be honest, and although it wasn't perfect, it is entertaining and adeptly executed. There are some plotholes here and there and there is very little character study but I liked how they showcased the food and I specially liked the competition angle of the show although we can see from a mile away that Plawan will definitely win it all.

For me Sailub as Oab and Garfield as JJ (are both delicacies cooked to prefection) were the anchors of this show. Pon as Plawan just like Benz as Metas were both annoying at the beginning - but as the series progressed their characters kind of grew on me to the point that I liked the four main leads equally. Some of the acting in the first episodes seems a bit overdone, but as you continue to watch it and get used to its flow then it became tolerable and to an extent enjoyable.

When Khaosuay appeared i initially thought they would fall into the trap of putting annoying girls (common to a lot of BLs) but Im glad that they didn t go in that direction and wrapped her story properly plus Belle is so gorgeoous you really just cant hate her. I would however say the most annoying character of the show was Kleua for being the pretentious sneaky villain of the show -they should have used a much stronger 3rd (or 4th if you count Khaosay) character in the Oab-Plawan love story because the matchup between Oab and Kleua just isnt equal enough and there's no way you'd believe Plawan would choose Kleua over Oab.

One thing I strongly hate in this is probably the very obvious product placements - yes, they were incorporated in the story but comeon a chef cooking instant noodles for his partner at a restaurant?

Did the series show enough to be unforgettable? Probably not, i would probably forget about its story after a few months. I dont even think it will win any awards anytime soon. Did I enjoy? Like i said, yes, immensely and its become one of the few things I look forward to every Friday. Will I recommend? Yes, very strongly and most definitely.

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This Love Have A Lot Of Basil

Sskksks, I’m sorry, but if pettiness was an olympic sport, Kluer would win gold, mfer did not come to play! Also, tell me why the moment JJ showed up, I went ‘Wait, isn’t that the boot licker from Pitbabe? yo Kenta, what your arse doing here?’ LMAO.

No really, the moment Kluer said, ’Stir fried with long beans’ I went ‘Damnnnn Susan, yous is petty!’ Not gonna lie, I clapped a bit, be petty Susan, be petty. Up until the finale, I thought he was gonna be the only petty character, but seeing Chef open a restaurant right around the corner was a whole new level of pettiness, damn what's in the water in that restaurant?

Chef Oab: You are Eliminated! As a chef, always be aware of the cleanliness of the kitchen.
*A few moments later*
Chef Oab’s naked butt on the kitchen counter, doing the devils tango with Plawan.
ME: *boombastic side-eye*

Peoples, we are eating stuff…if this is what happens behind the scenes of these restaurants, imma learn to make my own tiramisu. Also, what's with Chef and doing it in the kitchen? Every chance he get he's breaking plates and spilling product placement noddles.

Anywho, RIP to those of us who watched this without food, and almost ended up licking our screens. The food looked sooo appetising! And, am I the only one who even blew on invisible food every time the characters did? Damn I’m hungry.

CHARACTERS
I think everyone did what they were supposed to, which was refreshing. SailubPon were good in their roles, had great chemistry and managed to keep my interest. Most of the times, I intend to get pulled in by the second leads, but here, although I was enjoying the dynamic of the second couples, my focus was on the main leads.

Or course, Plawan chopping the chef while working for Methas was a big-no-no, but hey, I’m here for the drama, so I kept cheering on him to not tell Oab until it was too late. I like that they weren't overbearing, even when that female showed up and there was misunderstanding, they didn't break up. It was a good change, seeing adults act like adults. I really liked it.

The will they won’t they relationship of the second couple was good. You could cut the tension between them with a bread knife. Which was why, I was a bit disappointed with the finale. I didn't want KinnPorsche level of swimming pool end, but like, this was them throughout the series:

Intense stares. Helping you pee. Falling on your naked body. His face really close to his face. Cinema dates. Buying the hospital you work at. Near kisses with so much tension. Slow burn. If you want me, earn me speeches. More intense stares. THEN, in the finally, JJ shows up in a towel, and it's like:

JJ: I'm half naked, boobs on display, please, go home, I want to sleep. Hehe, don't look at me, hehe stop it.
METHAS: *In love noises* Come here. You're in trouble today.
ME: Girl, it's about to go down. They about to break Methas other leg and the bed.
WRITERS *Missionary kisses. Next scene. They engage.*
ME: Engaged? Dafug y'all rushing for??

Like, that's not what was advertised? Sirs, we did not order this? Where the food at? What happened to the promised good eating? I mean, I'm satisfied with what they gave me, but I'm not full. That's that make sense? It wasn't bad, but it just felt flat after all that tension. That being said, they were cute in that scene.

Anyway, my only problem in the beginning was that JJ was asking too much of Methas. Sure, all he wanted him to do is to be more human, instead of an evil business man, and good on him, Methas needed to know that JJ will only date someone he felt was a good person. But at the same time, JJ forcing Methas to be ‘a good human’ defeated the purpose of growth. But I think this was redeem in the finale, cuz even though he had the ultimatum, he was still popping champagne, and it took him losing JJ and taking his advice for him to come to the good side. So, a bit of grown on his own, which was good. And frankly, I think he's the only who had any major sort of growth, everyone else was pretty much the same with little changes.

But like Methas' whole personality was like: money, money, annoying, money, annoying, money. Then when he fell in love he was like a child at a candy store. It was funny to see him out there giving out free rent instead of increasing the prices. Also, that wedding ring. Damn, that rock shined brighter than the sun. But tell me why homeboy told JJ he'd teach him how to love? Child, you just learned it like two seconds ago, and your definition of it still so-so, so what you gonna teach him?

Listen, KLUER is a loser. And not the graceful kind, but the kind you wanna leave at disneyland on his birthday. He sucks. Characters like him are the reason why I sometimes thinks second leads deserves no right.

This dude was doing too much, all because he had a crush. First, calling Khao Suay to come back home and disturb our peace, then trying to state some claim when he saw Chef and Plawan might have something on the side, then literally trying to kiss him while he was 'asleep', then immediately hating him cuz he was a spy.

I laughed. The deep kind that makes you choke, when Chef and Plawan were eating each other and Kluer was alone on his bed sobbing. The editing was chefs kiss, best scene sequence ever. Good job editors. Yes, Kluer looked so sad and pathetic, and I was supposed to feel bad for him, but at that time, I was so done with him, his lonely arse weeping with in a pain with heartbreak made me laugh happy tears. Then when he got rejected, he was remembering when he almost kissed Plawan in his sleep. Son of Adam, how is that what you choose to remember, was that a happy memory for you? cuz…

I'm glad his pathetic arse finally grew up and came back to work with the team. I did understand him in the end, first Chef could have left the restaurant to him since they worked together for so long, but he decided to hold a competition. Then, Chef again stole/fell in love with his crush. That must have hurt, in the finale when he was chanting 'get marry' I was like, damn, 'you gonna cry into your pillow tonight, ain't you Susan?' but he seemed generally happy... sooo...

PLOT:
Listen, I think This Love Doesn’t Have Long Beans was wrongfully named. Sure, that female character who doesn't like long beans showed up to annoy us for like two episodes, then got dump while trying to eat her sandwich. (Side note: Chef, really, did you have to bring her the sandwich? It made me laugh. And gawd, he was so brutal when he dumped her. Yikes. ‘I don’t think I ever loved you’ damn, #sad) But still, it should have been called This Love Has A Boatload of Basil. Cuz really, that’s all they talked and smelled about. Plawan spent more than half the series sniffing Chef cuz he smelled of basil.

I have dried basil at home, but I’m tempted to go to the grocery store and sniff a fresh one to see what all the fuss is about. That would be weird, right. Yeah, that’s weird… don’t wanna be labelled the ‘basil sniffer,’ people know me in this town.

And, sure, I’d like for female characters to stop popping up like rent is due to cause unnecessary drama, but they add to the good drama when done right, and this one made me dislike Kluer more, and brought out Plawan’s sassy side, so we good. Plus, her arse got dumped while eating a sandwish and made me laugh, so thanks for your service female ex-girlfriend.

Anywho, there wasn't anything big, or special about the plotline. The story has been done before. It's always a nasty job when you date someone you work with, and that too the boss, but I like that it wasn't just a workplace romance, and it started out as a con. Sure we all knew he was gonna fall in love in the end, and they gonna have a happy ending, but the execution of it, was done well with a good cast, which made it interesting to watch.

The plot gave me exactly when it promised, and for that I enjoyed it. It was a simply story about food that managed to entertain me every week. A lot of dramas have been trying to fit so many themes and genres into them, that I’m all too happy when I stumble upon a simply slice of life like this one.

FINALE
I went into the finale ready for drama in the first few minutes cuz now Chef knew Plawan has been deceiving him, instead, he just chopped him well-well. And the whole time I was like… hmm, sirs, where is my drama?

ME: Enough eating each other to robotic background music, give me drama!! I want drama. I want yelling, throwing stuff. Drama. Drama. Drama.

*Writers give me drama. Tears, yelling, shoving, rain, outside, fatal position.*

ME: Nooo *in the corner crying* that’s too much drama. Take it back. Take it back.

Which of course immediately turned into laughter, cuz damn Chef did Plawan dirty opening that restaurant. So petty, and for what? Then he went and ordered food from him, so he'd come and see his new place. That was Foul!! Though, I like how when Plawan finally came to say sorry, he accepted, warned him to never break his heart again, and immediately violated all the health codes. Loved that Plawan was the one to propose, I was like awww, that too surrounded by basils.

Overall, the finale felt a bit rush towards the end, but it didn't leave any major loose ends, and I was satisfied with it, so we all good. All in all, a good show, that I’ll highly recommend to anyone looking for something unheavy to watch. I enjoyed it. Looking forward to more work from the cast.

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