Note: This is a review of this series as a BL. More on that below.

This is a show I was more excited about than pretty much anything else this year. And when the first episode aired, I absolutely loved it - I was ready for it to be in my Top 3. But then the other episodes happened. I'll start with positives.

The cinematography is gorgeous. The food shots are amazing. The scenery is perfect, the way shots are framed communicates more than the actors do - it's probably the best I've seen in a BL. It's plain excellent by any standard.

Zung, who plays Chef Aue, is excellent. He has the most soulful eyes, he's totally beautiful, and his acting is excellent. Mark, who plays Aek, might be good too - it's hard to tell because of the writing and directing. I think I would say he's good.

The idea for this series is unusual, interesting, and personally appealing, and it avoids most BL tropes - the dumb ones that I find irritating, like tripping and being caught - and many characters use knives constantly and not one single person has cut him/herself, not even when picking up shards of glass and platewear. I've even stopped cringing when anyone picks up a knife. In any case, kudos for trying something different and pushing the boundaries of the genre.

But there area few issues. The direction calls for extremely wooden acting and strange, halting dialogue delivery. Zung is so expressive that I still feel what he's feeling, but I couldn't even tell you what Aek's character is - he's just... there.

There are a LOT of plot tropes. Some of that is unavoidable, because well, plots are tropey. But there are strange repetitions. For example, an evil chef is introduced in Ep 2 - fine, here's the villainess (always a woman, and jeaslous ex-gf, but never mind). Then there's a totally different evil chef introduced in Ep 7, out of nowhere. OK, it's not the first time there have been two villains. Batman movies usually have two. In Ep 8 a THIRD evil chef is introduced. The government should look into the cooking scene, because apparently Thai chefs are a nasty bunch! Fortunately evil chefs seem to be hot, so they're nice to look at.

The pace is glacial. That in itself isn't a problem - I like slow burn, and I like scenes that take their time to develop. But there isn't any content in the long scenes - they just have people staring blankly at each other for exceptionally long periods, and take a really long time to say anything. It's really odd and frustrating. The dialog itself is often unnatural, with people that don't appear to have any life experience pontificating on what love is and how one should pursue it and life in general, and all delivered with solemn placidity.

What was finally the deal-breaker for me was Ep 8. I want to say that characters acted out of character, but I can't really say that - one of them did, and the other doesn't really have a character - he's more of a plot device than a person. But even still, his behavior is not set up in any way, so it comes out of nowhere - all we've really gotten from him is blank stares (this is Mark - he's doing his best, and he does get his eyes to water, so you can see some repressed emotion, but we have no way of knowing what that emotion is because we've never had any insight into his feelings). Usually, one expects the main pair to have a relationship before they break up, but not here - especially frustrating after how slow the burn has been - and there has been zero between them except for the staring, For the breakup to involve violence and sexual violence is even more jarring.

This should not have been a BL - the production doesn't appear to be interested in this aspect, and it feels like a naked grab for a ready-made audience, and it has zero LGBTQ+ sensibility - it's hard not to feel exploited. To add insult to injury, there's a minor character straight couple that gets together simply and happily. In any case, I think it would have been a superior show if it had just been a drama about rival chefs.

There are people who like this show, so I'd watch it through Ep 3. If you're getting frustrated, it's not for you - because it will get much, much worse. If you like what you're seeing, it's probably worth watching, although I suspect most people's appreciation will end with Ep 8. Maybe it can redeem itself - I'll check back when it's over, and if everyone's lauding it, maybe I'll watch the rest.

Story: 4. I like the topic, the originality of the theme, and the lack of tropes. I don't like the lack of plot, stilted and unnatural dialog, and manufactured drama.

Acting: 7. Zung is fantastic, Mark is doing his best, a couple of the side characters are decent, but many are really flat. I'd probably rate the actors an 8, and the acting a 6, which disparity is the director's fault, so I'll settle on a 7.

Music: 9. I really like the music. The main drumbeat is fun, the music is never intrusive, and it's got a unique vibe to it - no complaints, and actually among the best I've seen in a BL.

Rewatch Value: 1. This is another one I'd have to be held at gunpoint to watch again, except for shirtless Zung scenes because I'm shallow and he's hot.

Overall: 6. It's not terrible - it's just very disappointing because this had the potential to be an 11 - I thought it was ITSAY-level after the first episode. As an aesthetic experience, this is probably more like an 8 - it's definitely beautiful. But it was sold as a BL, so that's what I have to rate it as.