Be Prepared With A Filled Stomach When Watching MasterChef Asia Debuted On 3rd Sept

Hi Huneybees,

MasterChef is finally here in this region under the name MasterChef Asia with 15 selected aspiring home cooks from across Asia coming to Singapore for the first time to compete for the coveted top honor!

And I being a self-taught cooking enthusiast, who have been following many versions of MasterChef over the years, including those from China, Korea, Australia and USA, this certainly presents a great opportunity for the like-minded to gain global recognition as a chef!

The judging panel of MasterChef Asia : (second from left) Susur Lee, Audra Morrice and Bruno Menard

Fans (including me!) of MasterChef congregated in numbers last Saturday and turned the usual busy weekend human traffic at Nex shopping mall in Serangoon, the suburban housing estate of Singapore, to a standstill for a chance to catch a glimpse of Hong Kong-born culinary genius Susur Lee, culinary TV personality Audra Morrice and 3-Michelin Starred chef Bruno Menard, whom together formed the judging panel for the first-ever pan-regional, English version of the competitive cooking reality show.

For me it's certainly the Singapore-born, finalist at the MasterChef Australia Season 4, Andra Morrice, who I learned how to bake the delicious Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart with Cherry Port Jelly two years ago!

Singapore Contestants for MasterChef Asia - Sandrian Tan,  Lennard Yeong, and Woo Wai Leong

 Made popular in USA by the Michelin starred celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay (co-creator of this show and Hell's Kitchen), based on an original UK franchise, Singapore will be sending three representative in Woo Wai Leong (Lawyer), Sandrian Tan (Housemaker), and Lennard Yeong (Engineer) to contest with 12 other home cooks from seven other countries for the first MasterChef Asia title. 

The Trio was also present at the Meet & Greet session that day to give the fans the MasterChef Asia live experience when they battled it out in the iconic Mystery Box challenge. 

The judges sharing their grading criteria for MasterChef Asia

Sandrian Tan emerged as the winner for the Mystery Box Challange during the Meet & Greet session of MasterChef Asia

Sandrian Tan's Coconut Ginger Prawns with Prawn Omelette served on Pineapple Salsa and Pickled Daikons;  Photo credit : Lifetime Asia

At the end of the challenge, it was the Coconut Ginger Prawns with Prawn Omelette served on Pineapple Salsa and Pickled Daikons prepared by Sandrian Tan that impressed the judges. Fortunately for the two losing contestants, neither of them need to leave the show.

Remember to catch the debut screening of the MasterChef Asia on 3rd September at 9pm (Singapore/Hong Kong Time) on Lifetime (StarHub TV Ch 514).

A caution to all Huneybees: as always for all the MasterChef show, do not watch any episode over dinning time, or worst with an empty stomach, as the foods in front of you thereafter might just look less appealing as compared to those shown on the show =)

Don’t forget to stay tuned to my blog / like my blog’s Facebook page / follow me @huney_84 on Twitter & Instagram  for the latest updates!

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A Baking Good Time With Season 4 Finalist Of MasterChef Australia - Audra Morrice

Hi Huneybees,

Last night, Audra Morrice shared her recipe of Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart with Cherry Port Jelly (which got her into Top 24) with 16 lucky participants at Suger Inc. She was the Season 4 finalist of MasterChef Australia, brought to you by Lifetime Channel.

Lifetime Channel is a top channel for women in the US which has recently launched in Singapore on 14 June, on StarHub Ch. 514. Lifetime is about understanding the complex life of a modern woman – an ordinary person living the extraordinary life. One of the anchor shows on the channel is MasterChef Australia Season 4.

Audra is best known as the chef who produced some of the most consistent and amazing dishes on the show. Acknowledged for her ability to both cook and bake, she was a favourite in this series of MasterChef. Born in Singapore to a Singaporean mother and Indian father, mum of two Audra grew up living and breathing food. Her style of food is mainly Asian drawing influence from her Chinese Indian heritage.

The MasterClass began with Audra doing an introduction and preparation of the Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart with Cherry Port Jelly, before we were grouped into teams of four to hands-on and bake our own versions of the tart, right from the making of the dough.

Huney'Z World sent representative (my hubby) - Winston Chua to the event

Audra was very friendly and helpful throughout the session. She was detailed in her instruction and came by every table to ensure that every team was able to follow her instruction in making the tart.

As some members of our group were abstain from pork, fish extract of  gelatine (15g in powder form) was used instead. Even though this was never tried before, the Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart turned out to be surprisingly refreshing!

This is my team's Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart with Cherry "Fish" Jelly. *Salivating...*

Then, when all the teams were done, Audra went around to taste every team's tart to decide on the best Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart for the day. Each member from the winning group walked away with a Tupperware prize. And of course before we left, we had Audra autographing for us.

Audra tasting the tarts that we made...

Prize ceremony...

Thank you Lifetime Channel for bringing Audra back home to Singapore and share such a yummy recipe with us!

For more information about Lifetime Channel, visit www.lifetimeasia.com

Facebook: LifetimeAsia

Twitter: #AudraCanCook

Here's also the recipe for those who wana try it at home...

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