-Spoilers Ahead-
I'm so happy they get to do a service and challenge. They didn't do it last time, even with the setup, so it's really nice seeing where it matters.
And it happened in an actual Michelle star restaurant in Macao. They did give out the restaurant's dishes, so I initially thought it was gonna be replication, but they were able to make their own menu of their choosing.
This week's team pick was of their own choosing. It was basically just front row and back row, lol. Or winning team plus Ivory for Blue, then the Australians plus best friends for Team Red.
I feel like we can really see the Australian viewpoint and strategy with Khanh since he's really thinking of like how cohesive the menu will be. And he's really being direct with what kind of flavors he wants whilst still letting them put their touches. Like he's really thinking of cohesion. And they were every clear of their theme with the coast and all.
As for the blue team, they kind of went playing to the strengths kind of route. They were open that they didn't really want to have a theme and just have the best of their culture. Tho they still had a bit of progression
I can see tho maybe the cuisines of the Red team being a lot much closer than the blue. But at the same time, I can think of other ways of making their styles more cohesive switched around.
One of the diners said that the Red Teams's menu was more like a drama (with their Coastal storytelling themes), while Blue Team is more like a concert (consistent, rock star with different styles)
Aerum of the Blue Team really surprised me. For the first few episodes, you could see she was struggling and not in her element. Like she hadn't really made good dishes. But you can see that she was a lot more vocal and confident she was. I was surprised to see that she likes being the boss, and I feel like this really is her style. While I wish she thought of a theme, the main judge did say both menus were great.
This episode also allows the diners to give their comments and vote. Which I don't know why Australia has let go of. Like its so refreshing to see that, and really, every dish has their weight, not the judges just being lucky or looking around.
The judges also had like a spinning roundtable which I know is part, but it somehow adds a little drama even if it's individual dishes
As for the dishes, Therese of the Red Team, I love that she's now really showing her range, and she promised that. She didn't pigeonhold herself to desserts and is doing well. Marcus last week kinda turned me off when he said he's just gonna do desserts all the way. Her dish go on theme and definitely kind of the classic seafood tart you'd see on these restaurants. She got the split vote.
Nambi of the blue team. I do feel like she's really good with her flavors. Smart with starting with those flavors. She won on flavor, but it is kinda weird if her putting an oil with a fried open. Presentation definitely could have been better. But she also got split vote since they liked the flavors.
As for the seafood, this is where Aerum really stepped up and showed her strengths. I was really impressed and this is her field. Tho she did have a few raw scallops, but brave of her to do fish and scallops. Khanh was also smart with his dish. I think both of these were very close. And his plating looks so good and more refined. He definitely is more comfortable now with more fine dining compared to Australia where he kind of complained about it.
Just to note, the Australians were definitely called out on them having not the greatest knife skills. Therese would do terribly on rate my chives. And Khanh’s squid noodles were not evenly cut tho the overall dish looked nice.
Kare-Kare is really a curse, is masterchef. The last filipino who made it on masterchef asia was in the bottom. While the beef definitely looked extremely sad, it's kind of clear Chef Pam doesn't know much about Kare-Kare based on her comments. While it looked nice, there was definitely miscommunication on the pass with inconsistencies in plating. Cuz Ivory did say that she did count and made extras for some parts so it’s probably not great communication on the pass.
(As someone who doesn't like Kare Kare, Chef Pam's comments on her expecting it to be sweet and sour, It's not really a sour dish. It is essentially peanut butter, which is accurate. As someone filo, sweet potato puree is weird with it, and it maybe needed a saltier component.)
Pond's Main was served late, and it does seem like they took that into consideration. Most are usually served at the same time. But it looked pretty good. Interesting both went with like stewed beef as their main.
Desserts were def both looked so good. Brave for sandy to put turmeric in a dessert, and she adapted very well with the presentation. She does have the advantage and disadvantage of being like homecourt. As for Audrey, dude is really stepping up. His dessert sounded so good. And getting the it could be here comments really shows how he's rising, love his growth.
Red Team one and I feel like it was pretty clear based on the comments. Blue did have their flaws, but I can also see like having the 3 others who were safe at least having their screentime.
Overall, I really find it interesting how these judges judge. They're very objective. And they're becoming a lot clearer with their thoughts. Editing seemed much better in my opinion this episode, it was less awkward.
Next week apparently is a pressure test by a French Chef. Lowkey kind of wished it was an Asian chef or Asian dish with the shows theme, but at least it's an even playing field and also something different.
Pressure test dish is savory and definitely looks quite meticulous. Apparently, also double elimination based on the narrator, which is kinda harsh which now is 50-50 (2 out of 4) for the results. Would have been scary if someone had their pin.
Overall, hard to predict who's gonna stay and go. Maybe this is Aerum's strength but I don't know how she follows a recipe. Ivory is a chef instructor for culinary schools, so I'm guessing she possibly can follow recipes and she is the most battle tested so far I guess. Nambi is the most recent cook, so I'm guessing she has experience with pressure tests. I have no idea with Sandy lol.
Edit: As for the pressure test girls,
Apparently, Nambi skipped most of the pressure tests her season, which she did do some, which is a huge advantage for her compared to the other 3. But she competed in 2023, so definitely the newest to cooking.
Apparently, Sandy is also pretty new to cooking, and joined Masterchef UK in 2020. Not the most pressure test experience, with the different format, but she does have some professional experience
Aerum has so much experience in fine-dining so I can see her doing well. Her season was way long ago and maybe not as much pressure tests, but in terms of experience, she has some of the most.
Ivory, probably similar to Aerum, but not as fine dining. Her season I think didn't have much technical things. Only French things she might he doing are in her being a culinary instructor. So just being a bit more experienced maybe, tho it does seem like she knows some fine dining with some dishes.
