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| Photo from MasterChef Asia FB Page |
- In this MasterChef Asia episode, the contestants is faced with another team challenge. They were split into pairs, and each pair had to cook a dish (from one of five selected cuisines) using a Panasonic appliance and limited ingredients inside some Panasonic refrigerators and some basic pantry staples.
- I guess we can safely call this the "Panasonic Appliance Pair Cuisine Challenge" then. Shameless plugging at it's finest!
- The losing team with go head-to-head against each other in an elimination challenge.
- The cuisines were Thai, Spanish, Italian, French, and American. The appliances were a mixer-grinder, rice cooker, a stick blender, juicer, and bread maker. The choice of cuisine and appliance was determined by a knife draw.
- Blanche had the first pick for both cuisine and appliance. It's her lucky day today because she chose number 1 both times!
- Marcus and Lennard picked the number 5 so they had to cook with whatever cuisine and appliance was left - so that led to them trying to cook Thai food using a bread maker. Tough luck for two of the best contestants in the competition but they still have the ability to create something amazing.
- The pairs for this challenge were:
- Leong and Lica
- Lennard and Marcus
- Blanche and Vonny
- Jasbir and Sandrian
- Priya and Ha
- Blanche and Vonny thought they were cooking duck legs, but what they actually had was a guinea fowl. What a critical error on their part and it was the start of a horrible challenge for them.
- Lica and Leong's Apple Crumble S'mores and a Kale Granita sounds really great from the get-go. They juiced the Kale - smart use of the juicer! I'm rooting for them to win this challenge.
- I was also rooting for Lennard and Marcus because the Thai tacos they were making with the bread maker seemed like a pretty smart move - I was sure they had the ability to pull off a really tasty dish.
- Leong was very hard-headed about the sugar syrup he was making to the point that it was quite irritating. He should have just started again right away, but the caramel sauce added a different depth of flavor in the dish because he overcooked the sugar syrup twice.
- Jasbir had some difficulty with the pasta, it was good that Sandrian was smart enough to add some water to stop the pasta from breaking.
- When Vonny and Blanche started putting blue cheese in the chestnut puree, I knew they were in trouble. They also had problems with the carrot puree, so they did not serve it anymore. The dish they plated up looked very unappetizing and clumsy. One of them deserves to be eliminated. They spoiled the advantage they had in getting first pick for the cuisine and appliance.
- Lica and Leong's dish looked amazing and appetizing- it was truly a restaurant looking with a rustic charm with hints of green. The judges really loved the dish and I was elated that Lica bounced back in this challenge.
- Jasbir and Sandrian also made a really amazing dish with their Italian Shui Jiao (boiled dumplings). All the judges had nothing but raving reviews for the dish.
- I thoughts Priya and Ha cooked too much in their Tapas platter. The dish did look quite generous and sumptuous.
- Lennard and Marcus brought up some delicious-looking Thai Pork Loin Tacos, and I really find it amazing that they were able to think about Thai food they can cook using the bread maker. Personally, I would have had a mental block if given this challenge. The judges had nothing but praises for the beautiful dish.
- Overall, this was actually the best MasterChef Asia episode when measured by the quality of the dishes that the contestants produced. I hope that they will continue to put up some dishes that were of this caliber moving forward.
- Blanche and Vonny were the bottom team of the night, no surprises here. They had 30 minutes to cook a dish only using the remaining ingredients in the fridges. I was hoping that Vonny gets eliminated, she's one of the weakest competitors left.
- Both Vonny and Blanche cooked dessert in the 30 minutes they had. If it's a dessert-off, Blanche has the upper hand. Vonny tried to make a Jam and some tart in under 30 minutes and I think she's crazy because she did not have enough time.
- Blanche and Vonny cooked some home-style desserts but Vonny made a lot more mistakes in this challenge so Vonny was sent home. I think this as the right decision.
- The only thing I'm disappointed with in this episode was that they didn't announce a winner for the challenge. They should always commend the top dish of the night.
Here's a list of what each MasterChef Asia pair cooked today.
- Leong and Lica (American/Juicer) - Apple Crumble S'mores and a Kale Granita
- Lennard and Marcus (Thai/Bread Maker) - Thai Pork Loin Tacos with Thai Salad
- Blanche and Vonny (French/Stick Blender) - Pan Fried Guinea Fowl with Blue Cheese Chestnut Cream Sauce
- Jasbir and Sandrian (Italian/Rice Cooker) - Italian Ricotta Shui Jiao and Fresh Vegetables Mee Pok
- Priya and Ha (Spanish/Mixer-Grinder) - Spanish Tapas Platter
I would love to hear your thoughts on the episode, so please do leave a comment. Who do you think has what it takes to win MasterChef Asia?
Further reading you might like:
- A Primer on MasterChef Asia
- MasterChef Asia Season 1 Episode 4: Recap and Thoughts on Episode 4
- MasterChef Asia Season 1 Episode 5: Recap and Thoughts on Episode 5
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Cheers,
Chef Jay
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