Ingredients (2020)

Cute and Fluffy At the Start But Gets Aimless and Dull...

Short, cute and fluffy. This mini-series is essentially a glorified ad for a grocery chain, called Tops, which is also the name of one of the series' leads. It's smart, effective marketing to make a low-budget BL to promote their products. Props to them for that. The series showcase various recipes in each episode. The salmon-egg-avocado dish in episode 5 looked amazing! I really wanted to make and eat it to be honest! There isn't really a story or plot and thus, the story quickly gets aimless as you do feel like it's just a glorified ad series. Just two roommates who have a secret crush on each other and who go about their daily lives, cooking, playing the guitar, hanging out at home, etc. I do like how they wear masks, wash their hands and use hand sanitizer though. This series was most likely filmed during the COVID 19 crisis. I wonder if this series would have still existed if not for the pandemic. Possibly not due to the BL genre exploding in part due to the pandemic, which gave many people (including myself) the time to binge-watch and become obsessed with the genre. It's pretty cool seeing BL series like Ingredients and Gameboys take advantage of the pandemic to create something unique!

Though there were a lot of filler episodes, episode 10 was actually quite nice. We were introduced to Win’s family and learned a bit about Tops’ family. I really liked learning that Win was pursuing his dreams instead of working with the family business, which his brother tries to guilt him. Tops’ spiel to Win about the importance of chasing your dreams while still maintaining a relationship with your family was also touching.

After watching Episode 12, I've decided to drop this series as nothing is happening. Though the series can be cute and charming at times, there isn't enough of a story to keep me interested for 10 more episodes. I may revisit it in the future. I may not. We'll see...

Leia Mais

Lacking

Regardless how much I really love both Jeff and GamePlay, I feel storywise and as series, Ingredients felt lacking.
Perhaps because it was too long between the episodes where each episode itself wasnt impactful enough, perhaps it was production, in whatever the case is, the only somewhat memorable from the show was the food.
I wish I could say it was the music, because it was good, as singles and outside the show.
The last song was good and felt good in place, which I kept thinking to myself "why didn't they had such melody from the get go?"

It shows how the actors were growing during the production, which, again, should be a good thing but it made the show itself inchoherent in my opinion.

The script felt dull compared to the acting and the production was even more lacking.
It has many fluffly moments and the last episode is a sobfest without any particular closure or closing points.

Will it be a sexond season?
It gets a low grade because there were too many episodes and situation that leaves you hanging and gives you incomplete vibe, which is such a pity towards the actors.

The food is easy to feast on the eyes and invites you to cook it yourself, which is a huge bonus.
The songs are easy to listen to (tad mellow though).

I wish Id seen this in one go, but watching it as it was released, didnt do good..

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THIS MADE ME HUNGRY!!!

Watching this series will make you hungry. Seriously. And you’d wish you know how to cook well or have the patience and perseverance to do so.

I stumbled upon this series after watching HE SHE IT (2019) – while researching about the actors and the song at the end (that haunting song ironically titled “Comedy”). So I got to know a little about the lead actors. Gameplay is a chef in real life and Jeff Satur is a singer-songwriter. So, perfect roles for them!

After their intense kissing scenes in HE SHE IT, I was naturally expecting something similar – if not more – from their follow up, INGREDIENTS. Well, if you did, too, you’ll be a little disappointed. But hey, kissing is not the sole basis for a BL’s appeal, right? CHERRY MAGIC has no kissing, yet I gave it a perfect 10 rating.

Anyway, at the first few episodes of INGREDIENTS, I was a bit confused. These two (Win and Tops) are living together, so it’s natural to assume that they are lovers, right? Wrong! As you will realize in the succeeding episodes, they are NOT a couple!!! So, you ask: Why are they living together? Maybe THAT question will be answered as you go along, BUT – no answer came after you watch the finale!

Then you search online for answers. And you find out there is an EPISODE 0 (ZERO)!! A prequel!!! A 5-minuter which will answer THAT question. Why wasn’t I told about that?? Haha! Maybe they should’ve put an “announcement” of sorts at the beginning of Episode 1! So, if you’re planning to watch this series, watch EPISODE 0 first, okay?

Going back to the series… it’s quite long at 21 episodes (average of 10 minutes each) or 3.5 hours. Did I compute that right? But since each episode is short, you won’t feel bored or anything like that. But you will feel impatient though in the “touching” and “romance” department. Touching and intimacy came much later in the series. And when they came, you’d feel like they weren’t enough. But then again, that’s just me.

Love the way cooking/recipes are incorporated in some episodes. Reminds you of movies which also has cooking as its theme like CHOLOLAT (2000), JULIE & JULIA (2009), LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE (1992), etc.

I just feel that some side stories were not necessary or didn’t add anything to the main story arc, like Dome’s character (the third wheel wannabe) – and that girl who came crying to Win – who at first I thought was his girlfriend because of the English translation of her initial lines.

So, this series made me hungry because of the featured dishes, and hungry for more intimacy between Win and Tops – which I feel was not enough.

I don’t know if there’s a sequel to this series, but I really hope there is. So maybe then, we’ll get more romantic moments for Win and Tops.

Leia Mais

Where "simple" goes a long way.

This series is proof that you don't need a huge budget to make a great show. If you have an interesting enough concept, the passion and the talent to back it up, those ingredients are enough to make a tasty dish indeed.

To be honest, I don't know anything about the production of this series though it is pretty clear they were working with not a whole lot. I can only assume it was because of the pandemic and there was only so much you were allowed to do when it was at the worst. But this didn't need a huge cast nor did it need lavish sets or location shoots. If you have talented actors, give them a hidden microphone and let them run with it.

This is a first time for me for Gameplay's works and I have to say he did a great job. However I was completely blown away by Jeff and I'll explain why. I know he has a huge following since he has an acting and music career and yes, he is really talented in both. This is only the second thing I've seen of his (the first being KinnPorsche) and I honestly liked him better here. I didn't particularly care for his role or performance in KP as he was pretty "broody" the entire time. But here, he was playful, fun-loving and seemed all-round NATURAL to the point where I wondered if most of his lines were improvised. He had great timing and honest reactions and the most subtle of looks/expressions that had me unable to look away from what he might do next. This performance alone is enough to make me a fan.

I really enjoyed the simplicity of the series and truly wish they get to revisit it sometime again. Sure, it's not a sad ending nor is it a happy one which could be left as is for the viewer to imagine what happens next. But after such a fantastic ride, I would love to see a more solid (and preferably happy) conclusion.

Leia Mais

Short series leaving you wanting for more

If you are looking for a series that is a slow burn where the 2 main characters spend a good enough time together as friends before starting a relationship then look no further.

Ingredients is a story of Win a wannbe musician who is looking for a right break that would propel him in to stardom and Tops a chef who likes to cook and experiment with recipes. The story captures the daily happenings in the lives of these 2 characters while they stay together as roommates. The series takes us on a slow journey where we see Win struggling with his dreams and Tops helping him soothe his worries by cooking delicious food.

The series concentrates more on the life of Win and Tops and other actors just enter and exit the scene to give you a glimpse of each of their characters. We find the troubled relationship Win has with his mother and brother, Tops losing his mother and the father remarried and has a small kid, we meet loads of Win's friends but not a single of Tops friends, Win's averseness to cats and babies and Tops helping nature when he meets his injured neighbour.

Jeff and Gameplay did a fabulous job of bringing the characters of Win and Tops to life. The dialogues between the two seemed natural and they shared a great chemistry together. They also star in a short series He She It and their chemistry continued there as well.

A slice of life story played by wonderful actors with fine songs played by Jeff and a slow paced story that keeps you glued and you are satisfied when they ultimately get together.

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Mangez-moi !

J'ai longtemps hésité à me mettre à cette série me disant, naïvement, que 10 minutes, même avec 21 épisodes ça n'allait rien raconter du tout, comme je me trompais !

Non seulement, les épisodes arrivent à nous raconter l'histoire des héros sur la durée, mais en plus on arrive à être au courant de tout ce qui se passe en off (ce qui arrive en dehors des scènes filmées). Chose plutôt rare d'ailleurs dans les séries asiatiques, on réussit facilement à se rendre compte du temps qui s'écoule, on voit le changement des saisons, ce qui m'a agréablement surpris.

le couple que forment Marwin et Tops est juste trop mignon et c'est un pur plaisir de les voir évoluer, tomber amoureux. Tout se passe en douceur, de façon tendre et super choupi, j'ai adoré.

On a presque droit à une recette par épisode et si je peux dire une seule chose c'est que ça donne envie et ça donne faim ! Sachant que l'acteur Gameplay est également chef en Thaïlande, il a ici pu montrer un petit peu de son talent et de l'originalité qu'il met dans ses plats. L'autre partie est pleine de chansons grâce à l'acteur mais aussi compositeur et chanteur Jeff qui a une voix juste magnifique.

La série a réussi le pari de nous présenter une série en temps de Covid, de confinement mais je trouve qu'on ne se sent pas enfermé malgré le fait que presque l'entièreté des épisodes soient en huis-clôt, je dirai plutôt que le jeu des acteurs nous offre une bouffée d'air frais.

Concernant la fin, bon, on s'y attend hein? Mais ça m'a fait un pincement au cœur tout de même et je pourrais même dire que cette fin m'a laissé sur ma faim ( j'ai pas pu résister à utiliser cette expression, elle collait parfaitement ! ), on voudrait en voir plus mais il faut bien finir quelque part et on ne peut que s'imaginer la suite maintenant qu'on connait nos héros et comment il voient et veulent voir leur avenir et leur relation.

Maintenant, à vous de vous faire votre avis.

Leia Mais

A warm blanket of a show

You might look at this show and think that having been basically an advertisement for a grocery store chain and produced by a cooking focused youtube channel, it would be shallow on character development and short on story. Fortunately, at least in this particular case, you'd be pretty damn wrong. Ingredients oozes charm in every scene, and the slow burn flirting of the characters leads to a bittersweet ending made more bearable with chocolate. It's possibly the most engaging, rewatchable little show where almost nothing actually happens and I love it so much.

Brief premise: Win and Tops are roommates during lockdown, just trying to survive and get to know each other. Win is a student and aspiring musician whose gigs keep getting cancelled due to covid, Tops is a dedicated culinary student who always knows the right meal for any occasion (and the actor is also a Cordon Blue trained chef irl so he actually did all the cooking for real). Each episode is a new recipe for the audience, and a life lesson for the characters. From overcoming vanity and jealousy, to realizing that success means nothing if you have no one to share it with, to taking responsibility for your mistakes, they always (well, usually just Win tbh) come out the other end of the meal just a little better for having known each other. At the climax, Win gets an audition for an international music program, but it comes just as he is finally starting to realize his true feelings for Tops and is conflicted about whether he should risk losing this new love to pursue his dreams.

Production-wise, it's pretty stark and simple but effective. The cooking scenes are well-shot without feeling out of place, and the music is cutesy and charming almost to a fault sometimes (with the exception of Jeff's dulcet tones). You're not really there for the decor, which leaves your focus on the acting and food.

Of course, the biggest selling point is Jeff and Gameplay, who are ridiculously cute and have this very sweet, playful chemistry. When Gameplay's Tops breaks out of his usually reserved frankness to flirt back with Win, it's just magic. And Win claiming to hate everything from vegetables to babies to cats, but then learning to love them by seeing them through Tops' eyes melts my frozen heart every time. Their climactic fist kiss is so wonderfully executed and well-earned, but I think my only quibble with the storytelling/pacing is that I wish it had come sooner so that we had more time to develop their romantic relationship as an actual couple. JeffGame are great but there's only so much they can do with the 2ish episodes they get after the kiss to be together, and I think more time to see them actually be romantic together would have lent more weight to Win's decision on the music program. But that's honestly a pretty small nitpick, and possibly just motivated by my desire to see they make out and cuddle more.

Ingredients is a comfort show, pure and simple, where you can escape to a world where everything can by solved with a homecooked meal and acoustic guitar serenade. Go for a visit, and return any time you need some mealtime inspiration or a warm hug.

Leia Mais

Simple but sweet

The show is simple and sweet. Yes it's a giant commercial for a store during a pandemic, but it's only obvious because Tops is always bringing home food in the store's bags. It's part cooking show, part light drama BL. It's all domesticity, as 90% of the show takes place inside the same house. But if you want something sweet, simple, cute, and fun, and that will probably make you want to learn how to cook, then this is the show for you. Tops is genuine and quiet while Win is the definition of sweet but dumb. But their development is endearing and you root for them the whole time.

Leia Mais

Ingredients - Pure, perfect, simple, direct, and honest

This mini web-series was amazing. I'm so glad that I finally found the time to watch Win (Jeff) and Top (Gameplay) in this lovely drama. I know that this project was connected towards an online campaign for a grocery store, but TPTB really made all the right moves in showcasing the non-acting talents of Jeff and Gameplay, into making this series and turning it into something much more entertaining. I hope that TPTB in the Thailand BL genre, will take note that you can create something really intimate, interesting, and contained in a 10 minute segment and turn it into a web-series for viewers to enjoy.

Leia Mais

Food and Good Looking Guys! Can't Beat That!

This is such an interesting BL series, but it honestly left me feeling satisfied, bored, and very sad. I just did not know what its intent was. It is not exactly a love story; or is it? It started out great but then got lost or overwhelmed by its own story. It was also obvious that there was a lag between the first half and the second half of the series. Whether it was due to the pandemic or not, there is a noticeable difference in the production and even the acting. The first half was charming, cute, and sort of drew you into their lives and I liked it. The second half felt ‘different’ and it had a sense of sadness to it that almost engulfed it. This series is a worthy series because of the superb and I do mean superb acting of Jeff and Gameplay. The bantering between these two, the laughing, the touching, the glancing and yes even the eating all seemed so natural real and unrehearsed. The story is slow and the production in places stinks, but to watch these two together makes up for any negativities in this series.

Leia Mais

this drama made me feel warm

This drama is a simple one and it's one with short episodes and yet I felt so warm whilst watching it, there are no major conflicts like you get in most dramas so it was a very easy watch & even though there was no major drama I didn't find myself ever getting bored. The acting felt so natural at times that it felt like I was sitting in the room with them, there was something just really special about this drama, in some sense the warmth that this drama gives off feels like home. I really loved how the cooking and music elements played out in this drama, it's sad that it was so short but I think that's also part of what made it so special.

I didn't expect to get so emotional in the final episode but it was beautiful, well acted, and the moment the final studio version of goodbye not goodbye played in the background I was a sobbing mess (I say this like I wasn't already sobbing before but shh). It wasn't even sad per se it was like the song says itself goodbye not goodbye, a beautiful bitter sweet ending that makes me wish there was more.

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