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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Why Didn't Gordon Ramsay Win For Chicken Rice @ Singtel Hawker Heroes Vs Gordon Ramsay?

Hi Huneybees,

Last night was such an exhilarating night! Gordon Ramsay's challenge with the Singapore Hawker Heroes has finally happened and I was there to share the excitement.
Over the last few weeks, food bloggers, SingTel and Gordon Ramsay have had helped to generate over 2.5 million votes from Singaporeans as we were pondering over which of our local Hawker Heroes should go up against Hell Kitchen's Chef himself.  It has once again put our Hawker food culture in the spotlight and the red dot on the map is once again in the news.

The results was a 2-1 win with Hawker Heroes' winning the Laksa and Chicken Rice, while Chef Ramsay won the Chilli Crab challenge.

Gordon Ramsay with his challengers -  Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, 328 Katong Laksa and Jumbo Seafood Restaurant

Human JAM!!!

I wanted to see Gordon's you are fired moment!

Even though it was a huge hype, with tons of Singaporeans queuing up right from 1am, I was disappointed that I did not get to see the chefs in action though. It was more of a meet the celebrity moment than a food tasting challenge. All the food were already packed and it was not as though it was a blind tasting when the dishes are already labelled. It would have been more fun if the dishes were simply numbered.

Let me share more photos with you from last night before I pass a "verdict" ya ?

He has some cute chefs in the kitchent too! :)

Gordon was friendly and a little weird to see a different side of him compared to the strict one that I always see on screen.

Excited fans who can't wait to try the dishes.

DJs - Peifen, The Muttons, Glenn Ong and Jean Danker were present to report LIVE.

Peifen preferred the local dishes more specifically the laksa and chicken rice. The grains of rice were distinct and she liked it that way.

Jean finds it a tough one between the Chicken Rice and Chilli Crab. She likes the Chicken Rice chilli of the Hawker Heroes and Hawker Heroes wins hands down.

Chef Ramsay's rendition of Hawker Food.

When I tasted all 6 dishes, it was pretty clear to me that the Hawker Heroes were winning, with the Chicken Rice being a close call, a little difficult to judge on that. Chef Ramsay's version of Chicken Rice had fragrant rice and the chicken was tender.  However, his chilli wasn't as good as it lacked the slight lime and spicy kick. It would be the best combination if he had Tian Tian's chilli with his rice and chicken meat.

Our very own Hawker Heroes' dishes.

Couple Lee Chong Seng and Goh Li Fern were one of the first few to taste the dishes. They have both voted for the local Hawker Heroes' dishes, while sisters Valerie Chia and Vanessa Chia chose for Chef Ramsay dishes.

Clearly, Chef Ramsay has put in alot of thought in presenting his food as well as the use of ingredients. Portions of his servings were bigger, but my bewilderment comes from his win on the Chilli Crab and not the Chicken Rice. I've been asking around the whole night, even the DJs present, no one mentioned that they like Chef Ramsay's Chilli Crab. To me, the Chili Crab tasted more like Asam Crab, it lacked the Chilli Crab sweetness and weirdly there was a sourness to the sauce. So what caused the change in votes?

Well, according to Dr Leslie Tay, right after the results were announced, he spoke with  KF Seetoh who in turn told him that Chef Ramsay had tweaked his recipe when he realized that he was lagging behind.   

"I managed to taste his Chilli Crab at the end of the event and it was indeed quite different from the version he served earlier in the evening!  It was much more balanced, spicier and less sweet than the Jumbo version. As an experienced competitor, he was aggressive and he knew the how to play the game.  Not only did he changed his recipe mid-game, he also went around swaying voters." --- Dr Leslie Tay

I'm so disappointed that one of the Singapore signature dish (Chilli Crab) was not won by our Hawker Heroes. It is OUR dish and yet it was won by a foreigner who came in to learn the recipe within 3 days. I think it time that Jumbo Seafood re-look at their recipe and come up with a better rendition soon.

Grabbed a shot with Chef Ramsay only to find it blur with all the shoving from the crowd. Sigh...

Ultimately, I'm hoping this sort of challenges could be held more often. Fly in Michelin Chefs from all over the world to challenge our local chefs and hopefully through the exchange, our quality of food will increase and maybe produce some Michelin Chefs ourselves? 

More photos from last night's event can be found in my album here.

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Challenge Accepted: Hawker Heroes Will Be Taking On Gordon Ramsey

Hi Huneybees,

The poll for for food lovers to choose which 3 of Singapore's favourite hawkers will square off against Gordon Ramsay in the SingTel Hawker Heroes culinary challenge was launched on Tuesday, 25 June and has since received a total of over 575,700 votes!

In a new video released, Chef Ramsay said he is looking forward to coming to Singapore for the challenge, which will take place in July. SingTel will be announcing the results of the poll and further details about the challenge on 3 July.

SingTel is also pleased to introduce Mr KF Seetoh, founder of Makansutra, as a host and Singapore food ambassador in the SingTel Hawker Heroes Challenge. Seetoh is a passionate foodie and champion of Singapore's unique hawker heritage. He recently launched the 2013 World Street Food Congress, where more than 80,000 celebrated the joys of street food over a 10-day event.

In addition, voters stand to win up to $8000 worth of HungryGoWhere Dining Cards that can be used at any restaurant that accepts MasterCard.

For more information please visit: http://www.hawkerheroes.com 

About SingTel Hawker Heroes

In June, seven of Singapore’s most well-regarded food bloggers with the support of SingTel had issued an invite to Chef Ramsay, to help determine if our hawker food has what it takes to match up to the prestigious standards of the world renowned Michelin guide.

This invite was issued amidst concerns about the future of Singapore’s hawker heritage, with fewer picking up the craft from the current generation of hawkers.  It also aims to address the debate among foodies whether our hawkers are as talented as Michelin-starred chefs and if international recognition would boost the hawker trade.

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Challenge Accepted! Singapore Food Lovers & SingTel Invite Gordon Ramsay to Challenge the Nation’s Favourite Hawkers

Hi Huneybees,

A group of Singapore’s best-known and most respected food bloggers, with the support of SingTel, have today formally challenged Michelin-starred Chef Gordon Ramsay (the chef from Hell's Kitchen) to take on Singapore’s most beloved hawkers in a culinary contest.

Should Chef Ramsay accept the challenge, he will pit his skills against three popular hawkers who will be selected through a public poll hosted on the HungryGoWhere website.

The contest will determine if Singapore’s hawker fare can match up to the standards of the prestigious Michelin guide, which has become the benchmark for culinary excellence around the world.

The challenge is in response to recent concerns of a decline in local hawker culture and whether international recognition, such as Michelin-starred accreditation, would encourage fresh talent to join the trade and preserve Singapore’s hawker heritage. There has also been much debate on whether Singapore hawkers have the necessary qualities to take on Michelin-starred chefs like Gordon Ramsay. Read more about it here.

Snippets of the challenge via Twittersphere.

The food bloggers who have joined hands to issue the challenge are no strangers to the local food scene. Namely: Dr Leslie Tay (iEatiShootiPost), Daniel Ang (Daniel’s Food Diary), Catherine Ling (Camemberu), Philip Lim (Keropokman), Karen Wee (SuperFineFeline), Melissa Koh (Melicacy) and Rayner Ng (HisFoodBlog).

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