Masterchef Asia S1E09: Once Upon A Pressure Test

Masterchef Asia Episode 9 opens in Hong Kong Disney Land! Amazing stuff, what a place to have a Masterchef episode.  For a treat, the contestants got to meet Mickey and Minnie and sample some of the rides, before moving onto food-related events.

Pictured: Mice - not on today's menu

It was interesting to see the contestants on the rides, and you can also get a glimpse into which of the contestants are closer to one another - for instance, Ha is again seen with Leong, a repeat of when they went shopping together in Changi Airport.

The challenge for this episode was a default pressure test for the top 8.  Again, differences with the usual set-up, where only a losing team goes into the pressure test.  Well, nothing wrong with being different!  Contestants had to replicate one of four Rudolf Muller dishes -

1. Roasted beef and veal tenderloin
2. Salmon and Cod Timbale
3. 5-spice veal and beef short ribs
4. Slow roasted lamb loin

What stood out was how "who cooked what" was chosen - the dishes were placed on a lazy susan and the wheel was spun - and whichever dish ended up closest to a contestant, that was what they had to cook.

Wheel of morality turn turn turn!

Jasbir and Priya ended up with beef dishes, which placed them at a disadvantage since they do not eat beef and hence are not able to taste their dishes.  The format here is somewhat more lenient, and the judges offered Blanche and Sandrian the opportunity to switch their fish dishes with Jasbir and Priya.

It was really admirable to see Blanche accept readily and take the challenge, but it was also understandable that Sandrian declined to do so, since after all, its a competition and at the end of the day you want to win.  As we see later, it did not turn out to the best decisions for both of them >.<

Time to cook, and once again we see Ha's strengths.  Although both she and Lennard were cooking beef short ribs blind in the pressure cooker, only she had the awareness to keep track of how the steam exhaust smelled, in order to avoid over caramelising the ribs.  This allowed her to cook the ribs to perfection, and although she tried to warn Lennard, he ended up with over-cooked ribs, which eventually led him to end up in the bottom 3.

What was also heartening to see what Jasbir's performance, as French cuisine was something foreign to her.  However she easily stepped up to the challenge and landed a spot in the top 3.  It goes to show that once you have the cooking instinct and/or talent, it becomes easier to pick up new techniques and methods :)

At the other end, both Blanche and Sandrian were struggling to follow their recipes. Blanche made several mistakes and appeared to give up, only rallying after encouragement from the judges, while Sandrian's sauce split and her fish fillets were also not cut to size.  It was really intense and everyone seemed happy at the end of the 3-hour challenge.

Oh yesss its overrrr

As expected, Jasbir, Ha and Leong made it to the top 3, with Ha having the best dish.  Lennard, Blanche and Sandrian were in the bottom 3, with both Blanche and Sandrian being singled out for having the worst performances. However, as Blanche did get a good cook on her veal, Sandrian was sent home.  As a consolation prize, she did get to enjoy the evening parade before having to head to the airport!

The first contestant from Singapore is out, leaving Lennard and Leong as the remaining two representatives of the country. I do not foresee Lennard staying till the end.  It is pretty typical for those who start strongly to fade away over the course of the competition, and it seems like the same will apply to Lennard.   After this episode, my prediction for top 3 will be Leong, Ha and Jasbir ;)