I just finished watching Shan Shan Comes to Eat (aka Boss & Me) and I absolutely LOVED it! It made my heart melt, smile throughout, and I was happy go lucky in the end. 

Can any you give me some recommendations of similar dramas? Country origin does not matter, however I do prefer the following plot lines:

  • Rich guy, poor (semi-poor) women OR Super popular guy, common girl
  • Full of fluffiness, Skinship too!
  • Modern/Recent nothing older than 2009
  • NO huge love triangle (my hearts wants to flutter, not ache xD)

Thank you in advance! Much appreciated. :)


Yes, I understand why you loved Boss & Me so much! I like heavier stuff too, but I enjoyed watching a drama that focused so much on the love between the main couple, and not all the reasons that drive them apart... Thing is, so far, I never have found another drama like it! I'll try to recommend a few dramas though...

First of all, I haven't watched it, but there's a chinese drama, that is airing right now or just finished airing, called My Sunshine. It's written by the same author as Boss & Me, although there seems to be more angst and bitterness in this one (they used to be lovers in University but separated) -- but again, I haven't seen it.

There's a taiwanese drama called ToGetHer (2009, barely makes it!) that I found sweet. It's about a celebrity (Jun Nan, whose stage name is "Mars") that is forced to retire temporarily and return studying because of some scandals. He's very full of himself and still popular amongst the girls in his class though. However, since he doesn't have much of an income anymore, he's forced to rent a room from Chen Momo (a classmate), and her older sister, who are also in need of some money. Momo is extremely shy, lives in the world of her favorite manga Prince Kasaba, and apart from one friend who is mentally challenged (yeah, love triangle... but it's not too bad), is constantly forgotten by everyone. However they go through a lot together, and Jun Nan, who is at his most vulnerable, starts falling in love with her. What I liked about their romance is that they really support each other, and that even though Jun Nan/Mars is so different (extraverted, loud...) he really changes when he's with Momo, he's incredibly thoughtful, soft, gentle, caring, helpful... He's so in love, like Feng Teng :p There isn't as much skinship as in Boss & Me though, but nothing less than any other regular drama. 

Protect The Boss is a korean drama in which the male lead falls very, very in love (quite soon, even though he hates her in the first 2 or 3 episodes I think) with his loud, annoying secretary :p If you try this one, you have to give it a 3 episode chance though, because a lot of people (myself included) dropped it too soon, often because they found the female lead annoying. She quickly becomes a very relatable and likeable character though. What's nice in this one is that the characters are rather direct, and the male lead doesn't waste 10 episodes denying his feelings, so there's a lot of time for sweetness ;)

I Need Romance 3 is another korean drama. The male lead knew the female lead as a child (she was perhaps 7-8 years older, I can't exactly remember) since she took care of him, until he suddenly moved to the US. Ever since though, he's loved her. Adult, he has grown handsome and become a successful musician, and when he comes back to Korea he finds out the bright girl he knew has become a cynical, hardened woman. And yet, his love for her transforms, and all along the drama he tries to woo her. In this drama there is quite a present love triangle, but the male lead is extremely honest and explicit about his feelings, so he says and does the sweetest things for her (in that way it's fluffy). 

Master's Sun is a korean drama in which the male lead is a prickly chaebol. She is a rather poor woman that has the misfortune of seeing ghosts who also have the possibility of taking over her body, she lives her life constantly alert and everybody thinks she's crazy. But one day she meets the male lead (who is initially very annoyed by her presence), and discovers that when she touches him, the ghosts disappear (quite an excuse for skinship!!!). Although there's a little "horror" in this drama, it's barely scary at all and actually is quite funny, its main focus is the romance.

What is Love is another taiwanese drama, that I dropped because I disliked the female lead (that's personal, though, many loved it). In this drama, the filthy rich playboy falls for a woman (not poor though, upper middle class) he tried to play with, who is obsessed with things such as "true love" and marriage etc etc etc. There's quite a love triangle, but the guy is really helplessly in love and tries to convince her of his sincerity for the most part of the drama. 

Then there are these two classic taiwanese dramas: MARS and Devil Beside You (they're both a little old though). I'm not a fan of either because I find the quality poor, but they both have a lot of fans. In both the male character is popular and quite the "bad boy", but both fall for "good girls" (in MARS, she is extremely shy and introverted, while in Devil Beside You she is much more normal, but both are supposed to have "good hearts"). I remember quite a lot of skinship in Devil Beside You, but can't recall clearly for MARS, even though I can recall the hero being sweet and protective towards the female lead in that one. Also, I don't think either have very important love triangles.


Hope this helps! Good luck in finding the right drama
You are AMAZING!

Thank you so much for your thorough recommendations. I really appreciate it!
you're welcome :)
Oh and by the way, here's the link to the question I asked a couple months ago, when I was looking for a drama like Boss & Me as well -- maybe you'll like some of the recommendations 

Love O2O - rich ml, smart fl, college set, don't know when it airs but after 2010..I honestly loved this one..

Boss & Me is adapted from a novel written by a chinese author, Gu Man. She also wrote two other novels that had been made into drama, Love o2o and My Sunshine. Check these 2 dramas out if you want something like Boss & Me. 

"It started with a kiss"'s second season  "They Kiss Again" .  Taiwanese Drama

  • Jiang Zhi Shu is a smart. cold and very popular guy and the fl (Xiang Qin) is lower middle class. fl is forced to ml when her house is destroyed in an earthquake. 
  • The first season is basically about the main couple's highschool - college life up until they get married, so there isn't that many fluffy moments and skinship in the first season. But, trust me you will not regret watching it after starting the second season (they kiss again). The 2nd season is about the main couple's married life. In the second season, the ml is WAAY more considerate and loving towards the fl. There is WAAAY more fluffy moments. And a bonus is that they have a lot of skinship.
  • it was made in 2007, but if your watching through illegal streaming sites then the quality will be poor due to copyright issues. But if you watch through Viki, I'm told that the video quality is 720p (not sure, don't take my word for it)
  • There is a love triangle. But it isn't huge.  Very minor. Most people don't ship the second ml with fl. I feel that the love triangle is only there to add a comedic relief and a plot tool to make the main couple realize their feelings.  

just you taiwanese drama,she was pretty ,playful kiss,love attention ,refresh man,lie to me,love o2o

Maybe HapiMari might fit what you're looking for. I watched & loved Boss & Me too. HapiMari is less satisfying, but has the handsome rich guy, poor girl cinderella vibe going on.

One  thing i can recommend... buts its quite a rom-com.... but follows a very similar plot to Boss and Me


From Five to Nine, the title, a japanese rom-com drama...

Similar feelings evoked (heart fluttering):

Go Go Squid, Put Your Head on My Shoulder